In the ancient story of the 5 blind people and the elephant, each person described the elephant as they could feel and detect it, but none of them had the entire story. The elephant was indeed a complicated entity, more than a sum of its parts.
I see each psychological theorist similarly. Each theorist saw how humans function through their own personal viewpoint. And each one was right, but didn’t have the entire picture either. We humans are a complex bunch. It takes many different psychological theories to understand us.
When I worked with clients. I used several different orientations. Carl Roger’s unconditional positive regard for the client, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) Therapy, Pia Mellody’s Post Induction Therapy Model, Somatic Experience & advances in Neurobiology all helped me see the client in front of me in various lights.
Social work was a second career for me, which I discovered after getting a second undergraduate degree in Psychology, at Rutgers University, as a stay at home mother of two children. I went on to graduate from the Masters of Social Work program at Rutgers University at 47 years old.
From there, I began my social work career working at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center as the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Social Worker in the Frederick B. Cohen, MD Comprehensive Cancer and Blood Disorder Center for almost 7 years. I finished up my tenure at NBIMC as a social worker on the post-operative floor for heart surgery for 9 months. In both oncology and the post heart surgical floor, I learned about medical culture and the viewpoint of patients in dealing with their diagnoses, interactions with their doctors both in the out patient and in patient settings, waiting for medical testing, and dealing with medical bills. I opened my private practice July 2012 and closed it March 2019. I am now focusing on sharing the psychoeducation I shared with my clients through my blog “Tools for Tough Times”.
As a straight, cis woman, I have two transgender family members. I’m sensitive to the experiences of trans people as well as the experiences of their family members.
In addition to having a passion for learning about psychology, I also enjoy photography. The photos on my website and my blog are mostly photos I’ve taken. If I didn’t take the photo, I will tell you who did.