Why Mental Health? (Elisa)

Healing is a messy business, because it is so beautifully human. It is a common misconception that therapy is for “broken” people. Life is hard, and trauma is unfortunately inevitable. We heal better in community with each other; so why make healing harder by doing it alone?

Growing up, the mental illnesses I struggled with made me feel so isolated and alone in my suffering. I didn’t have the words to adequately describe what I was experiencing, which made my healing process so much more excruciating. In my teen years, I found so much solace in theater because it was a script for how to connect to a character, and then ultimately myself. Theater became such a safe place for me, it was what I initially pursued majoring in when I went off to college.

I quickly learned just how competitive the program was, which wasn’t for me. As I contemplated what my next step would be; I found myself drawn to psychology. For my bachelors degree I completed my internship at a local intimate partner violence safe house. It was here I found my passion for working with trauma. I worked there for several years before needing to quit to address severe physical symptoms of burnout. I applied and was accepted to my graduate counseling program not long after.

I met with one counselor in high school to address suicidal ideation and self-harm behaviors. In my sessions, I felt very unseen and invalidated; which caused me to feel very resistant to receive mental health support. I do not want anyone who meets with me to leave the therapeutic space the same way I did. I want to honor and celebrate the healing power of our humanness; which includes the messy stuff we have a tendency to avoid.

I came across a quote that says “healing isn’t becoming the best version of yourself, healing is letting the worst parts of yourself be loved.” It is such an honor and a privilege that I do not take for granted, to walk alongside and provide a space for the most vulnerable parts of ourselves. Learning to accept all parts of ourselves, is where we really start growing.

-Elisa