“But will we ‘click’ when we chat?”

Choosing your therapist is such a personal decision. You’ll be doing such important work together that will impact multiple areas of your life…you must feel a connection and a foundation upon which you can build a sense of trust.

Let’s start with why I do what I do.

I’m going to keep it real here, just as I do in every one of my sessions with each client: I’ve struggled with my “why” along the way, as it continues to change as my journey evolves.

Looking back on my childhood, therapy was not a ‘thing’ my family believed in. As a first-generation Hispanic, I wasn’t exactly taught to go share my feelings with a complete stranger! I don’t fault my parents, that’s just not the way we handled things; it wasn’t a part of our culture. Instead, I focused on chasing the next gold star and keeping my eye on the prize to make my parents proud. When uncomfortable feelings came up, I didn’t acknowledge them or focus on them. I tried to keep it all together and kept it moving.

I think that’s why, when I took my first psychology class, I was so fascinated and immediately soaked it all in. It kindled a desire to learn more, understand more, and I started to realize how I could help others. In retrospect, I was probably trying to do some of my own inner work by applying everything I was learning. 

As I pursued my graduate degree in Psychology, I continued to feel inspired and interested in everything I was learning. Then it hit me. If I wasn’t aware that any of this information was out there, then there was a good chance that a lot of other people were missing these ‘tools of life’ as well.  I decided to seek counseling for myself to explore some of my stuff (because we all have stuff), and it further confirmed the benefit of being able to do inner work.

The decision to begin therapy for myself wasn’t an easy one. First-generation Hispanic, remember? We don’t ‘do’ therapy. While I was making my way through grad school, I’d see flyers and emails that highly recommended therapy for every student (juggling the demands of grad school with everything else is tough!) but at first, I resisted. I told myself that it wasn’t for me. I was high functioning, why would I need therapy?