We recently connected with Brittany Williams and have shared our conversation below.
Brittany , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
There was a defining moment in my previous career as a teacher that made me transition from teaching to school counseling and then to marriage and family therapy.
This was my last year of teaching and I taught virtually. I can honestly say I was not at all prepared for the amount of mental health issues I dealt with from students and families that year.
I had a student who was involved in a bad accident and lost her sister. It was so sudden and I just spoke with her mother hours before. I then had another student who showed me a whole in the wall from a domestic violence issue at home and I subsequently had to call CPS. At that moment, I knew teaching math and science wasn’t doing anything to help the bigger issue no one was talking about so I decided that I wanted to teach people how to heal instead.
Brittany, 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’m currently a student in a graduate program, but I make resources as well. This is ironic because as a teacher, I was the least creative person in my entire school! My classroom was so plain and my idea of a worksheet was a Microsoft word doc. Lol. Teachers now really go all out with the cute factor and that just wasn’t my style. One day, I read a blog about creating worksheets and all of a sudden I was making therapy resources for kids and families. So far I’ve made a workbook and a planner. I’m in the process of creating a journal that will be physical.
I think what sets me apart is not only making each worksheet by hand, but really getting inside the minds of others and taking their thoughts and questions and providing them with a tool to help them process. My resources are designed to help others really think through things and later reflect because that’s how I am with my emotions, triggers, etc.
I am proud of myself for stepping out on faith and not giving up. I’m usually in my little box where it’s comfortable, but I wanted to try something new to sincerely just reach and help as many people as I can.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Well, about 10 years ago I got a surprise of not only finding out I was pregnant but with twins! My husband and I were completely mind blown but also so excited. Unfortunately, we later learned one of our twins had trisomy 13 and would only live maybe a day or two after birth. That situation almost broke me but taught me the importance of resilience. Without that, there’s no way I would’ve gone on to be a teacher, which was one of the best moments of my life. I also wouldn’t be in this position to go on working with children and families as a therapist. The whole purpose of me being a teacher was to help kids. That need to help them came from me feeling so helpless with my son. That moment changed me and my outlook on life. I could’ve stayed down but that moment fueled my passions and I know my son would be proud.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There’s no such thing as perfect… That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve had to unlearn. No matter how much of a perfectionist I am, the outcome won’t be perfect; the journey won’t be perfect. I pour my heart and soul into my products and I questioned why they weren’t flying off the internet shelves! Then I had to remind myself that these things take time. As long as I’m creating for genuine reasons, the right people will come along and appreciate that. There’s nothing else I need to change to make them “better.” There’s no perfect sales price or even perfect moment when things will take off. One day it’ll just happen so scrap any ideas of perfection and just go with the flow!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.therapistteacherlady.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therapistteacherlady/
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