My journey to an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) and an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) was one with confusion in myself to that of confidence and self-esteem. My name is Laura Brownstein, and I attended Santa Monica College (SMC) following attending a Non-Public School. Once at SMC, I did not know what I wanted to major in, so I attended various classes to try to find my passion and what I hoped to pursue. I attended a psychology class call Marriage, Family and Human Intimacy, and that class formed my passion for psychology classes. I then took many different types of psychology classes and that became my major. I then transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) to further pursue psychology and applied psychology. It was at UCSB that I decided I wanted to be in the helping profession in one way or another. Following UCSB, I attended University of California, Irvine (UCI) in their Post-Baccalaureate program to gain even more experience in psychology and to get research experience as at this point, I wanted to get my PhD in Clinical Psychology. Following my time at UCI, I gained work experience in the helping profession, ranging from working at a homeless shelter, Intensive Outpatient Program, and as a Teachers Aide. I then realized that at these jobs, the clients were able to open up to me and I was seeing real change in the mental well being when I worked with them. At this point, I found my passion to be a therapist. I then enrolled in my masters program at Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). I learned so much in my program such as how to work effectively with clients, but more so about myself and barriers to work through as an effective clinician. I did my own work in my own therapy which helped me understand my countertransference and how to manage stress being in a masters program and seeing clients.
Fast forward to graduating from my masters program and becoming an AMFT. When I gained my AMFT, I was both excited and nervous to getting paid for seeing clients. Some of my worries involved having confidence in my own abilities to help clients, a term known as Imposter Syndrome. Was I actually a good therapist, could I be effective for the agency, did I make the right career choice, were all questions that ran through my head. I applied to many jobs as an AMFT with promising interviews but rejections which further solidified my Imposter Syndrome. I then applied as a Wraparound Therapist serving out-of-home youth and their families. Before this job, I had the belief that I would not work with kids and adolescents due to family dynamics and my own issues to working with them. The Wraparound position hired me so I was ready to confront my Imposter Syndrome and work with children and adolescents.
When I was working with the children and adolescents and their families, I gained so much knowledge and wisdom and had the support of amazing supervisors. I felt like I was growing and developing my confidence. I also began to really find passion and advocacy with working with this population which only grew as the time went on. Working with children and adolescents, I found, has elements of play, imagination, and a youth that adults lose as they get older. Working with this population has only led me to find my passion in working with children and adolescents and their families and getting certified in Play Therapy. I have found that play is the universal language of children and adolescents and is how they communicate.
I now am part of a private practice and work with children and adolescents and am slowly getting into navigating working with children who are part of families in separation or divorce. My passion in working with this age group and with their families I hope will only grow and my advocacy to help them, will transcend to developing policies to help this vulnerable population.
In one of my Pepperdine classes, I had an amazing professor who had us write about a quote, "The Spiritual Path is Never Straight" and my journey is just like that. I did not know what I wanted to do growing up. When I took that psychology class at SMC, that began to spark some interest and then after going to UCSB and UCI, my path became more fixed and on the goal of becoming a therapist. Now, I am focused on working with the vulnerable populations and being an advocate for them. A lot of us may think we need to follow a specific path, but a lot of the time, it does not go that way. We need to show ourselves compassion and be flexible to life's changes. I am glad I was because if I wasn't, I would not be in the position where I have found so much happiness and confidence in myself and my abilities. What does your path look like? What are some areas you can be flexible in? What does you happiness and passion look like?
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