Check Out Bethany Price’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Price.

Hi Bethany, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
A passion for exploring grief, death, and the ways we make meaning in the shadow of loss set me on the path to becoming a therapist. I wouldn’t describe my path as a linear one though. At the start of 2020, I had decided I wanted to shift from working in concert production and touring to. . something else. I was going through a transitional period after one of the most challenging years of my life and knew I needed to be doing work that was more community-focused. Before the few years working in the concert industry, I came from an art and DIY background. After getting my undergraduate degree in printmaking, I moved to Austin, TX from Providence, Rhode Island. I worked odd jobs and in the service industry, then over time found a rad printshop and art community to be part of. I left Austin for Joshua Tree in 2015 for once again. . something else. I landed in Los Angeles and was struggling to find both a printshop to work in and a creative community to join. At this point in my story, despite there being some interesting twists and turns, I want to jump a bit further ahead. I ended up getting into concert lighting and working in various clubs and venues around the city. That shifted to becoming a tour manager and having the opportunity to travel – which was preferable to feeling communally isolated and the challenge of setting down roots in Los Angeles. Now, I will pick back up at the start of 2020.

I began weening myself off advancing shows and the weekly flights when the covid-19 pandemic hit. Being forced into dropping everything and pausing gave me more than enough time to lean into my intuition to become a psychotherapist. Part of what lead to this decision was losing my dad to pancreatic cancer in 2019. When we learned he had stage 4 metastasized cancer in October of 2018, I thought to myself, “I have years of experience in therapy and my tool box of coping is well-stocked. I’m internally supported, I am well-equipped.” However, his death in January 2019 was a sobering smack in the face that had me questioning how to fill the void that echoed all nuanced losses intersecting with the absence of my father’s physical form, what a “good” death is, and where a home for grief could be. I was living in Baltimore so I could be close to take care of and be with him before he passed. I was shocked and feeling helpless in finding a grief support group but thought that when I returned to LA (filled with wellness and therapeutic resources) that I would find one. I didn’t. There were a few wonderful organizations and groups, but with months-long waitlists or outside of my budget. How was it possible that this inevitable event, this universal truth for all of us was given so little attention, compassion, and acknowledgement? My experience of his death initiated me to the drive towards wanting to combine my background in art, curiosity about the stories that form the identities in our communities, and desire to support others in grieving the death and non-death losses throughout life. I completed a graduate degree in clinical psychology in 2023 and since then have worked to help others decrease isolation and increase community connection, process grief and trauma, and creatively find solutions to life’s challenges.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say the road has been a variety of textures. Every change that’s occurred (both within and outside of my control) has called for a surrender to the unknown, challenging myself, and some level of reconfiguration. Is the road even meant to be smooth? I’m not sure I would want it to be because the struggles along the way have brought me to each new moment. Some of those struggles have been compounded losses following my dad’s death, periods of isolation and intense loneliness, recognizing my fallibility (none of us are infallible!), and the tension between authenticity and imposter syndrome. It took me a long time to find stability in my work life and that influenced a persistent questioning of my self-value, purpose, privileges, and eptitude. However, looking back I can see a through line of wanting to support others creativity and emotionally, enjoyment in working with people, and a deep curiosity into the layers that create a whole. I’m in awe in how all the ups and downs brought me to the present.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a psychotherapist specializing in grief & loss, trauma, and creative blockages. I work with clients of all different backgrounds including neurodivergence, LGBTQIA+, and folks in the arts or entertainment field. I come from a place of seeking to understand the individual’s lived experience and their specific needs – there is no one-size-fits-all! I primarily work from a Relational-Gestalt and strength-based lens, but also incorporate a psychodynamic, attachment, and depth approach. In helping clients process and heal, I use somatics, hermeunetics, a trauma-processing intervention called Brainspotting, mindfulness, art therapy practices, and polyvagal techniques. Overall, I value holism and exploring the complexity that encompasses the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. In considering the multiple facets of experience, increased presence to these parts can allow expansion in understanding ourselves, our relationships, and the spaces we occupy. With my clients, I bring curiosity, empathy, and one of the things I believe is so crucial for survival – humor.

I currently provide in-person and remote therapy in private practice in Mid-City and at a non-profit clinic called The Relational Center in Culver City. The Relational Center is extremely community-oriented and offers affordable sliding-scale therapy. When I’m not providing therapy, I help as a service coordinator for funeral ceremonies at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. If there is extra time, I enjoy volunteering at Nova Community Arts in Atwater and Human Resources in Chinatown.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I used to wonder if my scattered path was a possible reflection of personal deficit or bad luck. However, in the present I’m extremely grateful for it! I’ve had exposure to different industries and met incredible people along the way, been open to the unknown, and had some atypical experiences that opened my eyes. I feel privileged to be a witness to others vulnerability, strengths, and creativity. I hold a ton of gratitude for being taken in by community throughout my life – communal non-judgement and support can be inaccessible and I’ve been lucky to had exposure to these spaces. Additionally, the synchronicity of finding alignment with death work and given the opportunity to help facilitate funeral services feels quite lucky to me. I had previously work as a lighting designer/operator in the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever and mourned not being there anymore when my Dad got sick. It is one of the top places I have ever occupied and worked for, so when I returned on the funeral home side, I was overjoyed for the opportunity. Just as with therapy, it is such an immense privilege to be part of the grieving space.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bethanypricetherapy.com
• Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1396127

Image Credits
Seidi Häkkänen