Becoming a Therapist

My name is Steve and I am a therapist located in Michigan. This blog post will be a personal one as it explains how I ended up becoming a therapist! Like most people, it took me time to figure out what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. 

Looking back, I was really unsure of what I wanted to do in high school, but had an aptitude for math and natural sciences and really enjoyed helping people. These aptitudes in addition to really enjoying volunteer medical roles, resulted in me wanting to pursue medical school.

About halfway through my undergraduate education I realized I enjoyed helping people through my volunteer work far more than other things I was learning and experiencing. In addition to going on my own mental health journey and exploring my own identity, it was beginning to become clear that there were other path’s that were worth considering. In speaking with a mentor in the psychology department, she told me that she thought I would make a great therapist, and that I should consider applying to a Master of Social Work program. Upon doing some reflection upon my interests, passions, and the work that I found most fulfilling,  I recognized that perhaps becoming a social worker was a good path for me.  

After Graduating from the University of Michigan with my bachelor’s in psychology, I started my  Master of Social Work program at the University of Michigan for the following fall Semester. At this point in my life, I really knew that I wanted to help people individually. I wanted to help address items that affect people’s mental health, help them identify what matters to them, and work towards helping set and achieve goals around their values and needs.

While in school, I was trained in helping people work towards understanding and working on difficulties with physical health (diagnoses like HIV, limited mobility, chronic pain), mental health (things like depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress management), and navigating aspects of identity (race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and a variety of other items). This experience gave me a solid foundation that I took to a then small group private practice that catered to the LGBTQ community when I graduated with my degree in social work. 

While working for the small group therapy practice, I slowly built up a caseload that consisted predominantly of those navigating identity, struggling with the effect of traumas, experiencing uncontrollable worrying or sadness, diagnosed with Autism, or who feel their lives are controlled by their emotions. I was really able to develop my own therapeutic style that focuses on creating a good relationship with clients that is built on honesty, healthy boundaries, and centering what it is that people are wanting/needing to work on. Additionally, I pursued a lot of training in helping people explore identity, address traumatic experiences, manage experiences of anxiety and depression, and the variety of care options that exist to consumers (no one size approach to mental health fits all). I created Connecting Heals, LLC to really allow myself to practice as I need to and provide quality care to Residents in the state of Michigan.

My practice functions from the idea that Connecting with others can be so challenging when we are struggling with our mental health, and is often so healing for us. Connecting to others, to ourselves, and the puzzle pieces is healing thus Connecting Heals. Welcome! Contact us to start your Healing Journey.