Lindsay Brathwaite, LMFT

I would say, one, my faith is the top. My belief, which is the foundation that was built when I was a kid, allows me to have something to go back to when I'm feeling overwhelmed or like I can't make it. My faith is my go-to, especially in those times where I need a reset and to be re-centered. Secondly would be my family. Most importantly, I would say the legacy of women on my maternal side, so like, my grandmother, my mother, and my two daughters. To have four generations still alive is not always common. I want to be the best version of myself for them, so that even if they're old, there's still things that we can unlearn that had been a response out of survival. Me being able to provide a different way of thinking for my daughters, that you don't have to live to survive, that's just existing. I don't want to just exist, I want to live and enjoy every encounter, every experience, every opportunity that I can, and not take anything for granted, but always have an outlook of gratitude, even if it's small. That is driving me, and also just realigning to why I'm here. If I'm able to do what I've been destined, like, born to do, I won't worry about being what I'm not. The desire of knowing who Lindsay is and what I'm supposed to do here will allow me to even be more focused on that and not compare myself to what I'm not. I'm one of one. We're all one of one. If everybody knew what they were destined to do here, everybody would stay in their own lane. There would be no room for comparison because I know who I am, and I know who I'm not.

Lindsay believes the most valuable advice she has learned is to stay focused on purpose rather than comparison. By concentrating on the impact she can make rather than measuring success against others, she has been able to build a fulfilling career.

The impact that you want to make is possible, one person at a time. Sometimes we like numbers, but it's not about the number, it's like, the one person. Can you focus on the one person? I would say having balance, balancing your self-care versus the care of others. Because you care for people, you have to have balance for you, because you are the model. People don't just follow what you say, they follow what you do, so you have to be authentic to also walking out the advice, the directions, the insights that you're given. You have to be able to do that first for yourself. And also, therapy for therapists. When I was in college, they always said that every good therapist has a therapist, and I agree. I feel like it should be a requirement that every therapist has a therapist, because you are taking on so much of other people's stuff that you have to know how to unburden and unpack. I would say pack light. Like, don't ever hold something so close that it's hard for you to unpack it and understand how this affects you. Maybe it could be somebody with a similar history. You have to be able to know how to pack light, that you're able to be present in the moment but leave it where it is in that session, in that room. And know to never forget you as a person. Just because you have a title doesn't negate who you are as an individual. Yes, the title is not your identity, it's you. Because if it's stripped, you are still you.

The behavioral health field faces increasing demand for services as awareness around mental health continues to grow. Lindsay believes this presents a powerful opportunity to expand education, integrate new technologies, and develop innovative approaches that support individuals, families, and communities.

I would say authenticity, integrity, and balance. Even with everything that I'm learning, you have to have a healthy balance between work and personal so that nothing gets through the cracks. It's necessary. I haven't always did it right, but I am making progress so that my family, like my children, have a well-balanced mother where they're not just seeing a working bee and missing that emotional connected piece. If I can be authentic, then it's easy for me to have balance where I'm not always saying yes to everything. I heard this statement and I always tell my clients about it, that your yes should be more expensive than your no. Your no should be cheap, because when you say yes, you are committing to both the liabilities and the benefits of your yes. But if I'm always not checking my liabilities, so the cost-benefit analysis, every time I say yes, most times I'm gonna be in a deficit if I continue to always say yes to everything and don't realize the cost of it. Balance is necessary because sometimes you can get into a hero's mentality or a savior mentality that you always have to be there, that nobody else can do it. Who told you that? That's a lie. There's only one you, and when you're gone, they're gonna have to rely on somebody else. Balance to me is important, which will allow me to think clearer. But I have to be integral. You have to have integrity. You have to be integral no matter what. And I see how my integrity has worked for me. Even if I had the opportunity to make a different choice, my integrity holds so much weight that I would not want anybody to say that I didn't show up integral. I can also add honor to that. I pride myself on honoring people. It's not flattery, it's honor, it's respect. Those two go hand in hand and they're necessary.