Her Story
About Maryse
I've been working in the social work field for about 5 to 6 years, driven by my desire to be of service to others. I work at Health Planning Council as a Service Coordinator, where we receive referrals all over Lee County and Collier County from physicians who are suggesting babies from birth to age 3 for developmental evaluations. Sometimes there is a delay in their social skills, social-emotional skills, communication skills, cognitive skills, motor skills, or adaptive skills, so they're not progressing in the way they ought to be progressing. We provide early intervention services to those families, and if it's not covered by their insurance, it's typically free of charge to the families, as we have funding to cover the expenses for families that are unable to cover the costs. During the evaluation, they decide which services would better fit the child, whether they are going to assign a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, or a physical therapist to work with the child at a frequency to help them meet the goals that they've set forth during the evaluation process. I'm bilingual and speak Creole - my family is originally from Haiti - and we get a lot of Creole-speaking families that speak no English at all. One challenge I face is finding providers that are able to effectively work with them when there is a language barrier. I have a master's in psychology, but it's general psychology, so I am in the process of getting a license to become a licensed mental health counselor, which is my ultimate goal. Therapy is definitely my first love - I kind of knew in high school that's what I wanted to do. Before my current role, I worked at Easterseals Florida in West Palm Beach, which was the umbrella for Early Steps there, and I also did a master's level clinician role at a youth detention center here in Fort Myers after I graduated.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Maryse
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The biggest piece of advice I've received throughout my career has come from my loved ones who remind me to continue to pursue what I love, which is therapy. I really love therapy, and naturally, people ask me, 'Hey, are you a therapist?' I get that a lot. If not, they tell me I should pursue being a therapist, and I feel like I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not pursue therapy. My loved ones are always kind of reminding me, 'Hey, you know, make sure you do that, because that is what's gonna make you happy.' So I would say the best advice is to continue to pursue what I love, which is therapy.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say do what you love first. The money will come later, because money doesn't buy happiness. You definitely have to start with what you love, and then you can venture out in trying different things, versus trying something that you're not too passionate about and then finding out the hard way that, hey, you know, maybe I shouldn't have gone this route. Although I'm sure there are lessons to be learned in all of our mistakes, just starting with something that you love to do, and everything else will kind of fall into place.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is the language barrier we face with Creole-speaking families. I'm bilingual and speak Creole - my family is originally from Haiti - and we get a lot of Creole-speaking families that speak no English at all. Sometimes it could be a little difficult to find providers that are able to effectively work with them. When there is a language barrier, it kind of makes the job a little difficult. We lack providers to meet those Creole-speaking families' needs, so sometimes they have to use Google Translate or other technology services to help the family with the development of the child. I think it's primarily the area - maybe other areas have a more diverse population of Creole-speaking providers. But I would say that's a challenge right now, just not being able to kind of meet the family where they're at at 100%. It does create a level of comfort to the family when they know that you're able to communicate in their language. As for opportunities, I see definite opportunities to make a difference, something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others that are struggling with mental health issues. I feel like now people are more aware of the seriousness of mental health, but it's a really big one here in our community. Getting the opportunity to make a positive change and actually see the change in the lives of others is a great opportunity to me.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values to me are being of service to others and being a positive light to the world. My desire to be of service to others is what led me into the social work field in the first place. In my personal life, my family is incredibly important - I have two boys now, so I love spending time with them. We love nature, so we like to go out for walks and maybe watch a movie. We are also Christians, so we are making it a point to go to church on Sundays, just to make sure we are aware of our foundation and that it's helping us be a positive light to the world. Because the world needs it nowadays - people are so sick, people are so angry. I want to lead my children in that direction where they can go on to becoming happy adults. So faith, family, and service to others are what matter most to me.
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