A Worthwhile Career
Billy Higgs’ career has persisted on one core value: helping others
Words by Anna Lee Vaughn | Images by Justin Hunter
"Because of the phone company."
That was Billy Higgs' answer when asked how he found the small town of Jasper after moving to Alabama from Louisiana.
After earning his bachelor's degree in psychology from Louisiana College, now known as Louisiana Christian University, Billy spent two years working at a school for mentally challenged children.
Reflecting on that time, he says, "At that point, I just decided I didn't know what I wanted to do. So, with the wisdom of a 23-year-old, I quit my job.
"My dad worked for the phone company, and he had transferred to Birmingham. I had no job and was running out of money to pay for a place to live, so I moved to Birmingham with my family and decided to go to graduate school at Montevallo."
After completing his master's degree in counseling at the University of Montevallo, Billy spent 1991 splitting his time between Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center's Hamilton and Haleyville offices. He transferred to the Jasper location in 1992 and held several counseling positions before retiring in December 2017. His agency career culminated as the organization's Walker County Outpatient Services Director.
Upon retiring, Billy established Higgs Counseling Services, a small private practice in downtown Jasper. The practice initially operated in the Blanton Building and later moved to its current location in the Professional Building. Billy expresses his enjoyment of owning a private practice, both for personal benefits and the benefits it offers his patients.
"From a selfish perspective, I can work as much or as little as I want. I only answer to the patient sitting across from me. So, after many years of working in an agency, that has been very enjoyable. As far as working with people, I love that the people who come to see me now do so because they want to, and that's rewarding," says Billy.
Billy handles what he terms a very eclectic caseload, but he identifies the top three presenting issues as depression, anxiety, and relationship problems. His ability to address various situations stems from his experience at the mental health center.
Billy recognizes the value in providing individuals with a safe space to work through their challenges while preserving privacy. He says, "Patients have a safe place to talk, by law and ethics, and then they don't have to look at me over the dinner table that night after they've just said some difficult things.
"I don't see my job as giving advice. I'll advise when something could be potentially harmful, but my job is to help my patients figure out the best answers for them, not tell them what to do."
Billy also shares insights into the rewards and challenges of being a counselor and emphasizes that, despite the lengthy schooling and the difficulties in the career, the hard work is worthwhile when it comes to helping others.
"I’ll sit down and talk to somebody for a while and think, 'Well, that didn't seem to help them.' And then I'm surprised when they want to schedule another appointment because, to them, it helped more than I thought it did. That's such a gratifying feeling because that's what it's all about to me." 78