Clients often ask me why I chose to become a psychologist. I initially discovered psychology as a college student and I quickly felt drawn to study more, as I was fascinated by the variety of ways in which people live their lives. I began to study brain functioning, human development, and philosophies of human experience. Through studying research, examining my experiences of life and those of others, I came to believe that while each person is dealt a certain set of cards, we have choice about how to play them.
I have come to have two main beliefs that drive my work. The first is that I believe understanding the nature of the cards we are dealt can provide great relief. However, this understanding alone is often not enough for growth or change. The second is that I believe reflecting on one's individual experience of the human journey with others is what allows us to grow and heal from painful experiences. I believe psychotherapy is a unique vehicle in which to accomplish both of those goals.
A good therapist can serve as a mirror, allowing us to see ourselves from different angles, and consider things about our thoughts, feelings and behaviors that we may have simply reacted to in the past. Seeing ourselves in those new ways allows us to have more choice, thus providing opportunity to develop more helpful patterns of behavior, reduce emotional strain and change the dynamics of difficult relationships.
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom"
- Viktor E. Frankl
"I have learned now that while those who speak about one's miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more."
- C.S. Lewis
"Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed." - G. K. Chesterton
"Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime's work, but it's worth the effort". - Mr. Rogers
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt". "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand".
- Margery Williams
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