Defining Life, Love, And Happiness: Insights From A Psychotherapist

— People often wish to seek answers in therapy - whether to ask questions about mental health, life, relationships, love, or about themselves. Some ask out of uncertainty; others, out of curiosity. What about the psychotherapists themselves? How would they answer questions for themselves if they become the interviewee? In therapy, it is common for therapists to withhold personal information from the clients to maintain professional boundaries and to maintain the treatment focus on the client's needs and goals; however, self-disclosure done appropriately can foster empathy, develop rapport, and build trust. Many people believe that, because a psychotherapist's role is to provide emotional support and guidance, they should be emotionally uninvolved to remain unbiased and impartial in the therapeutic process to facilitate clients who open up bravely about their own insecurities and vulnerabilities. Although a helping professional should strive to be non-judgmental and respectful of boundaries, their emotional investment in sessions is an honest indication of the fact that they, too, are humans who have feelings and emotions that allow them to understand and empathize with a client's struggles. One psychotherapist who believes in the benefits of such deliberate self-disclosure tells all and shares some vulnerable memories and moments of her own to answer some of the most intimate questions about her views on life and her role as a helping professional. To help you connect with a psychotherapist up close and personal, listen to how a Vancouver-based psychotherapist, Julie Chang, responds to some of the questions about life, happiness, and love that you may also have for yourself. Perhaps you'll be amused. Perhaps you'll feel a sense of similarity. Or, perhaps you'll be inspired to engage in your own self-exploration to reflect on your values and who you are as a person of worth.

Valeria Teles interviews Julie Chang — She is Vancouver-Based Mental-Health Clinician And Speaker

Julie is a practitioner of mental health located in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. She has Master's Degrees in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Counselling and is currently finishing her doctoral degree in clinical psychology. In addition to professional training and experiences in psychotherapy and treatment, clinical counselling, behavioral intervention, and neuropsychological assessments, Julie also has a background in psychological research at the doctoral level and uses the empirical insights gained from previous studies to supplement her current clinical practice, making her unique as a practitioner of both clinical-scientist and scientist-practitioner models.

As an advocate of positive psychology who understands that mental health is more than the absence of illness, Julie focuses on building success and helping clients flourish rather than merely reducing distress. She believes in a world where people achieve flourishing mental health. To do so, she is currently helping individuals one at a time to gain more control of their lives and to become versions of themselves they envision. What makes her different from other providers of mental-health services are three core features:

— Julie strives to motivate her clients to learn the materials they work on in sessions actively, to enhance the awareness of psychology perspectives and concepts in their daily lives, and to relish in the experience while applying them in the real world.

— She encourages clients to share their psychological burden with her and to trust her to be there for them every step of the way.

— She grows and learns with her clients: Sometimes she is in a guiding role one step ahead, sometimes she is a partner walking together at the same pace, and sometimes she follows the lead of the one she works with to hear and observe what they want to share.

Julie's professional goal has always been to meet clients where they are and to nourish them therapeutically to bring felicity (back) into their lives while enjoying the process along the way. She often finds herself smiling and laughing rather than emotionally burnt out after what many would consider to be a long day's worth of sessions and attributes it to her enjoyment of spending time supporting all of her clients. She humbly acknowledges that she works and plays while living on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

To learn more about Julie Chang and her work, please visit: flourishingheartscounselling.ca

— This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.