We recently connected with Hannah Nicolaci and have shared our conversation below.

Hannah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

You have to start working through an internship in grad school, and since I knew I specifically wanted to work with abuse survivors, I wanted to find a site that really invested in that population. When I looked through who my school was contracted with, I was immediately drawn to Peace over Violence, a non profit working with survivors of sexual and domestic abuse. Luckily I ended up in a class with someone who was finishing up her internship there, and asked if she’d be willing to refer me. They weren’t hiring at the time, but there was no question that that’s where I needed to be, and the women who ended up being my supervisors gave me an interview, and hired me a week later. I don’t know where that courage came from, but I’m so grateful that it did.

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

I’m passionate about helping people find their voice and sense of empowerment again. I work mostly with people navigating toxic relationships, romantic or otherwise. Typically there’s a lot of self doubt and confusion between what they think about the world or themselves, and what they were told about who they are. Some question how they got into those narcissistic dynamics, and some understand because they carry those patterns from childhood, but regardless, there’s a deep desire for understanding and freedom.

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

I think it’s really important to know who you are. Graduate school emphasizes the importance of doing your own mental health work before you enter the field. I don’t think anyone is ever truly “done” healing, it’s really an every day practice that becomes more automatic the more you do it, but modeling that practice for patients is really important. Everyone wants a “quick fix”, and while the pitch of it being a ritual is sometimes disappointing, my own diligence with it is hopefully a sign that it can be enjoyable. Plus it really emphasizes self love to your nervous system, which tends to enhance peoples’ sense of self worth.

I also think it’s essential to know what topics and populations excite you most.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

There is no doubt in my mind that given the opportunity, I’d make the same decisions again. I really love what I do, and there are certainly hard moments as with anything, but seeing people begin to love themselves again or for the first time makes it all worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ashandblooms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashandbloomstherapy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ash-blooms-holistic-psychotherapy/