We had the good fortune of connecting with Joshua Kreimeyer and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Joshua, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Initially I was motivated beyond my capacity to stop for self care. The adrenaline can carry you for some time, but it eventually catches up to you, and the impact becomes palpable. The impact of overzealous motivation caused my mind, body and spirit to lock up in different ways, and force my hand at re-directing the ship towards balance and self care. I could not do this alone, and looped my wife and other key social support sin helping to call me out as needed, and once reset, I have been more deliberate about staying ahead of the curve,. Having been down this path too, makes it easier to see the warning signs. I’ve blazed past them before, now I slow down and let them guide me to the necessary rest stop.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
As a former Russian Linguist in the US Army, I had always been interested in the Slavic part of the world. As I entered my PhD Program post military life, I met a Ukrainian national, and professor at my now alma mater. She helped me to join efforts in Ukraine in 2015. Since then, I have been part of the team that created the charter Master’s in Counseling program in the country and we were recently accredited within international standards (IRCEP). Our institute and community clinic were functioning before the war ramped up in February of 2022. We have had over 100 trauma-trained mental health professionals ready to support the war effort in crisis management and trauma treatment. I was in the country in February right before the border was crossed, training Ukrainian Psychologists in the latest trauma-informed practices. I returned in June of this year as well and helped facilitate several retreats for refugees. So from a young boy growing up in America during the cold-war years, to securing contracts with the United Nations International Office of Migration, I never would have dreamed of having the impact that I have. From this trajectory, I cannot wait for what is next, and find it hard to comprehend how it may go from here.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I think that the best of Colorado is encompassed in many of our mountain towns. I would base camp in a couple places like Woodland Park and Estes Park. From there, we’d take in the best of local breweries (food and drink) and then also be able to immerse ourselves in the best nature has to offer, hiking of course to the visitors’ ability’s. All five senses are engaged and restoration is hard to resist under these circumstances:)
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Steve Johnson was my first clinical supervisor in the field. I cannot count the times I cite his wisdom in any given day. He had a gift for meeting people where they were without judgement, and from there helping simplify chaos towards guiding them to “do the right thing”.
Website: https://odukraine.com/en/home-page-2/
Other: joshua.kreimeyer@gmail.com http://www.imhcinc.com/