We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Benjamin Meyer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Benjamin below.
Benjamin, appreciate you joining us today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.
So, I was 37 before I began my current trajectory as a therapist. I lived in Ohio and worked at various financial institutions. It worked for a while (10 years plus), but never gave me the satisfaction I always sought from a career. I was invited to move across the country by a close friend that had recently done the same, and over a short time, things opened up for this opportunity to become real. Luckily, this friend had a girlfriend that ran a counseling practice and she suggested I get my Master’s degree and follow the same path she had taken. It didn’t take much for a new environment and new possibilities to emerge, and with my risk-taking brain, and over a short time, I was not only working in the Behavioral Health field, I was studying for my Master’s in Counseling. Since then, those stars have continued to stay aligned (or, was it my hard work?). A ten year journey ensued (yes, 10 years), and I am happy to say I have found my ideal career… just on the other side of the possibility I imagined, if only I took a step in that direction.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I majored in Psychology as a student at Ohio State University in the late 90’s. It was a great experience moving away from home and finding myself. Initially, the prospects for a psych major seemed too far away and only a dream. I began working in Ohio at a major bank and bought a home, a dog, and created a life. Only, it wasn’t a long term plan, I never had one, actually. I focused instead on bouncing around from job to job, thinking my career would take shape at some point. I continued to struggle. My closest friend had moved away and life continued to ‘happen’. After a visit across the country and some motivation, my friend invited me to get my things together and move to Arizona. My visit and time in the state seemed fun and exciting. Could moving to Arizona open up some new possibilities? Luckily, for me it did. After a Master’s degree and much honing of my skills in the behavioral health field, I opened my own private practice in April, 2021. I’ve only looked back to appreciate the growth and possibility that lie in challenging oneself, and in making determination and curiousity a part of my day to day path, as I help others find their own direction and worth.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
Not a chance. One thing I have learned is that the world needs more of many things– compassion, understanding, knowledge, learning, etc. I feel as though I am able to contribute my part of these things and I can enjoy the possibilities that lie in that mindset, and ultimate goal. This is why I continue to learn and grow as a person. I have always enjoyed learning new things, challenging myself, contributing to a sense of community, and helping others understand more about themselves. I am blessed to be in the position I am in.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I learned is from a time in college, I was spending time with some friends and a good friend of mine was talking to his girlfriend about something. She was bothered by some day to day frustsration, and voiced her displeasure. My friend simply said, “Let it.”. I know for a fact, at this time, letting something happen was not in my vocabulary, and the laid back attitude and sentiment of this friend has stuck with me ever since. Diversity and understanding things from other perspectives have allowed me to consider things I could have never imagined, or knew I needed. From there, I explored Zen, Taoism, Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies. Sometimes I think that idea of letting things be could be applied more universally in many ways, especially in our western, individualistic culture.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theharborcounseling.com
- Facebook: 614theharbor
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-meyer-a3a271b
- Twitter: @benmeyer5