Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Hirsch.
Ariel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve had a pretty winding path to becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. As a child of divorce, I was fascinated by relationships from a young age. I am endlessly curious about people, both how they connect to others and how they connect to themselves. After a journey of many different jobs and self-exploration, I came back to therapy as both a personal support system and as a passion for my career.
As I’ve continued to deepen my clinical skills in my private practice, I’ve also branched out into a creative practice as well. In the summer of 2017, I had a particularly difficult bout of anxiety and found that embroidery was a wonderful outlet for me to engage my creativity while also calming my nerves. Since then, embroidery has been a place for me to have fun and explore a number of different topics that interest me including social justice, pop culture, and of course, all things mental health.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The path to becoming a licensed MFT in California is a long one. After three years of graduate school, I had to complete another 3,000 hours of clinical work (most of which was unpaid as an intern), and two difficult licensing exams. Those struggles aren’t specific to me though, as they are standards for the profession and are the regulations for California. In most ways, they are important standards to ensure the safety of those who are getting treatment, yet they also reinforce and highlight a number of systemic problems in the field, like who has educational and financial access to becoming a therapist. As a white, cis-gendered female therapist who had family support, I am deeply aware of the privileges that helped me get to where I am today in my career. At the same time, it was definitely a grueling six years that came with a lot of awareness of the importance of personal boundaries and active self-care practices.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I believe that therapy is a place for everybody. I strive to create a nonjudgemental space where folks can disentangle themselves from old beliefs and find new ways of being. I love to work with creatives who are looking to deepen their self-awareness and get into the messy reflection of what it’s like being human. Ironically, despite the title of my license, I don’t currently work with couples or families. I work with individual adults from a wide range of backgrounds who are struggling with things like relationship issues, family trauma, and anxiety. I believe in a shame-free, co-created space where warmth, empathy and humor are not only valued but encouraged.
In terms of my embroidery work, I feel like it’s a unique intersection between my “therapist self” and my “creative” self. Therapy is both art and science, while embroidery feels more like a meditation for me. I make a wide variety of decorative hoops that are informed by whatever is resonating with me at the time. It can be lyrics from a song, a quote that inspired me, or a character from some pop cultural reference that makes me happy. I try to connect the work to being present and accepting of whatever emotion I’m feeling in that moment.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1555 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026 - Website: www.arielhirsch.com
- Phone: (323) 736-0973
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @bitsy.stitches
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
