Kaitlyn Kudravitsky

I would say my faith, in part, for sure. I always say, with God, all things are possible, so I have to give it to my Heavenly Father, definitely. The other big proponent is my mom. She had me at a young age and was a single parent. I can still vividly remember my senior year in high school when my psychology teacher said that statistically I shouldn't even be in my senior year, that I should have a baby by now. The fact that my mom set up such a structure for me - honestly, up until I was a senior in high school, I thought it was law to go to college. My mom was there for everything - being up late studying, helping me with projects, proofreading any 10-page paper I had to write. I say now, as an adult, my mom is definitely my best friend. Growing up, I would see her be so proud, and she's like, you know, you're doing things that no other woman in this family has done yet. Even now, when I'm like, should I go for the certification, my mom's like, yes, you need to do it. And then, of course, my husband. Throughout my college career, he wanted to get married a lot sooner than we did, but I was always like, no, we have to wait till I'm done with school, and he was very patient. He does a really great job at pushing me every day with encouraging words. My support network is amazing. Those three pieces are what keeps me continuing to push myself and not getting comfortable in my role, because the field is always changing.

The best career advice I ever received was from my previous supervisor, who said to me, don't should on yourself. I remember sitting there and being like, what did you just say to me? And he's like, don't should on yourself, because when you tell yourself 'I should,' you end up putting more weight on your shoulders and you make a mess. He was saying, when you say to yourself, I should do this, I should have more clients, I should start my private practice, I should have done this, you're putting this weight on your shoulders that's going to limit yourself. I make such an effort now to change when I'm feeling like I'm gonna say 'I should' to 'I could,' and that has made a world of difference with recognizing that things do take time, and not feeling like I'm an imposter in my role, or feeling like I should have all these clients and be doing all of these things all the time. Being more realistic and authentic with myself helps me show up not only for myself, which then also reflects in my role, but I'm able to also show up for my friends and family as well, and not feel burnt out, or feel like I'm not doing enough. It's something that I say to people all the time now.

The advice that I would give is to, even when it's hard, still show up. And the way that you're showing up is being you. Most people are coming to therapy, yes, because they're looking for solutions, looking for coping skills, all of that, absolutely, but when you show up authentically as yourself, that's honestly where you see the most progress with your clients. And even when it comes to building rapport and building networking connections with other professionals, being you is something that can't be replicated.

The biggest challenge I would say is something that is still very much, unfortunately, an issue - the stigma around people getting mental health help. Even though it's definitely more talked about now, and it's a little bit more accepted, there's still a stigma around it. I have clients sometimes that will come into therapy and be like, oh, I was afraid that I would be viewed as crazy, or those types of things, and to hear those comments, it's sad that that's still a concern that comes up for people. I mean, even sometimes seeing it on social media and everything, there are definitely these different areas that can be rough still for people that need mental health help. I would even say, too, sometimes when it comes to insurance and cost, I totally understand that therapists need to make a living and all of that, but at the same time, sometimes it is a little hard for people to get the help that they need, which can be also really challenging.