Christina: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taking the Lead podcast where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Hoeppner with my co-host Leslie Hoskins and Timothy Kyo. So we are in those cold winter months here in Michigan and it, I am absolutely freezing this morning. I just had to say that , that's just what I had to start with.
Leslie: But we're surviving. It's fine. It's Michigan. We're used to this, although EV, every year it does seem alarming. Yeah, we're not quite used to it yet.
Timothy: Just think in your mind every day. You're getting closer to spring. That's
Leslie: right. We gotta hold on. Hold on. Hope it will come eventually. Yeah. But today we wanted to chat.
Timothy, you've got some things going on. You and Glacier let fill us in. What's happening?
Timothy: Well, um, we took Glacier to our annual visit with the vet that we usually do for her shots and all our, you know, yearly stuff. And, uh, we had a bad result of a blood test from glaciers doing her heartworms and all the other stuff in that test.
And . Uh, they [00:01:00] come to find out she was bit by a tick last year and has affected her blood platelets and they're kind of low. And so we're having issues right now with Glacier, which is kind of scary because we've been giving her antibiotics and they're not doing very well with glacier. And, uh, she's not, uh, she's throwing up a lot.
Oh. And so we had to take her off that antibiotic and we are trying to figure out another antibiotic. , uh, this is a, a pretty serious situation. We gotta get those. If you don't have a high blood platelet count and she gets cut, she could bleed out. Yeah. And it's pretty serious. Yeah. So, um, luckily we're in a range that, I mean, it's low, but it's not immediate danger, but they can keep dropping and, uh, we never knew she was sick.
Yeah. Yeah. She showed no signs of any infection. or anything, and that's what the scary part about it is.
Leslie: That's crazy. It's just a good reminder of how important those yearly check-ins are with your vet, right? Like you guys would have no idea this was happening with glacier.
Timothy: No, I'm, I'm glad we [00:02:00] found out when we did.
And, and the, the blood platelets are, you know, ain't as low as they can get. Well, but they, they can get lower. Yeah.
Christina: Well, it's great that you have experts that are working with you on this and we're gonna think about glacier and hope that everything works out and she gets better.
Timothy: Better. Yeah. It's just, uh, we're, we're a little scared.
Yeah, of course. And, um, I don't want this to affect her career, but you know, you just, . I don't know what we're gonna do if we can't find a good . Antibiotic four. Yeah. And so it's just until we find that right one, it's just not a good situation right there. Yeah.
Leslie: Well hopefully, right. We've only tried one so far, and antibiotics are so weird.
We went through this with my daughter recently where she was on an antibiotic and same thing, just dominating it up all the time. So she wasn't keeping food down, nor was the antibiotic staying in her. Um, and we actually had to try a couple to finally get something that would help and stick in her. So. I am positive that they are going to do the same [00:03:00] thing and find something that works for Glacier, but I'm so glad that you guys caught it and that there is a cure and that you are on top of it.
You are a very good dog dad. Yeah. .
Timothy: Yeah. Thank you. It just proves you gotta keep up with your dog. Mm-hmm . Um, she gets her annuals every February or March, and, and we all need to keep our dogs on the, uh, the, the fleeing tick stuff and, and have their heartworm checked and, and you gotta keep up with it. I know it's an expense, but it's, that's part of being a guide dog.
Yeah, usually you have to keep your dog's health up and that's, if you keep your dog healthy, you will have a long career with your
Christina: dog. Yeah, absolutely. So, and that's just a great thing to think about too, if people are wanting to get a guy dog. Yeah. It's such an important thing to keep up with
Leslie: and takes are crazy.
Like, yeah, crazy. Yeah. I especially that la this last year I experienced it a couple times with different dogs and it was like, oh, it just gives me the heebie-jeebies, I dunno.
Christina: Yes.
Leslie: Ugh. But like you said, this is a great reminder of how important those yearly vet [00:04:00] check-ins are and keep us posted on how glacier's doing so that we can inform everybody.
Timothy: Oh, I will do that. Definitely.
Leslie: Thank you. Alright. Well thank you Timothy for keeping us updated on that. We are going to turn our attention now to our guest who has recently joined the Leader Dog team and is bringing a much needed expertise to our organization.
Christina: Yes. Today's guest is Krista Oliver. Krista is Leader's first psychosocial support manager.
It's a new role started in November to provide peer support for clients and education to the Leader Dog team. She's been a guide dog handler since 1998. And worked as a clinical psychologist doing outpatient psychotherapy for the last 25 years.
Timothy: Krista, welcome to the podcast. I'm excited about this new role and position that Leader Dog has got.
Can you tell more about yourself, please?
Krista: Sure. I'm happy to. Thank you so much for having me. And I just first wanna say, you know, to you, Tim, about Glacier, so sending you so [00:05:00] much support, um, that . Is such a hard thing, right? When our dogs, um, that we rely on for so much are not doing well. And so, yeah, I just wanna start out by saying thanks for sharing that and I am happy to share about myself.
I'm happy to be on the podcast today. Um, yeah, just briefly some just identifying information. I'm a female identifying person. I'm in my fifties. Um, I have blonde hair and glasses and I'm a mom of . Two boys who are 23. Um, and I love to, as far as what I like to do, I love to hike. I, um, do a lot of yoga. I spend a lot of time reading and spending time connecting with, um, my friends and my family.
And I do happen to be blind. Um, I'm trained as a psychologist [00:06:00] and I, people would say that I tend to be a listener, um, as a person. So that's, yeah, that's just a little bit about me in general.
Leslie: Thank you Krista. And so you mentioned you are blind yourself. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey specifically, kind of with your guide dogs and leader dog?
Krista: Yeah, I would love to tell you a little bit about my history. Um, thank you. Thank you for asking. So, like I said, I have been, um, legally blind my whole life. Um. Like, uh, most kids who grow up with low vision, um, it kind of can be a challenging experience. I was the only, uh, child with low vision in my public school, and so you, I felt things pretty deeply.
Um. [00:07:00] So I do think that's kind of what led me to study psychology because I kind of wanted to understand more about why people do the things they do. And I also wanted to support people like me who grew up with something different. Um, so during graduate school I lost more vision, um, and that's when I had to start, uh, learning how to use a white cane.
So . In the middle of graduate school, I went through orientation and mobility training, started using a white cane, huge adjustment for me. Um, during my early years, I felt a lot of shame about my blindness and wanted to hide it. And then when I had to start using a cane, it was out there, right? And, um, people know.
And so I had to go through that process of kind of for myself accepting . Um, [00:08:00] my, my blindness and um, that was a huge adjustment for me and I've always been a dog lover and the cane was never, kind of worked super well for me 'cause I'm a fast walker and so I, um, I kind of vowed as soon as my life was more stable, I, 'cause I was moving around a lot at that time, that I would get a guide to dog.
So, um, thankfully a few years later I was able to get my first guide dog, and that was, um, right at the end of my, um, my graduate school career. And so, yeah, I did, I, I worked my first dog and I was, have been honored to be a psychologist for many years working with people with all sorts of conditions like.
Um, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, um, but I always had a special place in my heart [00:09:00] for people with something different about themselves, um, like a disability or people in the L-G-B-T-Q community. And then, um. I will say, so this kind of long story here, right? But , but . Um, so fast forward to last summer.
Um, I was on the wait list. To get my next guide dog, uh, from Leader Dog. And I got an email that said, uh, they were hiring a psychosocial support manager. And I was like, wow. Leader is combined. Leader is acknowledging kind of the how important it is to address the emotional needs. Um, of people like myself and I would love to be a part of that.
So I [00:10:00] applied, started going through the interview process and while I was going through the interview process, I got a call that later had a dog for me. So I started making my plans to come to Leader Dog to get my next dog. And then, um, four days before I came to get my dog, I accepted the position as the psychosocial support manager.
So I. Um, you know, it kind of all worked out and I was able to come and get my dog and have the, the full client experience of being a client. That was really nice. Onboarding for this position.
Christina: Oh my goodness. Krista, this is Christina. I had no idea that that happened.
Leslie: Yeah. watching Christina's face right now, she's hearing this for the first time.
I thought this was common knowledge. No, that's fantastic. What a unique experience for you, Krista, to be able to accept a new position, which was the, this is the first time we've ever had this role at Leader, but then, like you said, you, you got to come into class. Can [00:11:00] you tell us a little bit about that?
Because nobody knew that you had applied and or had accepted the position, so you experience class, um, not as a team member at all, but just as a leader, dog client.
Krista: Exactly. And that was one of the things that I most, um, appreciated and respected about. Um, my, my manager here at Leader Dog was that she said, we don't want to tell people right now because we want you to have the full experience of just focusing on being a client.
And I so appreciated that because. It is a lot. When you're in class. There's a lot. Um, it, you know, it's a lot of work. Um, and for me to have, to have to start thinking about. Oh, these are all gonna be my team members, right? That just would've added so much more to my plate. So I was so appreciative and grateful for that.
And I will tell you, you know, my experience, [00:12:00] um, being in class, warm, warm, welcoming, and inclusive, I would say, um, it's, it's so comfortable when you're in class because it's, it's one time when you don't feel like you have to fit into the sighted world. Um. But I will also say that Leader Dog has been really open to my feedback.
Um, there throughout my experience of being both a client and a team member, which is another thing that I love about Leader is that, you know, they're not claiming to do everything perfect. Um, they really want the feedback and they're open to learning and growing and improving. Um, for example, during class, uh, I was able to provide some feedback about the touch bases that the instructors do with us sometimes.
Um, I, I, we talked about [00:13:00] spending a little more time connecting with people personally because that's such an important part of who we are. Um, yes, the instruction is important working with our dogs, but, but if we feel connected with our instructor. Then we, um, are gonna work so much harder because we, we feel like they really know us and understand us as people.
So I just appreciate how open they are to receiving feedback as well.
Timothy: So, Krista, do you mind telling everybody why is it's important to have a, uh, psychosocial manager working for Leader Dog? I mean, we all have different issues with our dogs and our journey of having the guide dog.
Krista: Right, exactly. One thing that I know Leader Dog prioritizes is the client as the center of all the things Leader dog.
And when you're talking about the mission of Leader Dog to, uh, empower people with low vision, [00:14:00] with the skills for safe and independent travel, one of those parts of feeling empowered is our sense of our ourself. Right? And, and our wellness. And what goes into our sense of self and wellness, but our emotional sense, our emotional health and wellbeing.
And so if we aren't, um, meeting those emotional needs of people, then we're not meeting, you know, people for all of who they are. So having me in this role to, uh, be a support for clients during all their phases of their connection with Leader Dog from the time . They first apply and maybe are struggling with filling out that application or with the wait on the wait list and they need just a little bit of encouragement or questions about my experience, um, to being in class.
And, um, I've started. Doing [00:15:00] a group during the orientation and mobility class, so people have a place where they can just talk about their experience with, um, vision loss and then also with coming to class and, and kind of that whole, using the white cane for the first time for a lot of 'em, which is a lot emotionally right for us.
So just having a place to do that. Um, I'm adding another group during Guide Dog class as well. We do two groups now, and then I'll, I'll be available for individual support when people go home and they're dealing with issues with family or friends or trying to advocate for themselves and they're struggling and they need.
You know, how, how did you do that? There's, there's such a difference, right? Um, like I said earlier, we're often pretty isolated in terms of not being around other people with low vision. Some people are, but a lot of us, um, aren't. And so you can talk to, [00:16:00] you know, your family or your friends about it, but there's nothing like talking to another person who's blind or low vision because.
When you talk to someone who is low vision, um, they, they get it. Right. Right. Tim, like they get you in a way that, that other people can't. .
Christina: Krista, I know this role is still new and you're studying these groups, which is amazing during class. What are some of the things that you're looking forward to doing in this next year, in this role?
Krista: One of the things, aside from the groups during class that I'm starting, that I'm really excited about is. Some peer group support calls. So these will be likely on Zoom and um, I'm thinking of doing them at least to start like every other month. And there'll be a call, um, for any client to join on a variety of topics [00:17:00] that we all kind of deal with in one way or the other.
So. Um, coping with vision loss or adjusting to vision loss, or like I said earlier, um, coping with issues with advocacy, um, and with the public or with your family. How to, how to, you know, talk through issues with your family, um, or grief and loss of your later dog. Um, having a safe place for people, because that's a huge thing when
When your leader dog is, is sick or dies, um, you know, having people who really get that to listen and care. So that's one of the things I'm really excited about doing. Um, I'm also starting some team member education, so with the leader dog, um, team to help understand more about mental health in general, but [00:18:00] also, um.
Like having hard conversations and things like, um, some mindfulness and meditation tools and skills so that not only can they use them themselves because they have a lot of things that they're dealing with emotionally with the dogs and with clients, and. You know, it's a, it's a care providing role. Um, but they can then use those skills to teach clients because we need those too, um, when we're outworking our dogs and we face something challenging or difficult.
So, yeah, I'm excited about doing some of that as well.
Leslie: There's so many things to look forward to, Krista, and I know, you know, at Leader, we've been talking about this holistic approach to clients and, and just the Leader Dog team, which you're talking about addressing team members as well and the impact that can have.
I'm curious though, how do you address some of the misconceptions [00:19:00] that people have when it does come to this psychosocial support?
Krista: I guess one thing, first I wanna say about that is that in this role, um, I, yes, I am a, a clinical psychologist, but acting in this role at Leader Dog, I am, I am a peer support person.
Um. I am not acting under my license. I'm not, um, diagnosing or treating everyone, anyone in this, in this role. This is a, this is a peer support role. I can definitely help people pro find resources in their local area if that is something that they need. Um, but that is not my, my role. Um, and part of that is because I'm only licensed in the state of Michigan.
And, um, we have clients all over the country, Canada and other places. So that's part of it. But the other piece of, when you talk about misconceptions about psychosocial support, I think. I think sometimes there's still [00:20:00] a stigma out there about mental health and, um, I guess my hope is that people start to understand that mental health is just one aspect of physical health.
Like we all have, you know, kind of times when our physical health waxes and wanes, right? It kind of goes up and down. Um, the same is true about mental health. We all have, you know, a mental health, right? And sometimes it, it, it's, we're doing pretty good and we're feeling pretty healthy. And then there's other times when our mental health is, is struggling.
Um, so my hope I guess is that people just are, will talk more about mental health so that everyone realizes it's just one aspect of health and. And nobody's alone in that. We, we all have, you know, some stuff that we're dealing with.
Timothy: So, Chris, I can imagine if a, if a client wants to get, uh, help with the peer support, this is going to be a safe place [00:21:00] for these clients to come and talk about their issues and, uh, they can feel very comfortable in this time.
Krista: Yeah, that is my goal, to provide a safe place. That is always my goal when I'm, you know, listening and being present with people is a, is providing a very safe place, um, for people to, to feel like they can. Can share what they need to share.
Christina: Krista, that's great. What, I guess if someone has a concern, what types of concerns if they don't know, you know, what they should be asking or when is the right time to contact you?
What types of concerns would you say is the best?
Krista: It could be anything that has to do with an, you know, a struggle with their dog. In term, not, not a training issue, right. But like, kinda like what Tim shared, right? My goodness. My dog is now has this, this, um, low [00:22:00] platelet count. And, and I, you know, I, this is scary and I, I don't know what, you know, I'd like to talk this through with someone.
So something like that. Um, or it could be someone is out. Uh, traveling with their cane and they encounter a situation where they're, um, someone's extremely rude to them, right? Or someone's out with their dog and they're not allowed into a restaurant or something, and it shakes them up and they just need someone to talk through that with who kind of gets it, who's been there, who understands, or, um, maybe a situation where.
Uh, they try to travel somewhere and for the first time and they get lost, and that feeling of getting lost [00:23:00] is a really scary feeling for us, right? Um, and so, you know, other people can say, well, why is that such a big deal? But when you're blind. There's an added element. So to be able to talk to someone like me who's like, yeah, I've been there, man.
I, I feel you . Yeah. And just to, to talk through what that's like. So I, those are some examples, but, um. You know, it really kind of is an open, uh, opportunity, I guess for, for clients to, to reach out to me.
Leslie: I think that's so helpful, Krista, just to kind of have a little bit of an overview or just some examples.
Right. And like you said, those are just. A few examples of what people might wanna reach out to you for. And this is so exciting to have you in this role, and I know people have already been reaching out to you in the last couple months, and I know as a team member, we are constantly picking your brain and pulling you into different [00:24:00] meetings to give that perspective and help us remind, or a reminder of all these different concerns that, that people can be experiencing to keep that voice of the client.
At the center of every discussion, so thank you for that. But I am curious, so you've been in this role I think, just like a couple months now at this point. Have you had a lot of interactions? Have you had a lot of clients reaching out or still kind of just getting started? Because like I said, I know you're busy kind of even just starting implementing things.
Krista: So I have had quite a few clients reaching out, which has been really wonderful. I sent out an email with a brief survey last week because I wanna start those group peer support calls, and that was so fun because in response to sending out that email, I got a lot of. Email responses from people just saying, oh, I'm so glad you're here.
This is, this is great. I'm so excited about these, these upcoming calls. And then [00:25:00] I, you know, heard from some people who were, um. Having a little bit of trouble filling out the survey so I could reach out to them and help them, them fill it out and things like that. And then people are just reaching out kind of on their own as well.
And another thing I guess that's happening, you know, people call through our client services area, uh, for most things that they need. From Leader Dog, right? So they, they call through client services. Well now client services knows about me obviously, and so there are opportunities where they are saying to people, Hey, uh, we now have Christa, who is a leader dog client, and also our psychosocial support manager.
You know, I would love to have her reach out to you if you're open to it. And you know, a lot of people are going, oh wow, I didn't know that was available. Yeah, that would be great. Thank you. So [00:26:00] that's happening as well.
Leslie: That is absolutely fantastic. Yeah. 'cause I think there are so many situations for all of us, right?
Where we didn't think necessarily like, Hey, it would be great to talk to somebody about this, but if prompted right, I absolutely might think, oh my God, yeah, it would really help for me to speak with somebody. So that's wonderful.
Krista: The other thing that has been happening too is the guide dog mobility instructors and the field reps have also, um, because they now also know about me when they're, um, doing phone calls with clients or they're out on visits with clients.
If they also are noticing a situation with someone who might be struggling or needing a little additional support, they've also been reaching out to me, which is also great, um, for them to have, you know, me as an additional resource with folks.
Leslie: That is absolutely fantastic and so exciting to hear. [00:27:00] So as we are wrapping up here, is there anything else that you want people to know about you specifically or about this role?
Krista: No, I'm just excited. I'm, I'm happy to, to be here, to be in this new role. I'm still learning, so there's a lot for me to learn about Leader Dog. Um, so I get, you know, I appreciate, uh, the, the fact that when I have talked to clients and they're a, you know, asking me some questions that I'm like, you know what?
I'll have to look into that . Yeah. Um, so I appreciate the patience with, with folks, but, um, I'm just really looking forward to getting to know more of, of the clients and being able to kind of be that. , that encouraging listening ear that, you know, I think about, um, when, when I need, when I'm struggling, right?
Like, it is such a resource to have, um, someone. So yeah, I'm really, I'm really glad to be [00:28:00] here.
Leslie: Well, thank you so much, Krista, for joining us today. We really appreciate you taking the time.
Krista: Thanks for having me,
Leslie: and thank you so much to our listeners for listening to the Taking the Lead podcast. I'm Leslie Hoskins with host Timothy Kyo and Christina Hepner.
We hope you enjoyed learning about Krista and the critical support she's bringing to Leader Dog. Please join us next time as we continue to dive into the world of blindness. .
Christina: And if you'd like to learn more about applying for free services at Leader Dog or how you can get in contact with Krista, you can head to leader dog.org or call us at (888) 777-5332.
Don't forget you can reach us at taking the lead@leaderdog.org with any questions or ideas. If you like today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out wherever Podcast Street.