Caitlin Summers-Motta, MA, LPC, ACS

I've been really fortunate to have mentors who were there when I needed them at different stages of my career. My boss at the time and owner of the summer camp, Andy, really took me under his wing when I was a young professional, and it's amazing to have mentors that you can meet when you're young and grow with and work in a similar space with 20-something years later. During my experience getting my license, my licensing supervisor Michelle served a really unique purpose at the time that I needed her. I had to get 4,500 hours for my license, and the days were long. I was working in nonprofit mental health counseling, and when I met with Michelle, it wasn't just 'how are your cases going,' but 'how are you?' During that time, I was getting engaged, getting married, balancing life and work. I think people are there when you need them, and those mentors mean something in that moment. Maybe I don't need them long-term, or our relationship has changed, but that relationship is still impactful, and I love having long-standing relationships like that with people. I'm also a lifelong learner - I'm the first one on any courses and things. I just did a bunch of AI courses. Whether it's for my license or just doing it, it's so important. Being in this field in particular, there's always something new to talk about.

If you're entering the behavioral health field in any capacity, whether it's in counseling or autism services or even special education, put your oxygen mask on first, take care of yourself. We have to take care of us and not feel like we're being selfish. I think there's this level of guilt if we take a moment for us, and we shouldn't feel that way. This field in particular is high stress, and when you're handling pretty significant challenges with others, you can carry a really heavy burden. I just encourage people to take space for themselves whenever possible and not feel bad about it. You're allowed to - I always tell people, you have PTO, use it. They're like, 'oh, I feel bad.' I'm like, 'but why? It's there for you.' So just creating space for yourself is so important. People leave this field - I work with teachers all the time and they're like, 'I'm done, I hate public education.' I'm like, 'no, there's a reason you came here. What did you like to do 10 years ago?' And they tell me, and I'm like, 'we can still do those things.' The burdens that we all carry in some way, whatever your life looks like, is so incredibly heavy. I get up at 5-something in the morning so I have that space, because I need that. If I am not okay, I can't be around other people helping them. They tell you on the plane, your oxygen mask drops first - put it on. We have to be okay to help others, and I think that's really important. People forget that. As women, we do that often. We want to take care of everybody else, but we have to take care of ourselves.

I'm a mission-driven individual, whether that's personally or professionally. I think it's so important for people to understand the value of giving back. The way I raise my children is how to give back and being a member of the community. I'm a networking, relationship-driven leader, so for me, it's really important to network and connect with other like-minded women in particular. I'm the biggest cheerleader for all my girlfriends and colleagues. I think it's so important to get in each other's corners and drop the competition, and have more camaraderie, working together, collaboration. As women, for me, the empowerment comes between each other. It's really great to watch people as they progress. I'm a lover and sharer of all resources. Family is incredibly important to me - I have 3 kids and my husband is a fire captain, so I live a very unique balance of life. Being a mentor has been one of the most impactful experiences that I've had. I always tell people we just all have to do what we do in such a friendly way.