On Becoming a Black Family Therapist

       I sense that my theoretical orientation will continue to evolve, particularly as I take more systems-based classes such as family therapy. While I see value in focusing on the role of the individual in mental health problem development and treatment, it seems that this is a short-sighted and less than holistic approach. With that said, while I am still early in my professional development and theoretical orientation, there are life experiences that have led me to gravitate towards particular orientations. I began my graduate education in counseling psychology with the following idea; that all humans are born with the capacity to grow and evolve into psychologically and physically functional beings, if given the right environment. From a physiological standpoint a child requires that his basic needs for shelter, food and water, and physical safety be met in order for normal growth and development to occur. I contended that what was often neglected in modern c...

  It appears that overwhelm is setting in. I spoke with my site supervisor as a preparatory step for conducting my first in-take session. I’m actually excited to be back in the chair, working with clients, especially as my first intakes will be with two tweens.  At least the age demographic of the clients is familiar (my kids are similar ages), and I find that this is reducing my anxiety. But as I queried about what information to gather during the intake, there was a LOT.  There are just so many directions I could go with this process, and there is, of course because this is psychology, no “correct” direction to go.   My supervisor gave me additional resources and all of that added to my felt sense of overwhelm. In this moment, I need to digest all of this. To sit back for a second and just get a more clear sense of what “picture” of the client I would like to capture, so that I can best serve their needs.  Reminding myself that I am not going to get it “right”...