Career Path

After many years of going back and forth between the beauty industry, a college degree, a corporate career, or an MBA, I finally settled on a career path: Therapist.

When I realized I wanted to become a therapist, it was an emotional moment for me. I was visiting my naturopath who also does acupuncture, and she left me on the table with tiny needles along my back. She asked me to really visualize why I was here. She asked me to consider how my body and mind want to be treated. At first I drifted off and thought about work, other stresses in my life. It took a few minutes of being alone on that table for me to realize and finally admit, "This is my career path; regardless of how hard it is going to be."

For the past several years, there have been many, many blockages, bumps in the road, and other issues preventing me (or so it seemed) from achieving what I wanted in a career. Knowing what I know now, and what I've gone through, I think I will actually make a better therapist now than if I had gone to school right out of high school and graduated at 25. I've thought for years that I just hate working; I've wondered if I was cut out to be a housewife (nothing against housewives - I'm just not cut out to be a homemaker.)

Lewis & Clark College has a great program for LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counseling) with a specialty in addictive behavior. Statistically, a majority of those who come to a counselor at any point in their lives are facing some form of addiction. And because I would especially like to counsel young women and girls, I plan to get a minor in gender studies while studying for my BA.

I just thought I'd share this, because it's a big step for me. Those who know me the most know I am really hard on myself, at that at times, I've considered a "way out" of my own suffering. Often times in life we don't give ourselves enough credit or we have a million excuses about why we can't do a, b, or c. Right now I don't have a car, and I found myself recently thinking, I can't go to school without a car. I shouldn't even try. I think it was Yoda who said, "There is no try. Do, or do not." If there is a will, there is a way.

What prompted me to become a therapist? Well, growing up in a family where it was a common theme in our house to say "I'm depressed." My dad, although I do not see him often, suffers from manic depression and suicidal behavior. I never thought twice about it when I was younger, until I realized that most people don't get depressed as often as my family did. On the other side of my family, there have been huge struggles with addiction and codependency. Not to give away all the personal details of my life, but this is part of my inspiration. And also - there is a stigma in American culture about mental health, that it should all stay hush hush. That's complete and utter bullshit.

Another part of my inspiration to become a therapist stemmed from a very abusive relationship I stayed in for 5 years, on and off. I was 15 when it began and 21 when it ended - maybe even 22. I was probably drawn to this guy in the first place because of his "troubled past", but it wasn't long into our relationship that he started to become controlling and physically abusive. He kept me from seeing friends first, and not long after began the fist fights, broken windows, personal belongings smashed to pieces, even being thrown from a moving vehicle. I lived and breathed how difficult it was to regain enough self esteem to get out of that situation, I really feel it is my calling to help codependent women (and men) see their self worth and explore why they feel the way they do; on the other side of that, I truly want to help those who feel the need to become abusive people.

Anyone who has read this post: Please stop shying away from mental health issues. If your loved ones are crying out for help, be there for them. You never know when someone's last day on earth will be. Be there for your friends, encourage them through hard times. Don't assume that because someone is feeling negative or sad that they are just "a screwed up person" or "they'll get through it". Learn to share in their pain and extend compassion to them (and yourself.)

-Becky