My 10-Year Therapist Anniversary

I’ve now been practicing* as a therapist for 10 years! That includes 5 years post-licensure and 5 years being a trainee therapist. I cannot believe it’s been so long – and I still like to think of myself as young!

I still remember the July day that I finally became licensed 5 years ago, after passing the oral exam as the last step of the process. The world was on fire in the pandemic and I was going through some personal hardships but I still nearly cried tears of joy at this achievement! Everything I had worked so hard for was finally paying off.

I am so honored and humbled to be able to support people through some of their hardest times in life. I’ve learned so much from my patients that I can continue to apply with new people and I also continue reading and training constantly to be the best psychologist I can be.

These 10 years include working with patients for the first time, going on internship in Memphis, graduating from my Ph.D. program, completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Augusta, finally moving back to Atlanta, beginning to work in private practice, becoming board certified in child and adolescent psychology, and settling into a work life that is no longer just focused on achievement and moving on to the next milestone.

Where do I want to go next? Through my digital and social media, I’m hoping to reach more and more people who need care for the specialty diagnoses I love (e.g., OCD, ARFID, BDD, OCPD, SM) and may not be able to access traditional therapy.

What am I doing today to celebrate? Uhh, I’ll get a big hug from Mr. Darcy.

Thanks for reading my little posts! Thank you to 10 years’ worth of patients who have put up with my sense of humor and caring ~a lot~ and being very structured and organized.

*This reminds me of a joke by Paul Rudd:

Zach Galifianakis: “Are you practicing?”

Paul Rudd: “No. I’m not a practicing Jew. I perfected it.”