When you become a psychotherapist, everyone wants to know what your specialty will be. “Which population do you work with?” is a question I’m frequently asked. In preparation for launching my psychotherapy practice, I’ve been reflecting on this question for several years.
I came to the conclusion that I wanted to work with healers and caregivers, in part because that’s what I’ve done for the last three years working first for the Gift of Life Family House with families going through transplant and then as a dialysis social worker. I think those that care for the ailing, those that bring health and wellness into their communities need their own supports and their own understanding and recognition. I want to be a therapist to the healers and caregivers among us, and I use both those terms in the broadest sense.
Another of my identities is as a writer, and I previously worked for start-ups, so I also knew I was committed to working with those who were creators in some capacity–those who struggled with making room for art in their lives or wanted to bring something new into the world: those who were courageous enough to call themselves artists or entrepreneurs. There is no test to pass and no proof to furnish, if you consider yourself an artist or an entrepreneur, I agree.
So here I am, launching a website, hoping you’ll see some of yourself reflected back, and you will take a chance and reach out.