We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shandelynn Hillard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shandelynn, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

My entire life I’ve been a talker, I believe that God optimized my ears for this very career and that I’ve been led to discover the person that is buried deeply. It took a while for me to become the woman that I am today and I’m holding on to her. I am witty, sarcastic and challenging in both by personal and therapy life. Through my spiritual journey, I have grown to love my flaws and treat myself with kindness-after all, it’s free.

There was a time when I thought I would never pass my licensing exam, this was an extremely scary place. I remember setting the appointment, not telling anyone about it due to the fear of having to explain what went wrong. I remember my cousin giving me tips, that included relaxation techniques, which changed my life. I sat for the exam and passed by 7, which I is completion.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I moved to Houston, TX from New Orleans in 2012 to pursue schooling at Our Lady of the Lake University. As a child I dreamed of becoming a teacher, which later manifested into therapy. I love my age group, which is why my favorite population to work with are Millennials. I love the commonalities we share and feel that I can be a light for them. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and have been in my field for a decade. I specialize in depression, anxiety, trauma and my favorite life transitions. I also love to assist with other areas such as self-care and stress management, self-esteem, goal setting/accountability. I am known for individualized treatment plans for couples, individuals, and families to ensure that each client is getting what they need out of therapy.

I am most proud of myself because I see my dreams expanding each day. I am proof that things don’t come easy, but if you work hard at a dream they eventually will come true. My style of treatment and personality sets me apart from the rest. I understand what it is like to be on the opposite side of that sofa and understand that it takes a certain type of person to muster up the courage to “spill the tea” on their lives. I am a lover of stories and a giver of time, I am truly here to lend a healing hand.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

A request for my clients, is that they show up as their authentic selves. What this requires is for them to speak in their own language, not softening their words for me. I also ask that they are transparent and honest while in session. All of those request are things I also require of myself during my personal life and professional life. I believe if we can make a space to be honest and transparent we can make some of lives complexities simplistic in nature.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Being vulnerable is a choice that we can actively make, while also choosing those that are safe to be open with. In life finding safe spaces can be difficult, but once we have it, we have to nurture it. This means that there has to be reciprocity on both ends. As I mature in my personal and professional life, my values are continuously being upgraded and I am loving the space I hold. I think there can be a similarity between myself and many others in that there were some spaces that weren’t as safe as we’d hoped. But, if we take the lessons that we learned in those situations, we can begin to foster the growth and choose wisely in our future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.teatimetherapy.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teatimetherapypllc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

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