We Came From Somewhere -- A Personal Story of Beginnings and Gratitude
By Mary Attridge, ATR-BC, ATCS, CMHC, EMDRIA-CIT
I am an art psychotherapist. I began as an artist who thought she was going to be going into medicine and discovered her love and passion for psychology and listening to and understanding others. During my freshman year of college I wondered if art could be used to help someone through difficult times as it had done so for me. I quickly learned that there was an established profession of art therapy and set my sights on this for my occupation. I did observation with some patient interaction that focused on establishing rapport with an art therapist in Brooklyn, at a Children’s Hospital. It gave me a better sense of what it was like to hold space for folks who were in the swell of emotion.
I pursued my masters in art therapy and creativity development, carefully selecting a program that aligned with my values and goals and with whom I was a fit for theirs. I engaged in two internships during that time and was afforded the opportunity to increase my experience in working with clients. Some time after I graduated, I began to work on my post graduate hours, first as an art therapist and next as a provisionally licensed clinical mental health counselor. Again, I was fortunate to have individuals, couples, and families who extended some initial trust that I could see them.
As a budding therapist, I was so nervous and did not want to do anyone any further harm, imagining that someone who came to therapy had already been through a lot. We’ve all been through a lot in our lives! I also felt some insecurity mainly because of the thought, “who am I to think that I am somehow a greater expert of someone than themself?”
Would I know what to say, what information would be meaningful and relevant, which interventions might be helpful? And then I would remind myself of something my mentor told me, even gave me: it’s ok to not be perfect at this because that’s what’s realistic. It is how we hold and handle our imperfections with our clients that matters the most and they are opportunities to normalize this beauty and for the client to have a different experience and one that might be most helpful.
As I look back on my time as an intern and even being provisionally licensed, I had excellent supervisors, I had excellent training, I knew when to seek support, and I was in my own therapy. I am so grateful for the clients that chose to see me, knowing I was still learning. I, and other mental health clinicians like me, needed that training. It is imperative that we know what the research is and choose evidence based practices- that is a part of safety for the client and the professional. And I think that maybe we take for granted that the other thing that is evidence based is the alchemy between us as human beings, and I learned this from my early clients.
If you are wanting or needing to engage in therapy and the wait is long, or there seems to be some other logistical barrier, you are not compromising your care by seeing someone who is still in their training, whether as an masters level intern or someone who is in their provisional period of licensure post graduate. Speaking from experience, I can say with certainty that interns have a deep and intense desire to help their clients and will do whatever it takes to provide the best care possible. They are highly engaged, present, and self-aware. They don’t operate on auto-pilot or make assumptions, but instead approach each client with curiosity and care.
The Healing Group is proud to open our Specialty Intern Clinic with hand-picked interns ready to serve our community. We have confidence in their abilities and are excited to have them as part of THG. If you would like to meet with one of our excellent Specialty Interns, contact a Client Care Coordinator at 801-305-3171 to schedule an appointment at a discounted rate.