Sheridan Tennant-Straube

I attribute my success 100% to my faith in the Lord. It's Jesus Christ. I can't take any credit because I didn't do anything truly extraordinary. I'm an average clinician at best who followed the traditional path. Whatever platforms I have, it's been because God just opened the door. I didn't come from a line of big professionals in my family. I'm the first in a lot of spaces, a trailblazer in a lot of ways on both sides of my family, so I can't even say that it's genetics or that my mom was this or that. She raised me with the Lord as a single parent, and that's all she knew and all she taught me. Faith has been the anchor because when I have not known what to do, when I have not had the education or the backing, I pray before every session: God, tell me what to say. And He does it every time. That's been the difference maker for me.

The best advice I ever received was from my last boss, and it was to take pause before action. I work very quickly - I move fast, I speak fast, I write fast. Everything just happens very quickly around me, and so I'm not good at being slow. Learning to not answer that email right away or do everything so quickly has been crucial. Your first reaction isn't always your best one, and it's not always your most evolved thought. So giving a minute to pause and think, being quick to listen and slow to speak, taking a breath before you respond to something or react - that gives your true self an opportunity to speak, not the anxious one, not the insecure one, not the 'I have to do this or else' one. Make them wait, because when you show up, you want it to count, and you don't want to have to clean it up because you did it out of emotion or out of frustration. Sleep on it. This has been one of the healthiest things I learned, because I've been a quick responder a lot of the time and prided myself on it, and sometimes it didn't go so well because I acted before I thought.

Do it afraid. Don't wait to know everything. Don't wait to have all the answers. Don't wait to feel like you're perfectly ready and have all the information. If it's being presented to you, if you are stepping up to it, then you're ready. Just believe that the tools that you need will appear as you step forward. You're not gonna get them before - you gain them in the movement. So just know that the muscle you need is there, the wisdom you have is there, the skill you have is there. If it's a passion in your heart, you're meant to respond, and trust that as you walk forward in obedience to your calling, your resources are both within you and awaiting you. Don't wait to have no roadblocks at all. That's not how it goes. You step forward, and the provision awaits your obedience. Do it afraid.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is being oversaturated. There are a lot of clinicians out there, and they're not all good. First, I'm trying to differentiate myself from those that answered the call for the wrong reasons and got into the field to heal themselves. I get a lot of clients where I'm doing damage control and cleanup for very wounding and unhealthy therapeutic interactions with therapists that need therapy themselves. The hardest thing is differentiating yourself as, quite frankly, a good one, a safe one, and helping people understand that there are certain qualities they should look for to truly set up that level of trust. It's so easy - you take some courses, you pass a test, and just about anybody can get into it, but just because you have the intellect for it doesn't mean you have the spirit for it. I'm trying to help new clinicians really understand and be sure this is the work they're called to, not just something they think they're good at, because those are two different things. I'm also trying to help clients know what's the healthiest way to make sure they're with the right person. The cleanup is where I feel like I'm struggling, trying to get ahead of some of the damaging therapeutic relationships that are out there and trying to set myself up as a place of excellence where I'm operating with ethical standards, your well-being, and your spirit, soul, and body's safety in mind.

The values that are most important to me in my work and personal life are consistency, being intentional, and being authentic. Nothing happens on its own - even in therapy, you can't just keep showing up and expect it to get better. There's work to do, there are applications, changes, and adjustments. Just like in fitness, you can't just stand in the gym for a week and expect your body to change. Being intentional and consistent is crucial. And truly, being authentic is something I humbly pride myself on. I'm the one with the shaved head and the wild hair colors who loves to change how I look all the time. I'm a woman who likes to be strong and is not really quiet. There are a lot of features that I've just watched God do on purpose. We go through phases of feeling like 'this is how the average woman, the average leader operates,' but I've learned to embrace my authenticity and not apologize. Don't apologize for who and how you are. Show up all the way as yourself, because that's what's needed - our uniqueness. Embracing that and being authentic in all spaces is extremely important to me, and that's a value I'm teaching my girls. Faith encompasses all of this, because to me, that's just us agreeing with God when He created us. He gave us a purpose and gifts and talents, and us exercising them and using them is our thank you to Him.