How did you learn about the Green House?
A therapist from LifeWorks made quite an impression on me when she recommended the Green House program during a seminar given in my Couples and Families Counseling course. My graduate program did not offer a diverse selection of courses related to cultural competency, clinical skills, and psychotherapeutic experience with marginalized populations. For this, I sought out the leadership of the Green House program to evolve my clinical knowledge, deepen my analytic skills, and strengthen my identity as a therapist.
What drew you to the Green House?
I read that the Green House program offered depth psychotherapy training, specific clinical experience, and cultivates these standards by investing in a community of supportive staff, resources, and professional coalitions not available at most local colleges and universities. As a recent graduate, I can attest that my clinical counseling program was not designed with LGBTQIA+, erotic orientations, and consensually non-monogamous relationships in mind. As a queer-identified person who maintains and continues to develop a passion for sharpening my culturally competent practice, I struggled throughout my program to find clinical examples of relationships that represented my experiences. Furthermore, I want to practice competently throughout the therapeutic process.
What are you hoping to gain by being in the Green House and how do you imagine it will impact your future?
My hopes for my Green House learning experience are to develop distinctive clinical experience with LGBTQIA+, kinky, and non-monogamous clients. I remain eager to grow in a learning environment that will positively challenge and supplement my training from my graduate school education. As such, my destination for this journey includes familiarizing myself with common presenting issues and tailoring a therapeutic safe space where each client can explore the unique difficulties they face in meaningful ways. I remain open to developing and applying my meta skills to support and celebrate the diversity which is often castigated in larger society. Ultimately, I want to learn to be a better resource to my communities by contributing to the movement for quality mental health and holistic wellbeing. By gaining more culturally competent therapeutic training I can be one step closer to my goal.
In the short amount of time, since you joined the Green House, what has surprised you most and why?
I am most surprised that this learning experience involves all members of the group practice. This reinforces a welcoming atmosphere for a new person trying to fit in. I also find comfort in the fact that the staff of LifeWorks reflects the communities they support.
Anything else professionally that you are particularly looking forward to this year?
I am looking forward to enriching my understanding of depth psychotherapy as a methodology to support exploration and growth within the therapeutic relationship. I believe the valuable experience I will gain in the Green House will yield transferable skills to whichever community my work compels me.