Meet Claire!
Hi everyone! I’m Claire. As the newest member of the GT Therapy Group team, I wanted to introduce myself.
I was born and raised in Abilene, Texas. If you are unfamiliar with Abilene, watch Friday Night Lights (the movie or the TV show) and you will get a good sense of what my hometown is like. My own childhood experiences contributed a great deal to my decision to pursue a career in counseling. Before the age of eight, I had experienced loss, loved ones’ addictions, and other forms of upheaval.
After I finished second grade, I started attending Camp Mystic for Girls in the Texas Hill Country. My first summer at Mystic began just two months after my family had endured a devastating loss. My counselors, fellow campers, and the staff surrounded me with love and support and allowed me to feel whatever I needed to feel. I spent ten magical summers at Mystic as a camper and three as a counselor. While I loved being a camper, the opportunity to pour into my campers as their counselor and support them through their struggles was such a rewarding and life-changing experience. I knew at a young age that I needed to pursue a career that would allow me to make a positive impact on young people’s lives.
I went to UT Austin and studied Psychology and Human Development and Family Sciences. (Fun fact: my freshman dorm is directly behind GT, and I lived within a half-mile of GT all four years of college.) Three months after graduation, I moved to Nashville to start the Human Development Counseling master’s program at Vanderbilt. I had never lived outside of Texas before, and I only knew one person in Nashville at the time. I was lonely, nervous, scared, and unsure of what to expect.
On the first day of class, our Developmental Counseling Psychology professor passed around an article called “In Grave Danger of Growing” by Charles Seashore. The article detailed how we could expect our time in the program to be just as demanding on our personal lives as it would be on our professional lives. I found this to be overwhelmingly true during my three years at Vanderbilt. I was forced to confront my past and reflect on how my time in therapy throughout my childhood and young adult years affected my style with clients. One of my favorite quotes from the article is as follows:
“At the minimum, [students] will experience a lot of difficulty in keeping their professional skill development from spilling over into the other significant aspects of their lives. In short, they become aware that they are ‘in grave danger of growing’...Growing in this context may mean becoming vulnerable.”
Even though this article was written for therapists-in-training, I think this sentiment is particularly relevant for people seeking therapy. Any time we embrace vulnerability and make noteworthy changes in our lives, there is always risk involved. We are often scared to let others inside our internal world and apply new skills that might change our relationships and our daily lives. However, in my experience, taking these risks is always worthwhile. Essentially, we cannot grow unless we welcome change and the uncertainty that comes with it. Brené Brown said it best: “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage are not always comfortable but they are never weakness.”
I know firsthand the vulnerability required to call a therapist, set up an appointment, and share your deepest feelings, insecurities, and fears with someone you just met. I want you to know that I honor the courage that this requires, and it would be my utmost privilege to walk alongside you and help you grow.