Welcome, I’m so glad you are here…
Some visions for my blog:
1. Share my personal life, outside my role as psychotherapist. Before becoming a counselor, I always thought how intriguing it would be to know more about my counselors, professors, mentors, and other adult role models real lives, behind their professional, emotionally intelligent selves.
How did they actually practice, what they preached?
Have you ever heard of the facebook highlight reel concept? In my therapist role: coffee in hand, relaxed, interested body stance, sitting in my comfy, office chair (sorry, no chaise lounge). Perfection, right? (Highlight reel). I’ll let you peer behind the reel, right now…
I’m writing my blog, CLEARLY…but my son really wants me to watch him and his dad play football. I can’t write and watch at the same time (I don’t REALLY have the magic wand, my solution-focused therapy concepts may have lead you to believe). So, I chose to practice what I preach, and create space for connection with my family.
Peering out the window, I smiled, clapped, cheered my son and husband on…watching as they ran, tossed the ball, back and forth, and tackled each other to the ground. Balancing my roles of being a mom, and therapist.
Now, I am back to writing again, for the moment anyway… but I’ll stop again shortly, to make homemade pizza with my family. Switching back and forth between life role hats. Therapist hat, Mom hat, Wife hat. Ect. All I can say, is thank you Bob Newhart for showing me what hat, not to wear. The “Stop it” Hat!
I am ever so grateful for the skills I have learned from my profession. I do my best to employ the skills in my real life happenings. I have my own successes and struggles (insert mouse in the corner opportunity, where you my readers come in). Some days are better than others…if you want to check the facts with my husband, kids, family and friends…could you do me a favor and at least wait until I’ve had my morning coffee. Just saying…
2. Write. Since I was a child to young adult, I have always loved to write. I journaled, I joined a young writer’s book group, I loved college and writing essays. My favorite professor let me take my exams, essay format (most people want multiple choice format). I wanted to write!
3. Review my childhood journals, and as an Internal Family Systems therapist (my adult self) be the hope merchant guide for my little girl self. I’m actually pretty excited to re-read and review my little girl writings. I journeled a lot as a young girl/teenager…but as an adult, I haven’t really, ever taken the time to read my writings. I’m kind of excited for the accountability of journeying again into my childhood. But with my adult self leading my younger self in the 6 F’s of internal family systems. 1. Find the part 2. Focus in on the part 3. Flesh out the part 4. Find how she feels toward the part 5. Befriend the part 6. Hear the hopes and fears of the part.
So maybe, just maybe, my little girl parts (that sometimes get in my adult way, I might add) would learn to trust more, and allow me to be more SELF-led. SELF: My essence or some might say spiritual higher power within, partnering with my humanness. Ultimately, releasing burdens I wasn’t meant to carry, and creating more effective coping mechanisms to walk forward in.
4. Share about grief: Writing is therapeutic to process emotions. As a therapist, I often partner with people in their grief and loss…and as a person, I have also experienced significant loss. I will write about it from the connection of others as I learn from them, and I will write about it from my own personal perspective.
5. Collaborate: A therapist to therapists…
6. Link my readers into the wealth of other individuals who have written about their emotional intelligence journeys. I may quote or link them, and then share about how their perspective, influenced or challenged mine.
7. And more…don’t want to box myself in, I’ll leave room for the surprises of my minds discovery and new ideas as I move along in this journey of blogging.
So here goes a therapists recounting… thank-you so much for stopping by!
