Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Taris.
Hi Tracy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I pursued the field of psychotherapy as a profession because therapy worked for me. I’d always had a little trouble with anxiety but at this particular point in my life, it was getting out of hand. I’d have panic attacks for seemingly no reason, I couldn’t sleep, I was developing fears and insecurities that did not exist before.
A friend of mine had met a therapist in a dentist’s office. They chatted and she got her card. One day during a return to the office after a workout at the gym on our lunch break, I casually mentioned to this friend how I don’t really have the anxiety in the evenings after I’ve worked out as strongly as I’d been having them, but I still had some, especially during times of stress. That’s when she mentioned the woman she met in the dentist’s office and gave me her card.
I called the therapist, described my symptoms, she offered some insight that made me feel a little better and made it seem that I could possibly overcome what I was going through. I scheduled an appointment. Thinking the therapist would help me alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, I began telling my story and not only got relief but gained insight into why the anxiety had been there all of my life and why it was suddenly manifesting so strongly now. I gained understanding that helped me to realize that some of the thought patterns I’d learned in my childhood, teens and early adulthood really had no place in my life where I was at the moment. I made the mental and behavioral changes needed and the anxiety, as well as other issues that surfaced during the course of treatment, subsided.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Part of it has been a smooth road because I believe this is my calling. When you are called to something, when ‘that thing’ you were meant to do shows up as an opportunity, the road kind of opens up for you to take that journey. It doesn’t mean you won’t have struggles or challenges but they won’t be insurmountable.
One challenge I had was at the time of my deciding to go to graduate school to get my Masters in Clinical Psychology, I was working full time. I could not afford to quit my job as my family depended on the income I brought in. I just couldn’t see how I was going to be able to do it. At the time, there were no (or not many known of) online programs for graduate study.
Someone mentioned to me a university that had evening courses for a psychology graduate program. I looked into it and discovered that the “evening” courses actually started at 4:00p.m. I didn’t actually get off work until after 5:00p.m. so I initially thought it was not going to work. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The thought of applying to the program kept needling the back of my mind. So I prayed for a way to be made, decided to ask my boss to allow me to modify my work schedule on the days I would have classes so that I could leave early. He agreed. I applied and got accepted into the program.
I can say the rest is history, but working full time, being a wife and mom to two children was not an easy road. The only time I had to study was at 5:00a.m. so that I could concentrate and work for two hours before the rest of the family woke. After graduate school, I had a break from this but my profession required the taking of two exams before you can receive a license from the state of California. So, when the time came for me to prepare for those exams, I woke at 4:00a.m. to study during the week before my full-time job as an intern and for several hours on the weekend. It was a brutal schedule but I was determined.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Healing The Mind & Spirit?
I own a group practice. We are comprised of a team of therapists who offer individual, family, couples, teen and child therapy to people seeking help for issues pertaining to anxiety, depression, stress, self-esteem and relational issues. Usually, when a call comes in, information is gathered on the potential client’s presenting problem(s), what they hope to achieve and what time of day they’d like to have therapy. They are then paired with a therapist that would be the best fit for what they have going on and what they want or need to achieve. Sometimes a client is not able to name what they want but based on the initial conversation about what is happening, the assessor is able to get an idea of what they may need.
Our therapists are excellent at helping people find their voice, rid themselves of symptoms and behaviors that debilitate their life and find their way to healthy relationships be it with a significant other, their children, family members or even themselves. While all of our therapists are trained to work with clients to process life events, hurts and pain that lead to depression, anxiety, behavioral and self-esteem, each one has different specialties that range from ADHD (adult and child) to trauma-related disorders.
My specialties include getting rid of creative blocks and helping couples find their way back to intimacy and friendship, but what I am known for and what sets me apart is my work with the specialty populations that I serve. Those populations include Christians – people who want their therapy process to include elements of their faith, Creatives – people in the creative arts who are having trouble tuning in to their creative spirit so that they are better able to honor their craft, and Women in Need of Empowerment – for women who have for one reason or another lost their voice and are finding it difficult navigating their world, internally and externally. To find out about the specialty areas or populations of some of our other therapists, please visit our website at www.healingthemindandspirit.com.
I am proud of what we have created at Healing The Mind & Spirit (HMS) in that people come in on point A – which is “this is the problem I have” and leave at a point where they can either say “I no longer have this problem,” or “This problem is now manageable enough by me to put it down for now, or it is no longer blocking my life and relationships.”
A couple of specialty services we offer include:
1. A marriage course whereby the couple takes an assessment online and the clinicians or facilitators receive a report that shows the couples strengths and challenges along the lines of communication, conflict resolution, sex, parenting, finance and about five other areas. They are then shown interventions to help them make those strengths even stronger or turn the problem areas or challenges into areas of strengths.
2. A co-parenting program that assists divorced couples in learning how to parent as a team for the promotion of mental, relational and social health in their children.
3. Parenting classes or one-on-one coaching to improve the parent/child dynamic or the overall family dynamic within the home.
Clients who come into HMS for personal or relational help receive tools to help them not only eliminate mental health symptoms, they receive insight and information that teaches them how to navigate life productively.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is the value of walking with people on their life’s journey. I often tell my clients that the answers to what they seek are inside. They already, on some level, know what they are. My job is to walk along with them in their process, listen for what may be blocking them and assist them in removing those blocks either through a change in how they are thinking, giving them certain tools, or teaching them how to identify their heart’s longings and communicate them to the people they love or people with whom they are in other kinds of relationship.
The most important lesson about the journey is that life is all about the Journey. There are times when it seems we have arrived and that feels good; there are times we discover that we need to take it deeper; and that’s o.k. If you look, you can find someone who has the education, training and experience that will let you know that you don’t have to navigate all parts of that journey alone.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.healingthemindandspirit.com
- Instagram: @healingthemindandspirit
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HealingTheMindAndSpirit
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/healmindspirit
