I love being a therapist. I’ve done many things throughout my life and will probably continue to try on many different kinds of hats as I get older, but nothing has captured my heart the way facilitating therapeutic journeys has. A repeated conversation in supervision sessions with the team is how essential our own self-awareness and introspection is to the work we do with others. If we are not able to identify what’s going on with ourselves, we might miss some important elements going on with our clients. Becoming a therapist is committing to a lifetime of doing our own work and examining, over and over again, the parts that make us who we are. It’s an enormous undertaking, but for me, it’s the most meaningful challenge I can take on in this lifetime.
I’ve always been led by big “helper parts” of my personality. My commitment to serving others started very young and never left. I believe my helper parts make it sustainable to do the work of cultivating greater self-awareness. I’m able to conceptualize spending time doing my own work as serving a larger purpose of facilitating the work of others. In trying to “do our own work” we therapists face the same challenges that everyone does; where do we find the time, where do we start, how do we pin down some of the more uncomfortable inner experiences long enough to look more closely, what even IS mindfulness? When we explore these questions with our clients, trust me when I say we’ve been down that path many times before.
As a Colorado hiker, I’m aware of how all paths change. You can hike the same trail a dozen times and it will be completely different in spring as opposed to summer and from one year to the next. The value in hiking the same trail many times can become more trust and more surefootedness with the route. We know there’s a bridge over the stream, we just might not know how high the water is this time around. Over time, therapists become great trail guides. We know which plants are edible and where the rocks jut out just right to keep the rain off if the weather comes through. Not every therapist has been down the same trail, and finding the right guide depends on the type of terrain you’re interested in traversing. A 14’er is not the same as a stroll along the river, although I would argue both are valuable for different reasons.
Something I look for in the therapists that join our team is a quality of introspection, curiosity and self-compassion. If we’re able to offer these to ourselves, the work of offering these to our clients becomes so much more accessible. I am proud to say I see these qualities in each of the therapists at Four Pillars. Even though each of us may have a different favorite trail, I trust that we each came equipped with the right tools for the environment.
Searching for a therapist can be daunting. If this is a search you’re undertaking, consider which trail you’re most interested in exploring. Are you willing to venture down unknown side paths or are you intent on getting to the summit as quickly as possible? There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to a therapeutic journey, only a willingness to start. Feel free to reach out to me if the Four Pillars team aligns with the journey you’re hoping to take. Feel free to reach out even if it doesn’t feel like we align. Over time I’ve developed some creative ideas for where else you might find a good trail guide – or at least a really well crafted map.
In Gratitude,
Kelly
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