History of Therapist Interrupted
In 1999 the movie Girl, Interrupted hit theaters. I sat riveted watching a film I related to on a very deep level. Shortly after this I went to therapy for the first time and a year later at age 20 I knew I wanted to become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). There were a few challenges along the way (complex PTSD, forced psychiatric hospitalizations, substance use) so I graduated undergrad a year late, went straight to John F. Kennedy University where I graduated after 4 years with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology and Child and Adolescent specialization. I got a job working with teens and racked up 2500 supervised hours towards my MFT License.
At this point, I was really starting to crash as it became clear the impact childhood trauma was having on me. So, in order to save my life, I had to abandon my MFT License and work full time on healing from trauma. During this process I met an amazing therapist who recognized my multiplicity (the condition of being many in one body) and helped us begin to recognize and get to know the many people in our collective and see that we all have value.
Dedication
This Substack is dedicated to anyone who’s had to take time off to stay alive or get healthy, to anyone who’s had to give up a dream, or lost their career, and to those who may feel discouraged with the direction their life has taken.
Interrupted is defined by Merrium/Webster dictionary as:
· Broken in upon
· Not Uniform,
· Not symmetrical
· To stop or hinder
· A feature of a computer that permits the temporary “interruption” of one activity (such as the execution of a program) in order to perform another.
We think of interruptions as something bad or negative, but they might be a chance for a new beginning, a turning point, a course correction, or a shift to something unexpectedly beautiful. I still struggle with whether or not I should go back and get that MFT License. Many times, I feel like a failure or imposter. It doesn’t matter that I have a Master’s in Counseling Psychology because I’m not licensed, or so the thinking goes. This year has been the year of starting new things, of grieving the loss of a goal I never accomplished, and of claiming my place in the world. I may not have the LMFT after my name, but I am still here, still hoping to make a difference, even if I am a Therapist Interrupted.
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