Why Am I a Counselor From Claire Reiser

By Claire Reiser

I have been a deeply passionate, excitable, curious, and stubborn person since before I could spell any of those words.

Growing up, I was obsessed with animals, specifically horses. I was known for it among my friends and family, and there are fond memories throughout my life involving frogs, cats, dogs, horses, goats, and more, in different settings.

When I was asked as a child what I wanted to be, I confidently said, “I want to be a vet so I can work with animals.” That changed the day I realized how much science and math are involved with being a veterinarian.

As a result, I spent most of middle school and all of high school with no idea what I actually wanted for my career; only that I wanted a career!

Finding My Passion in Arts and People

I was drawn to the idea of getting to be actively involved daily with something I’m passionate about and making a difference with a team of people alongside me.

After high school, I began college at Louisiana State University. I started in general studies so that I would not waste any credits until I decided without a doubt what direction to take my time in school.

Before the first semester ended, I had landed in studio art with a concentration in painting and drawing. My sophomore year, I took my first psychology class and found it to be the most interesting course I had taken thus far.

After taking an even more enjoyable course the following semester, I officially chose psychology as a minor.

Stepping Into a World Beyond My Hometown

Throughout my time in undergraduate school, I learned not only about my chosen subjects, but also about humans, cultures, and different ways of life than I had grown up with.

I spent my first 18 years in a small city in North Louisiana, where everyone I knew had similar beliefs as those I was raised with, and their lives weren’t much different than mine. Thankfully, again, I’ve always been curious, and I knew I wanted to experience something different.

Moving to south Louisiana, to a city more than four times larger in population than the city I had spent my life in thus far, I began to feel that curiosity more strongly. I learned more about new religions, cultures, opinions, and history that began to change my views.

As a result of the new insights, my passion grew. My hometown had sheltered me from seeing too much of the hurts in this world; I knew of the hurts, the injustices, and the oppression, but I did not understand the scale of it all.

Turning Hurts Into Arts

When I moved to New Orleans after college, I saw all of these things in a new way. I saw systemic hurt and oppression all within the city and started catching on to how wide and deep it all goes, not only in the state, but in the country, the continent, and the world.

There were many times that I was forced to see the different aspects of our culture that led to unequal treatment of minorities, especially women, and especially people of color.

Oftentimes, these realizations became overwhelming due to feeling so powerless against the suffering of countless people for the gain of others.

During these moments of helplessness, I would create. It helped me calm down and either get out of my head and emotions, or delve through them as I sometimes needed to.

I then remembered hearing about art therapy years earlier. It was barely mentioned to me during a career aptitude test when I was seventeen, but it stuck with me as the only job that sounded even semi-interesting.

I looked into it and could not have been more excited to see that I was on the right track to become an art therapist.

Suddenly, my path was clear. I became focused and driven toward helping people who are hurt and trapped in a system that can often be ineffective at helping those who are the most vulnerable.

Shaping My Way to Become a Therapist

Like many people, I have had a myriad of experiences with therapists as a client. I have had a therapist who simply stared at me in silence for 99% of the session, and another who spoke over me and dominated our time each week. I’ve also had therapists who allowed me to show up authentically, listen, react, respond, and work with me.

While none of these spaces were what I expected, every one of them taught me how each method of work feels to me, and has affected how I want to work with clients.

One of the struggles I had in my life for the majority of my life was loneliness. I was hungry for connection with friends in a community that supported me and allowed me to be myself while also finding myself.

There were several places and groups along the way where I would find parts of what I was looking for, but not the entirety of what I sought. When I moved to Chicago, I found people who were searching for something similar. We connected over our passion for humanity, to see improvement in mental health, and our drive toward social justice.

I bonded with these new friends, and through each of our own experiences, I have experienced community, and I continuously learn more and more about holistic healing.

As a professor once told me, “Those who are hurt in relationships, heal in relationships.” While a therapist cannot be everything to everyone, I do believe a therapist can be the conduit for the healing journey through the therapeutic relationship.

My Everyday Honor to Hold Safe Space for Others

Ultimately, the way I became a therapist was by following my interests. I remember the first time I was on my way to work and had the realization of “wow, I’m a therapist,” and I don’t think I’ve stopped having those moments since.

It is a privilege beyond words to express what it feels like to be the safe person for someone in a world that fights to make us feel “less than” to sell us things that will “make us better.”

I am proud to be an advocate for mental health, connection, and slow mending of wounds with my clients, and through my work as a therapist.

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