The Adventurous Writings of Thomas

By Jennifer Hoewe and Lauren Quiniff

Traveling around the world practicing his field, Henry Thomas has used his professional writing abilities to globally influence his patients' care. Working as a psychologist, Henry Thomas said technical writing has been a key part of his professional career. “Writing is one of the major skills of my profession,” he said. “Part of the professional life is to be able to communicate clearly with other professionals.”

While not taking his first writing course until graduate school, Thomas continues to apply his learned skills in the writings he produces today. As a part of the Employee Assistance Program at West Michigan Healthcare, Thomas utilizes his writing skills on a daily basis through various forms of necessary work related communications. His writing tasks include ten to fifteen hours of writing work per week to keep accurate records and communication with his patients and coworkers.

Administering Education

Thomas began his psychology career with college preparation at Michigan State University. Mid-degree he decided to travel back near his hometown of Zeeland, MI to attend Grand Valley State University. It was in Allendale that Thomas double majored in psychology and history and received his teaching certificate while working full time with local at-risk students.

“I was drawn to work with the kids who were thought to be the screw ups,” he said. “I worked with the complicated kids who were at risk of dropping out of school.”

After graduation from GVSU, Thomas began his graduate work at the University of Arizona. Increasing his national mobility, Thomas moved again, this time to the University of North Carolina to complete his doctorate in psychology.

It was during the course of his graduate work that Thomas began establishing the writing portion of his profession. Having not taken a single writing course until attending the University of Wisconsin, Thomas said he encountered initial struggles while beginning his writing work. After handing in his first assignment, his professor requested a personal meeting to discuss Thomas’s future with professional writing.

“My writing professor said I was so incorrigible that they had to bring in the head of the department to work with me,” he said. “Even though I wasn’t a strong writer then, I’m now a decent writer and can write better and faster than most people in my profession.”
After getting needed assistance from the head of the writing department, Thomas was able to refine his writing skills enough to be a proficient writer in his workplace today.

A Wealth of Travels

“Want adventure? Interested in working overseas?”
On a whim, Henry Thomas answered yes to both of those questions. Eager to see the world after his college graduation, Thomas enlisted in the United States Navy as a registered psychologist. Though unneeded right away, he eventually received a call sending him to Japan. “During the first Iraq war, they were in desperate need of psychologists,” he said. “That war ended up being a quick one, but I loved my time in the military.”

Using his writing abilities mainly for necessary documentation and communication processes, Thomas also ran the substance abuse and child psychology units in Wyoming before returning to Michigan to continue his career.

Relocating once again, Thomas accepted a position in the local Michigan prison systems. Working in maximum security suicide prevention and violent offender therapy, Thomas said the prison was not the type of environment he wanted to use to establish his career. “Those people were in jail for a reason,” he added. “The prison was just a terrible place to work – always having to worry about your physical safety.”

Final destination

Moving on from an undesirable position in the prisons, Thomas began working as Clinical Director of at West Michigan Healthcare. Though recently resigned, Thomas was aiding companies and their employees by monitoring growth contracts and short-term disability claims. In this position, Thomas said he used his writing skills to take progressive notes that allowed for the ongoing treatment of patients.
Adding to his proficient writing skills, Thomas’s coworker at West Michigan Healthcare, Kelly Browden, said Thomas has “a good relationship with client-employers.” Running the substance abuse program and identifying good therapists for companies to refer their employees, Thomas said he worked to assist “typical people.”

After resigning from his “start up position” as Clinical Director, Thomas moved to the Employee Assistance Program of West Michigan Healthcare. With that job, which he still holds, he gives free limited service counseling to the employees of the companies he monitors. The Employee Assistance Program requires that Thomas apply professional writing for correspondence reasons where he said he must use written forms of communication to contact his clients.

Having now established himself as a noteworthy psychologist, Thomas said accuracy in technical writing enables clearer communication in all work places. Being one of the smartest choices he ever made, Thomas said taking the writing course in graduate school helped him become a successful technical writer.