Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cristy Mereles, LCSW. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cristy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Yes, early in my career I was working for a large organization that was providing therapy for children who were abused and neglected. I began to feel burned out and that the services I was providing were too little too late. I was pregnant at the time and made a promise to myself that when I came back from maternity leave I would do something that made a bigger impact on the lives I was working with.

Cristy, 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?

Sure, my name is Cristy Mereles. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). I have a private practice in San Diego, Ca. where my specialty is working with trans clients. I am cis/ het which leads many people to wonder how I got started with my work in the trans community. After a defining moment in my career as a therapist -where I promised myself to do more good- I found myself learning a lot about gender and the transgender experience. It naturally made sense to take what I had learned about gender and my desire to do more good and apply it to my work as a therapist. Slowly I started getting more and more trans clients. The majority of my clients come to me with the need for someone to walk with them through their gender journey as they began understanding themselves. I have walked with others through their gender journey so many times that I feel as though I now have a roadmap for it. This is not to say that all trans people walk the same steps, more that I have traveled this journey so often with so many people that I am comfortable (and honored) to journey along side my clients as they walk towards their destination of self assured, self fulfilled, confidence and authenticity.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

After a person close to me came out as trans, I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew about gender. Gender is not an either or, black and white concept identified by a body part or chromosomes. Gender is something that exists internally, in your brain, much like being right or left handed, it is something you just know. Once that was deconstructed I was able to learn about gender in a new way, move forward and become an ally, educator and therapist in the trans community.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Definitely! Part of my original promise to myself was to do something that I believed in, something that was effective and I have done just that. I wanted to wake up and feel excited about going to work, which I am because I see my clients lives improve each and every time. Believing in what I do has created a positivity that radiates out in all the best ways, such easily finding clients and being effective in my work with them.

I tell my clients that I have picked being a therapist for the trans community because I wanted a story with a happy ending. Each time I work with a client it is indeed like reading a chapter of my favorite story. My clients borrow from my strength and confidence because even if it is a challenging chapter I can assure them that the next chapter and the end of the story are worth waiting for.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.merelestherapy.com

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