We recently connected with Morenike Olorunnisomo and have shared our conversation below.

Morenike, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

My internship experiences definitely had an impact on who I am as a person as well as a mental health professional. While I had several internship experiences between undergrad and graduate school and many impactful clients down through the years, there is one client who had a significant impact on me during one of my graduate school internships. Being an intern, I was, of course, still learning how to be a therapist in addition to how I personally wanted to show up for clients in my role as their therapist. In my work with this particular client, I truly came to understand the profound healing power of the therapeutic relationship in a client’s healing journey. I learned that while the book knowledge and complex interventions can be helpful, the healing really lies in the space between therapist and client.

Morenike, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in complex trauma and dissociation. I am also a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Registered Yoga Teacher. I decided to pursue additional training in the second two things, because I quickly learned that we cannot leave the body out of the conversation when it comes to trauma healing. I knew I wanted to be a mental health therapist from a pretty young age, but even back then, there is no way I could have imagined how fulfilling this work is for me. It is such a privilege and honor to be a fellow traveler on my clients’ healing journeys. I bear witness to their vulnerability, their pain, their hurt–but also their joy, their growth, and their transformation. I think one thing that sets me apart from many other therapists is that I bring all of my humanity into who I am as a therapist–I am authentic while maintaining appropriate boundaries; gentle while also being direct; and make sure my clients know that I am always in their corner–even when they aren’t in their own corner. Sharing that space with clients means we laugh together, sometimes we cry together–sometimes we even laugh until we cry and cry until we laugh. As a result, my clients know and feel that they, too, can bring all of themselves into our space. There is no such thing as “too much information” in therapy, and I really want my clients to believe that.

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

One lesson I have definitely had to unlearn–and in many ways am still unlearning–is that the only way to succeed is to be critical of yourself and have very high and rigid expectations. I am a recovering perfectionist and everyday I have to choose to be soft with myself, to be flexible, to be kind. We cannot judge or shame or criticize ourselves into being anything other than what we currently are (at least not sustainably), and the only path to real and lasting change or growth is through full acceptance and grace for our current self.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

One of the most beneficial contributors to success in my field has been building a life and routine of self care, which includes honoring my capacity, setting/maintaining boundaries that serve my wellbeing, and making sure I am meeting my basic needs of nutrition, hydration, and rest. It’s hard to hold space for someone else if we are not holding space for ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://empoweredhealingdallas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/body.mind.soul.healing/

Image Credits

Hutcherson Photography