I have been passionate about helping people for many years.

 

At the beginning of my journey as a helping professional, much of my focus was on my own gratification. It feels good to have an impact on someone's life, and I imagined myself as a clinician who could offer endless wisdom and guidance to others. The reward would be the good feeling that comes from being competent and facilitating positive change.

 

It turns out that the work of psychotherapy is not so straightforward. Moments of rewarding change were interspersed with confusion and failure, and I began to recognize that a professional identity based on the need for validation didn't equate to real change or growth. Not to mention the burnout that comes from relying on someone else’s health to validate my emotional needs.

 

Time and experience led to a growing need for a new therapeutic paradigm, one that was more authentic and grounded in my relationships with others. I began letting go of my personal needs and responding more to the immediacy of each session, resulting in a more organic, relationally based way of working that has resulted in more effective, long-lasting change.

 

I now see my role as a facilitator in the process of change. At the core of my perspective on psychological change is a focus on development. My job is to develop strong relationships, gain understanding of the factors that have shaped development over the lifespan, and target the areas that currently produce social and emotional difficulties. After more than a decade as a helping professional, I am convinced that people have a natural ability to grow, and that I need only to help identify and remove the barriers that get in the way.

 

Experience also comes with specific knowledge, and when it makes sense, I more directly share what I have learned. Although I do not believe that telling people what to do is an effective strategy for change, it sometimes makes sense to make direct suggestions and be honest about my perspective on an issue.

 

My training in the scientist-practitioner model also leads me to believe deeply in the need for an empirically informed practice. I can't do this work on my own, and I rely on the knowledge that comes through the latest research and theoretical development by scientists and leaders in the field.

 

I remain invested in my personal growth, as it is essential to know myself to be able to step into complex issues and lives with the capacity to manage to my own concerns. I attend personal therapy, engage in ongoing reading and reflection, continually develop strategies to manage difficult emotions, and consult with colleagues for outside perspectives on my work.

 

My professional identity is different now than it was at the beginning of my career, and it will continue to evolve throughout the years, but change will always be in service of embodying a caring and ethical psychologist.