The Samaritan Connection - 6

Why I Became A Psychologist
By Lesley Huff , Psy.D., Licensed Psychologist
If you had the chance to ask my
parents why I became a psychologist,
they would probably tell you that it is
because my fi rst word was in the form of
a question. I was curious about the world, about people, about
how things worked. My parents would also say I came by this
honestly, given the curiosity that they themselves displayed.
At the same time, my questions and observations were not
always appreciated. I defi nitely had some work to do in my
delivery and assessing whether someone was a welcoming
recipient of my keen observations. Very few people appreciate
a little kid walking around announcing " clean up in aisle 4 " !
Like some children, I also took on the weight of believing
that things that happened in the world, especially in my
family, were connected to me, and that I alone had the best
suggestions on how things should be fi xed. And, my anxious
personality insisted that I fi nd a sense of control by trying to
infl uence the world this way. In school, I was the one who
listened to my friends and doled out meaningful advice, or so
I thought. When I was considering my major in college, I am
grateful that my wise mother encouraged me to steer away
from psychology, since she could tell I was a bit too invested!
Instead, I found my way into the business side of the
technology industry, fi rst through marketing and production
forecasting, then to strategic planning and process
improvement. After a while, I realized that this work was
not feeding my soul. I decided to take a position with a
local hospital that was setting up a process improvement
department. It had everything to encourage me to put back on
my childhood cape, and sport the big " A " for altruism across
my chest! Depending on whose perspective you consider,
after 3 months, I either ran screaming from the building, or I
was fi red. First, after having successfully started my career in
the technology fi eld (motto " better to ask forgiveness than
permission " ), I was ill-prepared for the structure and politics
of a hospital environment. It was a painful, but important
(realization in hindsight) experience to learn the limits of my
control.
I decided to return back to school for psychology, with
the intention of obtaining a doctorate in Social Psychology
and going to work at the United Nations. Having grown up
in Washington, D.C. with many classmates whose parents
worked for the UN, World Bank, etc., this was a career path I
could envision for myself. Because my Bachelors and Masters
degrees to that point were in business, I needed to complete
some of the foundational classes in psychology. When I took
a course in Counseling Psychology, I felt at home. I decided
to pursue a Masters in psychology at Chestnut Hill College.
While completing my degree, I was fortunate enough to
work at the Council for Relationships, one of the oldest
marriage and family therapy centers in the U.S., as their
intake coordinator. At the time, they also ran a post-graduate
certifi cate program. One of my employee perks was being able
to sit in classes taught by very knowledgeable clinicians. It
was a wonderful balance between the research based lessons
from my Masters program and the pragmatic aspects from the
seasoned practitioners teaching the post-graduate certifi cate
program.
My advisor during the Masters program at Chestnut Hill
College was serving as the chair of the Doctoral program. He
likes to joke that I did not apply for the Doctoral program, but
rather he simply informed me that I would be continuing my
studies. Throughout my education at Chestnut Hill College,
I was truly fortunate to have wonderful professors who taught
me about Object Relations Psychoanalysis (how we develop
relationships), Strategic Family Systems (the roles we play in
our families and systems), and Post-Modern Constructivism
(the ways we create our own subjective reality). Through my
classes and hands-on clinical experiences, I began to realize
that therapy was more about walking alongside our clients
with curiosity rather than brilliantly offering the nugget that
would fi x everything in their lives, regardless of how much
they wished for this. I learned that I could no more take credit
for my clients' successes than I could blame myself for their
struggles. I often remind clients even now that I have the
" easy seat, " since I do not have to do any of the things we
are discussing. I learned that we do all things for some reason
(even if it is unconscious) and by bearing witness to a client
explaining their approach to life, it starts to make more sense
to both the therapist and the client. Sometimes the ways in
which we have twisted experiences and interpretations to suit
our needs also becomes more clear.
During my internship and post-doctoral work with the
masterful clinicians at Behavioral Healthcare Consultants,
I was able to increase my experience of running groups,
Dialectical Behavior Therapy as a modality, conducting
assessments, and Mindful Self-Compassion. My late
supervisor Dorothy Gamble, PsyD, encouraged me to apply
for a scholarship to further pursue my training in Mindful
Self-Compassion, even past the deadline. ( " Doesn't hurt to
6 * The Samaritan Connection
The Samaritan Connection

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