Today we’d like to introduce you to Alison Hild
Hi Alison, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a holistic and integrative clinical psychotherapist who specializes in Psychodynamic, Spiritual, Depth and Jungian therapies. I have extensive experience working with individuals who identify as creatives (musicians, writers, producers, actors, fine artists) and other entertainment industry professionals. Prior to becoming a therapist, I worked in the music industry for nearly a decade. I worked for an indie record label in New Paltz, NY for several years and worked closely with the artists while doing radio promotion. I decided to move out to LA about ten years ago when I transitioned to a career in the music supervision world. I gained experience working at a major TV studio and also with companies that represent artists for consideration in various media projects including TV, Film, Video games and Advertisements. During this time, I often found that I was naturally connecting on a deeper level with my clients and coworkers and I found the relational aspects of the career to be the most fulfilling. I decided to take the risk and dive into a new career shortly before the pandemic as I felt a calling to work deeply and collaboratively in a healing profession. All of the time I spent working in music and helping to promote artists has truly informed my passion for working with creatives and entertainment industry professionals. My background in the arts has allowed me to have a unique perspective and understanding of the particular struggles that musicians, artists and creative professionals face.
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?
I started grad school during the heart of the pandemic and it was an interesting time to become a therapist. We were all processing the uncertainty and trauma of an unprecedented, global event as we were training as professional clinicians and healers. While it was certainly challenging at times, it was also an incredible honor to hold space for clients during this time. It was difficult for some of my clients to be able to process their true fears around the situation in their daily lives (with colleagues, family or friends) as opinions and emotions were all over the map as it related to the pandemic. Providing a safe space for clients to process the experience of the pandemic is something I will never forget. I was also working full-time when I went to grad school, which was challenging, but I look back with gratitude as I recognize that it was a time of immense growth for me. It was an opportunity to really practice what I was preaching by prioritizing my own self-care.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in working with creative professionals, LGBTQIA+ individuals and couples, parents, college-aged individuals, empaths and HSPs. I utilize an integrative approach and my work is deeply informed by Spiritual, Depth, Jungian and Psychodynamic therapies. I’m passionate about working with self-compassion, self-worth, inner child healing, attachment wounds and relational struggles. I will often incorporate creative approaches in session such as expression through art, writing or music. I also offer sound healing, somatic practices to release long-held emotions, teach mindfulness skills, engage in dreamwork, and provide reframes through zen perspectives. Additionally, I’m trained in trauma modalities such as EMDR and Brainspotting. With these therapies, I am able to help clients reprocess traumatic memories or painful feelings that have been living inside of them for either a short period of time or a long time. I am experienced in working with clients who are looking to work on their relationship with self, their interpersonal relationships, are struggling with anxiety, codependency, self-esteem, traumatic memories, career stress, existential dread, parenting struggles, heartbreak, among others. I truly love connecting deeply with my clients and believe that the relationship between therapist and client is the most profound ingredient of healing and growth in therapy. I believe that therapy can be a metamorphic and alchemical process. I am most proud when I notice that my clients have begun to relate to themselves in a more positive way on a consistent basis. Their self-talk is filled with more compassion and care. Painful experiences are inevitable in life and I believe it is a big win when we are able to sit in the reality of these experiences with self-compassion rather than adding another layer of suffering through the way we judge or berate ourselves. It makes me feel so happy and fulfilled when my clients get to a place where they are in a healthier relationship with themselves. I believe that the relationship we curate with our truest (soul-centered or capital S) Self impacts all other relationships and aspects of our lives.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I feel that all of the relationships I have had in my life have had an impact on who I am today. I’m grateful for all of the lessons I’ve learned as they have informed who I am today and how I can show up in the room with my clients. I am also deeply inspired by nature and find great peace when I am able to immerse in the quiet freedom and peace of a natural setting. Additionally, Mary Stancavage is a local buddhist teacher whom I have learned a ton from and other buddhists/psychologists/musicians who have inspired me include Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ram Dass, Carl Jung, Susan Johnson, Leonard Cohen, among many others. I also have an incredible clinical supervisor and mentor, Bonnie Rae, who has taught me so much about the powerful transformations that occur when healing is focused on attachment and that this can be found most profoundly within the therapeutic relationship.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alisonhildtherapy.com
- Instagram: @alisonhildtherapy
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