Why she chose this career path: “I had an internship in my undergrad working with kids at an after-school program and it was like a really informal kind of after-school program. I found that my favorite part was getting to know the kids and hearing about where they came from and what they wanted to do in life and seeing them accomplish some goals over the course of the year. That was kind of dipping my toes in the water of doing therapy and I really liked that aspect, of so I decided to become a therapist and went to grad school. Since graduating I haven't looked back and I don't know what else I would be doing. Being a psychologist is the perfect job for me. I just love seeing changes in people as they reach their goals and open up when maybe they haven't been able to before. I am honored to be part of their journey
Covid impact:
“I mean it was certainly a huge adjustment doing therapy over Zoom and I had to learn a lot of new strategies to use in therapy. When we are in an office it creates more of an opportunity to do drawing activities or play games or go for walks. During Covid, I had to learn virtual activities to encourage participation in therapy while holding space for these huge changes that were incredibly unexpected and could be stressful, while also managing my own reactions to changes in life due to the pandemic.”
Why Seven Hills?
“So I've been with Seven Hills since I was an intern in grad school. I had a two-year internship here and I really loved the support from colleagues and my supervisors and just felt really valued, which is not a common experience as an intern or a student so it was a really lovely experience during my training. When I heard that I could also be hired, I pretty much never wanted to leave because of the community of people here who are always willing to help. The help and support that I've been able to get for myself as I am growing and learning to help with my clients and have people cheering on the work that I'm doing has been invaluable to me, so I never left!”
Reducing Mental Health Stigma:
“Talking about it. I think your (18 yrs) generation has made some huge strides with people being more open about their mental health struggles and getting help and kind of lessening that stigma. Younger people are normalizing that we all struggle and we all need help and support sometimes and there's no shame in getting help. I think talking about it and learning more about ourselves is going to help to normalize it for the next Generations.”
“I think the world is a really stressful place. There are so many societal stressors. The past several years with the pandemic and the political climate I think have been pretty heavy on some people's thoughts and emotions. With stigma being reduced more people are open to getting that help and realizing that they don't have to be struggling, and can even help others.”