When people hear the word “caregiver,” it can evoke quite a variety of different professions and identities. I’m thinking about, and using the word caregiver in a couple different ways. There are the family caregivers: parents and grandparents, family members, neighbors and friends who take care of children as they grow. Then there are the professional caregivers (and healers) who work in our community. They can be medical professionals or in the allied health fields (i.e., doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, physical therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, personal aides, etc.) or they can provide personal services and body work (i.e., massage therapists, yoga instructors, Reiki practitioners, stylists, and trainers, etc.) I also believe that healing/caregiving/social justice can be brought into our communities by artists, activists, community organizers, and those who work with nonprofits. I’m interested in working with a diverse set of clients, and want to help sustain the good work of healers and caregivers in my community.
My fundamental belief is that anyone who works with other people’s bodies and healing gives a great deal of themselves and needs their own support and care.
Also, as a psychotherapist and a social worker, I am interested in wellbeing and healthy function at the individual level, but also in the community setting and at the societal level. I think true healing happens when many simultaneous dimensions of a community are engaged and enlivened. So that’s what I’m hoping for: Engagement, dialogue, self care, art and healing in my life and in the lives of those I work with as a psychotherapist.