Therapist Testimonial

Author: Moradeyo Adeyi

“I’m not sure if you remember me,” the text read. My eyes widened as I read the message in its entirety. It was an old patient that I had worked with at the beginning of the pandemic. To protect my client’s identity, key aspects of her identity have been changed. She had recently graduated from college and was beginning her first year of graduate school as a social work student. “Of course I remember you!” I replied. She had reached out to ask if she could interview me for a paper on the mental health profession. I happily agreed, and we set up a meeting for the following week.

I can still remember our very first session together. She was very soft spoken over the phone, and shared that she was in her last year of college. She had been struggling with social anxiety, and wanted to work on improving her confidence and personal relationships. I don’t think that at the time, I thought about where our work would take us. I attributed the social anxiety largely to the impact of the pandemic on college students as a whole. Toggling between remote learning and in person classes had taken a toll on many of my patients. I had worked with students who ended up deferring for a year or dropping out of school completely due to the stress of the pandemic. I often think about how much young adults have suffered over the past two years, trying to navigate this crisis. I was happy to be in a position to support a student, especially a student of color.

She and I addressed the root of her anxiety and discussed the cultural factors that contributed to her anxieties overall regarding  her future. This patient was a child of immigrants, her parents of Nigerian descent. There was immense pressure on her to be successful. She shared that she had aspirations of becoming a mental health counselor and had plans to apply to four graduate schools. We incorporated breathing techniques, weekly exercise, and addressed her sleep disturbance as a way to tackle her challenges with anxiety. I remember her telling me that she had to participate in interviews in order to gain admission into a counseling program. She presented fearful and with symptoms of  anxiety  in session, and shared that she did not feel confident in her interview skills. Together, we prepared for her first interview together. We discussed the worst case scenarios, and reviewed potential interview questions. I encouraged her to take intentional pauses during her interview as a way to ground herself in moments of anxiousness.

I terminated this patient a few weeks before her graduation. I had accepted another position and was saddened to end our therapeutic relationship. Weeks later, she sent me a photo of her graduation, and informed me that she had gotten into every graduate program that she had applied for. 

The power of therapy is real. All this patient needed was a consistent and safe space to examine the root of her anxiety. Many of her fears of failure were rooted in cultural expectations around success. She needed affirmation that she was already enough and that the world already saw her as valuable. I truly believe that this mindshift changed her life, and allowed her to reach her goals. 

*All identifying information has been altered to respect the privacy of the client