A little bit about me…
I have wanted to be a therapist since I was an older adolescent. It is kind of a weird career aspiration for a teenager, but I was not really an average kid. After earning my B.A. in Psychology I tried other career paths, including teaching Graphic Arts in which I hold a Master’s Degree. I did this in part because I wanted to make sure I had the maturity and focus that is essential to being a good therapist. But when the time was right my heart and my head brought me back to Psychology.
Psychology appeals to me on a number of different levels. I love it as an academic subject and as an ever-evolving science. It suits my personality as a highly sensitive, empathic, compassionate person who, as a kid, had already spent a lot of time trying to understand why people did some of the confusing things they did. I have never been afraid of being present with a person experiencing emotional pain. I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember, and life had given me plenty of opportunities to practice. In times when I needed it, my own therapy helped me grow in ways I found invaluable. And some powerful lessons proved to me that pain and discomfort, ironically, can show us the brightest parts of ourselves.
The thing that makes me love being a therapist isn’t really about my nerdy love of the brain (although it really helps). It’s about the reward of connecting with another individual and witnessing his or her growth. Our modern world doesn’t always make deep connection easy. But facing the most vulnerable parts of ourselves is often best done within the context of a safe, trusting relationship. And it is never dull, because each person is so delightfully different.
You know, people say that therapists get into their jobs because they want to figure themselves out. I suppose on some level, and to different degrees for different therapists, this is true. But what I find is that my own growth as an individual is a serendipitous byproduct of working with others in an authentic way. What a gift!