Welcome!!
I was fortunate enough to know exactly what I was born to do at a relatively young age. However, knowing what we're meant to do is only the first step. The next step is doing everything we need to do to make it happen. I have studied Psychology for 14 years! I've studied every conceivable branch of psychology since undergrad. After my Masters in Clinical Psychology, which was based on the scientist-practitioner model, I worked as an MFT intern using evidence-based approaches to diagnose and treat clients. I realized that our current models and best practices in psychology and psychotherapy were missing something very important. This led me to get my PhD in Transpersonal Psychology (at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto). Transpersonal psychology is a holistic approach that looks at the entire context of being human without isolating people's cognitions and behaviors from their spirit, their circumstances, their bodies. As a practitioner, looking at the whole picture is a much more accurate way of perceiving and treating human beings. It is also much less pathologizing and much more geared toward helping people access their wholeness and inner knowing.
In important distinction in a transpersonal education is that it does not merely inform the intellect but rather, the modality of education is 'whole person education' meaning that one gets trained intellectually, physically, socially, creatively, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The idea behind this kind of education is that in order to powerfully and effectively help other people and perceive their problems, it is imperative that a mental health professional first work on themselves in all these areas, clearing themselves of their own baggage in order to enhance and sharpen their perspective and efficiency to then affect change in others. I believe that it not only makes therapy/coaching more effective but is an ethical responsibility to clear oneself so that we are truly able to help without coloring the therapeutic process with our own "stuff". The clarity and perspective enables the therapist/coach to be a tool to facilitate powerful transformation at the pace and need of the client.
I have worked very hard to be excellent at what I do personally and professionally. The interesting thing about this particular field is that who you are personally impacts and overlaps with who you are professionally. I spend my life in service of embodying what I believe about being the best version of myself and helping others be their fullest versions (whatever that looks like for them). My personal goal is to embody excellence and leadership in a powerful, inspiring, bold, authentic, joyful, compassionate and humble way.