Today we’d like to introduce you to Lydia Hansell.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lydia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When others ask me about my journey, I generally feel a need to offer them a cup of coffee and a comfortable chair. My path has been unexpectedly circuitous but has ultimately led me to the most fulfilling, inspiring, and humbling profession on the planet: clinical psychology.
I grew up with a passion for travel and language and graduated from college with a degree in International Studies a few months after 9-11. At the time, I had considered working with a non-governmental organization on international economic development. The 9-11 attacks changed that intention in a few short hours. Like so many others, I can recall in vivid detail the horror of watching people jumping from the WTC on live television. I decided that I wanted to contribute to our nation’s security and I wanted to pay homage to the thousands of lives lost that day and the many others scarred by loss and grief. I went on to receive my Master’s degree in International Policy with a specialization in Security Studies (which included a focus on terrorism and nuclear nonproliferation).
A second shift in my professional focus occurred as I was working as a research assistant at the RAND Corporation a few years later, and I found myself on a multidisciplinary team examining psychological resilience in U.S. military service members. It was my first foray into the psychological literature, and I was hooked. I loved the theories, I loved the data, and I loved how applicable the study of human behavior was to daily life.
My interest in psychology grew as I found myself inadvertently falling into discussions with colleagues about the conflicts and challenges they were struggling with in their personal and professional lives. It became hard to ignore the fact that every time I returned to my office after these discussions I felt energized and deeply moved in a way that was difficult to describe. There was something powerful about the vulnerability of authentic human connection, particularly in an office setting where the modus operandi was to put your most impressive foot forward. Eventually, I began to question whether I truly saw myself continuing down the path to becoming a senior policy analyst.
After a period of deep reflection, I took a leap of faith and returned to graduate school for a degree in psychology. During my training, I worked in several different settings, including a community mental health center, a homeless shelter, a private practice, and the Veterans Administration. As I gained insight and skills, I began to formulate my own conceptualizations of what it means to be healthy, whole and fulfilled. I reflected on the ways in which my previous training had shaped me to be an inquisitor and a staunch defender of personal truth. I ultimately decided to join the Mental Health Collective in Newport Beach because its mission aligned with my personal philosophy of healing.
I strongly believe that a one-size-fits-all approach to wellbeing ignores a fundamental truth; we are all individuals with unique biologies, learning histories, and different philosophies of healing. It is insufficient to focus solely on symptom reduction. At The Collective, we focus on each client’s individual needs and treatment goals, using evidence-based as well as unique approaches to mind-body wellness. As I journey with each client, I let the words of Pablo Casals guide me: “You are a marvel. You are unique.”
Has it been a smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road. Life throws many obstacles in your path, and my journey has been no exception.
I have faced many unexpected challenges, but perhaps the biggest obstacle of all is creeping self-doubt. It’s that insidious, unpredictable feeling in your gut telling you that you’re wrong …. even when you’re right on the mark. There were plenty of times when self-doubt reared its ugly head and threatened to wash away all that I had worked so hard to build.
I’ve learned over the years that an important counter to self-doubt is mastery. I don’t mean mastery in the sense of expertise or perfection. Mastery is about working towards something over time and seeing incremental improvements in performance. It can be something as mundane as folding laundry more efficiently over time or as fundamental as building awareness of internal experience through mindfulness or other meditative practices.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Mental Health Collective – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I work as a psychologist at The Mental Health Collective in Newport Beach, where I run a series of groups and see individual clients and families. The groups we have at The Collective are unique in both their content and style. The benefit to the cohort model is that clients get to know one another in a way that facilitates ongoing personal growth. Clients are able to build on the work that they do from one group to another.
As a group facilitator, my personal style blends process with psycho-education. I have found that there are often common threads that run through my groups, whether we are talking about shame, guilt, and anger or barriers to change. It has been deeply moving to bear witness to the incredible client transformations that occur in the group setting.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
There is much to love about Los Angeles and Orange County. The aspect I love the most is the diversity of experience that is available to each and every one of us.
Not surprisingly, I find the traffic jams to be the least appealing part of living here. Thank goodness for podcasts and 88.5 FM KCSN!
Contact Info:
- Address: 20377 SW Acacia Street Suite 110
Newport Beach . CA . 92660 - Website: themhcollective.com
- Phone: 888.717.9355
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @themhcollective
- Facebook: @themhcollective
Image Credit:
John Glover Photography | https://johnglover.photography
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