Dr. Brewster Martin 2016 Award Recipient

Adam Bindrum – Restorative Justice Case Manager

Adam Bindrum came to the agency in March 2006 as a C/F Case Manager part time as he was enrolling in his master’s program & would be starting an internship in May of that same year. He left CMC in September to finish his MA program.  Adam returned to CMC in June 2007 as a full time Restorative Justice Clinician in our child and family program. He received his LCMHC in 12/2009 and his LADC in 2/2011. Today he regularly leads the week long Adventure program, supervises interns and crosses program lines by seeing adult clients as well as transition age youth.

• Adam is a consistent source of support for new staff.
• Adam shows leadership in everything he does.
• Adam is a teacher of skill and professionalism.
• Adam is able to balance being personable and establish strong trusting relationships with clients.
• Adam is able to work with the most difficult populations of clients with success.
• Adam is respected by all staff and never passes judgement.
• Adam is honest, dependable, loyal, compassionate and professional.
• Adam is able to translate his skill across multiple settings in the office and community settings.
• Adam is able to develop a strong trust with clients which creates an environment for them to recover.
• Adam always has a smile on his face and greets you with a cheerful “hello” or “good morning”.
• Adam is respected and has great relationships with our community partners.
• Adam is warm, engaging and positive in his everyday outlook.
• Adam has a clear vision as to what he wants to do and what he does not want to do.
• Adam is able to focus his energy on what he is doing.
• Adam exemplifies quality, commitment and excellence.
• Adam is able to inspire and train new providers with some of the most difficult populations we serve.

His supervisor says it all in his last evaluation “Adam is a skilled, dynamic clinician who brings a great deal of creativity, enthusiasm, dedication and energy to the C/F team.  Adam is eager to take on challenging cases and is supportive of his colleagues.  He is eager to help out in any way he can.  He is an instrumental cheerleader amongst his colleagues.  When the team is faced with difficult situations, he is the first to look at the optimistic side & offer levity to the situation.” Adam is friendly, pleasant, professional and fun loving. The agency services have improved over the years and he has helped in many of these program initiatives. Adam is deserving of the honor and respect this award stands for and he is an excellent model of the Clara Martin Center motto “People Helping People”.

A Special Note From Adam –

After several days of reflection on winning the Brewster Martin Excellence award, I wanted to write and e-mail to those I work with who have supported me and directly contributed to my success at Clara Martin.

This is what I wish I had said when I was giving my impromptu speech – if my cerebral cortex had been firing at all and being drowned out by my emotional (limbic) system that was lit up like a Christmas tree struck by lightening.

Our TAY program is based on the resiliency model of fostering success with the clients we work with. Primary pillars of the resiliency model are; caring relationships, opportunity to succeed, and supportive environment. Look at those pillars for a second. That is exactly what Clara Martin does for me in my professional life.

There is no way that I could do the work I do if I did not feel supported and cared for by my peers in the agency. There is no way that I could be effective in my job if the environment was not flexible, encouraging,  open minded and sensitive to my needs as well as the needs of the populations I serve. When I wake up in the morning I am fired up to go to work with people I care about in an agency that inspires me and allows me to work outside the traditional “sit on a couch and  have clients tell you how they feel” box of treatment (My band of Merry Young Men would last exactly 1 to 2 sessions with that approach).

 If you as my peers and supervisors think I’m a success at my job please know that it is because of you all and the agency culture. I am a piece in the puzzle of the work I do, but this puzzle is way bigger than one piece.

They say “it takes a village to raise a child”. Well it takes an agency to grow and nurture an effective therapist.

Of note- In our job we often work with clients in a pure unfettered emotional state. Often those states are with very difficult and what some would call “negative” emotions. On Thursday night (those who were there) got to observe a pure emotional state in me. It was Pride/honor (sprinkled with some stunned disbelief). You all got to observe a career highlight of mine and were part of a memory that I will take out and turn over and savor for years to come (I’m betting my whole life). Thank you all for this honor and your part in it.