Why are you working in therapy/mental health?
So many reasons. It began when I was a kid and loved the original “The Bob Newhart Show.” Newhart played a psychologist who lived in Chicago, and I wanted to be him. I loved the idea of sitting down, talking to people and finding out more about them. It recently dawned on me — 40 years later — that I’ve made my dream come true!
I also was a very hypervigilant, anxious child due to circumstances in my upbringing and that affected me the rest of my life. It wasn’t until I sought answers through my own therapy that I realized the ramifications of my upbringing and how those issues carried through my adult years. The journey was so satisfying and enlightening.
So, later in life, I enrolled in graduate school and eventually became a licensed counselor, and eventually a licensed clinical counselor (the highest level counselor license in Illinois). I have my own face-to-face practice in Chicago, and I also see health coaching clients in my studio, plus now I have my online practice through Talkspace. I love it! In fact, I was reading an article today about retiring early, and I thought, “How lucky am I that I don’t want to retire! I love what I do so much that I cannot imagine living without it!”
What made you start working at Talkspace?
Frankly, I was being nosy! I had never heard of Talkspace, so when the ad popped up on my Facebook, I wanted to find out more about the company and how this kind of therapy worked. I had heard of teletherapy, but this was different. I followed the link and the rest is history!
I had no intention to work with Talkspace and no preconceived notions about the company. But when I learned what Talkspace is all about, I wanted to work with them. Then, after I attended the Future of Therapy Clinical Conference, I was pretty amazed at how extremely lucky I am! I cannot express enough how impressed I am with Talkspace.
What has made you feel the most pride in your work?
Can you think of a specific instance that was inspiring?
There have been several. Recently a client had one of those moments I mentioned when she began to realize her behavior was actually enabling others to treat her a certain way. Something finally resonated, and it was so cool to watch her body language and listen to her words. I could tell she was incredulous! And the light bulb illuminated! This is so inspiring.
Why is what you do so important?
If you had one piece of advice for a therapy seeker, what would it be?
I would advise them that mental health changes happen over a long period of time because we have spent many years with our brains wired in particular ways. It takes time to reveal what those ways are, figure out why they wired in that fashion and then work to make positive changes. I’m a big interpersonal neurobiology nerd and I apply in my practice the findings from recent neuroscience research. Change takes time, effort, tears, commitment and motivation, but it will be worth it in the end.
What do you do for fun?
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