The Lovett Center recently turned four years old. As I sit back and reflect on this achievement and the journey it’s been, I am incredibly thankful for all of the people—past and present—that have helped get us to this place. Everyone that has walked in and out of this building has left a mark here in some form. I cannot thank you enough, but I can share some of the learnings from the past 1,400+ days, in hopes that they can be of help to you in your life voyage.
People Are Better Together
When I was doing Daring Way work with Brené Brown, I learned that therapists longed to have a community; outpatient practice was not formatted to have meaningful connections between therapists. While we told patients to be together, we were, in reality, alone.
Though the idea to create The Lovett Center originally came from a very practical reason (the wish to create a great space where therapists could thrive – a place that was discreet and open through the evening with decent parking), the community aspect came naturally once we opened the doors. Out of the camaraderie and professional discussions we had in the hallways, Pathos was born. With it, we learned that we could best help patients by combining different clinicians’ areas of expertise to make the most positive impact on people’s paths to healing. Now that patients are (most often) assigned to a team of clinicians, the experience is more cohesive than ever.
We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know
In some ways, we’ve had to be as adaptive to change at The Lovett Center as we ask our clients to be. What we do here today is not the model we started with, and that’s perfectly okay. Through trial and error, we have found the integrative model that defines us today. As a team of clinicians, I am proud to say that we are more focused than ever on professional development and supervision. We are actively working to increase our community outreach, expand our school prevention programs and perfect a digital patient care platform. Like the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, but nothing replaces learning through experience.
The Future is Bright
I am a big proponent for cultivating hope, no matter the situation. With The Lovett Center, in particular, I believe that we have forged a path with a bright future ahead. Our vision can be summarized with one word: growth. It involves expanding to key metro markets across the country, starting with expansion to other Houston neighborhoods. This will allow us to help more people through thoughtful care, kindness and professionalism.
No matter what’s coming in the future, or what’s happened in the past, it’s an honor to be of service to people in the most challenging circumstances. It’s something we don’t take lightly. We can say whatever we would like about one project or another, but at the end of the day it’s our clients that will be the judge of the work we’ve done. Here’s to many more years of serving.
About the Author:
Robert Hilliker, LCSW-S, LCDC, Founder and Managing Partner of The Lovett Center
At The Lovett Center, Robert works with patients in private practice and serves as the Clinical Director for Pathos. Pathos offers intensive outpatient, supportive outpatient, and aftercare programming for people struggling with addiction and co-occurring mental health issues. Robert’s private practice focuses on work with professionals, addictive disorders, shame resiliency, and behavioral health issues.
Illustration: Jorde Matthews
Robert is deeply committed to serving others and is passionate about hope and despair in clinical treatment. With over 20 years in addiction and mental health, he has experience in private practice, clinical supervision, and program management, co-founding The Lovett Center and Ethos. He earned a Master’s degree from the University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work, which honored him as a 50 for 50 Alumni in 2019. His education includes fellowships at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies and The Menninger Clinic, where he held leadership roles and received the Menninger Clinic Pillar Award for Integrity. The Houston Business Journal recognized him as a 40 Under 40 Class of 2018 Honoree.
