Longtime Oaklawn Psychologist to retire

Cindy Wagner, MA, LLP, a psychologist with Oaklawn for 34 years, will be retiring this fall.

Wagner, who has been seeing patients in Calhoun County for more than four decades began at Oaklawn Outpatient Psychological Services (15209 W Michigan Ave, Marshall, MI 49068, 269-781-9119) in 1990. Over the course of her career, she has worked primarily with children and adolescents and their families, but also has helped adults of all ages and backgrounds.

When Wagner first started with Oaklawn, her office was what is now the Oaklawn Fitness Center.

“We were a pretty small operation with five providers,” said Wagner. “Today we have more than 10 outpatient providers and four psychiatric providers.”

She noted that it was the right time to retire and focus on things she has been wanting to do.

“None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so this is an opportunity for me to be able to do some of the things I’ve wanted to do,” said Wagner. “One of the things about this job is that since we see clients on a regular basis, we just can’t take a month off or a few weeks off. To some degree, you’re tied to the job. So, I am looking forward to having the freedom to do other things at my leisure.”

Wagner said she is a fan of taking part in outdoor sports including kayaking, camping, snowshoeing, downhill skiing and cross-country skiing.

Another favorite interest of hers is traveling.

“My son is in Detroit, my daughter and son-in-law are in Seattle, my sister is in Tennessee and my brother is in Florida,” said Wagner. “So, being able to see family means I have to travel, and I like to do that.”

Wagner is also a blackbelt in the martial art of Hapkido and is an instructor in Battle Creek.

As a member of the Global Hapkido Association, she has traveled to South Korea twice and also visited the country on her own.

Still, as much as she is looking forward to doing other things, Wagner said she will miss her co-workers and patients.

“We have worked together for a really long time, and I have a lot of clients who I have really liked as people,” she said. “Whether I’ve worked with them for a year or for many years, it’s hard to say goodbye. I will be transferring many of them to my colleagues so they’re going to be in good hands,  but it still is going to be difficult to have all those goodbyes.”

Wagner said seeking mental health treatment carries less of a stigma compared to when she began her career.

“Yes, things have changed a lot,’ she said. “Obviously, four decades ago, we didn’t have cell phones, we didn’t have social media, we didn’t have a pandemic that we had to live through. Those things have certainly shaped a lot of people’s lives. But I think things like insurance has changed a lot. We finally got parity for mental health, so insurance had to offer services not only for physical health but mental health which made mental health services more available to people, which I think was good.

“Overall, we understand that mental health is as important as physical health. There is less stigma about it, but I would not say there’s no stigma. But we are better about understanding our population in general and better about understanding that it’s important to take care of your mental health.”

As she gets set to start a new chapter in her life, Wagner said she feels fortunate to have spent most of her career at Oaklawn.

“I work with a really great group of people here, and we have always worked hard to provide really good service,” said Wagner. “I’ve had such an incredible number of just really fabulous patients who have come in here and they’re just everyday people from different walks of life who are dealing with some particular issue, worry or concern and they just want to be better. I consider myself lucky to have worked with them.”