Meet Liv!

Hi! My name is Olivia (Liv) Hellmund. This summer, I have the incredible opportunity to be an administrative intern at the GT Therapy Group office! I am 17 and am an incoming senior at Vandegrift High School. Over the years I have developed a passionate interest for psychology, and I am enthusiastic about learning how a group therapy practice runs and about the therapists that work in the office. They each have such unique stories and fields of expertise and interest, which makes me curious about their journeys to get to where they are. I’m eager to soak in the career inspiration!

My story 

I was always a very happy child when I was little — laughing and smiling were basically just about my favorite things to do. I always had a positive outlook on life and felt this way for a long time until the start of middle school when the world started to look and feel different to me. 

Seventh grade was the year my life really took a turn. I had always had stomach issues since the time I was a baby but when I was about 12, I had unbearable pain anytime I ate. My mom was constantly taking me in and out of doctors offices trying to find someone who could figure out what was wrong with me. My mood progressively sank into a deep darkness that soon turned into a constant reality. Not only did my body feel bad, but now my mind did too. I was diagnosed with celiac disease, depression and anxiety. While this news was hard, in a way I also felt a sense of relief; I finally knew what was wrong with me and now maybe there was a way to make it go away and deal with it. 

The way I pictured my problems disappearing was a doctor giving me some medicine and magically feeling better the next morning, but little did I know it was going to take more than that. My parents had me switch to a gluten free diet and signed me up for therapy. I was horrified. The last thing I wanted was to confide in some random stranger about my feelings! But, my parents insisted on me going and I’m so glad that they did because it was one of the biggest factors into bringing me back to the happy-go-lucky girl I was when I was younger. My life didn’t change overnight. In fact, it took me three years of life lessons, therapy and personal growth to become the person I am today. 

Because I have experienced firsthand how awful it feels to be anxious and depressed, and how amazing and beautiful life can be when you overcome it, I want to be a therapist. My therapist played such a huge role in helping me become who I am, and I aspire to be that for others too!

How I know Tracy

From the time I was a baby to about 3 years old Tracy was basically my second mom. She nannied for me and my younger brother, Christian, and never failed to bring out the goofy in us, to say the least. With Tracy, we were never bored. We were always recreating TV shows and movies and she never complained when I made her play the “bad guy” like Simon from American idol and Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Even when she stopped nannying for us and started the occasional babysitting role as we got older, we were never the “normal, boring, watching a movie” type of people. We would make our own movies and videotape our expressions as Tracy would call out an emotion to recreate. 

Tracy has always been an extremely important person in my life. I’m so lucky to have been given a guide who was not only there for me in my youth, but is currently helping me in my journey to a career I will love and helping me grow into adult life! 

Texas Advocacy Project

One of my personal biggest joys in life is doing community service. I love helping others and believe that giving back is something we were put on this Earth to do. Along with other organizations I am a part of, Texas Advocacy Project is one that I am proud to say I am in association with. TAP is a team of staff, attorneys and volunteers that work to prevent domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking throughout Texas by providing free legal services and access to the justice system. 

My role at TAP is being a teen ambassador of hope. My job is to talk to people about the dangers of violent relationships and collect donations from citizens who wish to help those who seek justice from abuse. If you would like to make a donation, don’t hesitate! By clicking the button below you can donate as much or as little as you would like. Anything helps and speaking for TAP, we thank you for helping change peoples lives!

That’s me in a nut shell! Here’s to a summer of learning and growing!