When I was in grad school, an instructor told our class it would be a good idea for us to get our own therapy so that we could better understand how the process worked.
A classmate raised her hand.
“But how does it work?” she asked.
My instructor shrugged her shoulders and said simply, “It’s magic.”
Good therapy is “we” — a collaboration between client and therapist. The therapist is responsible for creating an environment for change to happen. This is an intentional practice that requires a foundation of formal education and years of supervised experience in order to be effective. The client is responsible for showing up and being willing to change and grow.
I’m never afraid to tell my clients that I have been in therapy. Being in therapy with the right person at the right time changed my life.
People come to therapy for lots of reasons, but many wait until a crisis is looming. If you really want therapy to be effective, I highly recommend coming in sooner rather than later. Rather than thinking of therapy as a way to deal with crises, think of it as a tool that can help you avoid crisis situations. When you can’t avoid them, therapy can help you prepare and cope more effectively when one does arise.
Years ago we took a family trip to Yellowstone. A couple months before the trip I stopped by the public library and checked out a park guide written by an experienced Yellowstone traveler. This book led me to the best hiking paths for families with young kids, the least crowded time of day to visit Old Faithful, and unearthed a whole list of “can’t miss sights.”
Tanya Thompson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who joined Generations in November 2021 and is a welcomed member of our team. She works out of our northwest Indianapolis office, located at 9001 N Wesleyan Road in the Parkstone office complex.
Let’s get to know Tanya!
Tanya is native to Indiana, though she spent several of her childhood years in Sierra Leone, West Africa where her parents were missionaries. As a child, Tanya wanted to be a missionary nurse like her mother, then a physician, but when she took sociology in high school, she decided she wanted to work in the social sciences.
Tanya graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with dual degrees in psychology and social work and after a short period of working in residential care, she went on to earn her Master of Social Work degree at University of Denver.
Since then, Tanya has spent the majority of her professional career at what was first Midtown Community Mental Health Center and then became Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center. Tanya worked for several years in the addictions clinic and then moved to the Borderline Awareness Skills and Empowerment program working with Borderline Personality Disorder, Dissociative Disorders and mood disorders. Tanya is also EMDR trained and has experience working with trauma.
In her free time, Tanya enjoys reading, hanging out with friends and family and volunteering at her church. Tanya has two adult children and one cat.
Tanya is motivated to work hard because she knows that other people are depending on her.
One of Tanya’s favorite books is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. She reads most genres, but typically enjoys mysteries or adventure thrillers. Something that always makes Tanya smile is her son’s enthusiastic joy when he accomplishes something. So does seeing a client have a breakthrough in insight and behavior change. Something Tanya frequently says to her clients is “Happiness is measured in moments, not years.”
Tanya is available for in person sessions at our Indianapolis location as well as virtual sessions. Give Tanya a call at 317-360-5768 to schedule an appointment.
Counseling isn’t free, and there are good reasons for this (read more about that here). But how will you pay for it? You typically have one of two options.
If you are one of the approximately 300 million Americans who has health insurance coverage, you will likely want to use that. (Read this post for the basics.) However, there may be some instances when you would not use insurance.
If you do not have adequate health insurance, or if your insurance does not offer mental health benefits, self-payment will be the best option for you. Our rates currently start at $125 per session, and we have two therapists who use an income-based sliding fee scale for those who need it. Please call us today at 317-743-8202 and we will make every effort to accommodate your needs.