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

Lovinda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

My first job in the field actually still stands as being my favorite job. I worked as a middle school mental health counselor and kept that job in the same school for 5 years. Shout out to Bret Harte Middle School in Hayward,CA! I loved every minute of it and grew to love not only the kids but my awesome coworkers Ms. Tracy, Ms. Cynthia, Mr. Barbosa, Ms. Morgan, Ms. Sargent, and so many more!

Imagine being an adult and being sucked into a time machine of energetic middle school kids full of culture, opinions, and personality! I will say this, they kept me on my toes and every day was exciting and different. My goals at the time were to achieve my supervised 3000 hours required by the State Board of Behavioral Science so that I would gain the experience and qualify to sit for licensure.

Oh yes I am happy that was my first job! I learned so much about myself during those years and got heal some childhood wounds I developed in middle school/high school by being in a school environment again. It was awesome and I’ll always cherish those years.

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

Welcome! I am Lovinda and I am glad you are considering working with me! Let me share a little about myself.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in both the States of California and Texas with over 8 years of experience working with adults, teenagers, children, and couples facing depression, anxiety, and life changes. I have had the pleasure of opening up my private practice The Core Counseling Services, PLLC. I named my practice The Core (Center of Real Essence) because it speaks to my therapeutic style- compassionate, direct, creative, and effective. I believe that having a relationship with your core self creates personal alignment for all the things you find important in your life (career, family, love, health, etc.)

I work with people that are determined, stressed, resilient and in need of a safe space to do their inner work. Their goal is to break old patterns, get out of survival mode, and live again!

What makes The Core Counseling special is that I work with a diverse pool of people of all ages and backgrounds to therapeutically address how their present-day experiences intersect with their childhoods. I believe that at my mental health clinic you will get a unique experience of being able to deep dive into all your life (past and present) to break old patterns behaviorally or narratively, get out of survival mode, and live again!

The essential goal of therapy with me at The Core Counseling is to provide you with a safe space to build a healthy, secure, emotionally attuned attachment with yourself so that you don’t have to work in ultimately unhelpful ways to receive what I believe all living things need, LOVE. Once there is an anchored identity source beaming from within you, I believe that the abundance of limitless possibilities becomes your reality and even when life challenges you; the anchored relationship you have built from spending time with yourself equips you with the tools and resources to face the adversity. In my eyes everything begins and ends with our core!

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

Absolutely I LOVE what I do! I don’t feel like I am working. I feel challenged, alive, inspired, curious, determined, and all I do is grow both personally and professionally while working in this field.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

The most helpful for succeeding in this field is firstly genuinely love what you do. You have to have a heart posture of openness, curiosity, and natural care for people. It takes a lot to genuinely listen, maintain eye contact, presence, and remember big and small details to other people’s lives. I feel like you have to have already been built that way before getting into the field because it is taxing.

Lastly, take breaks and separate client’s stories to that of your own. Balance both clinical and personal boundaries so that you can last in this field because again being a therapist is a very challenging role.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecorecounselling.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecorecounselingservices/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecorecounselingservices/

Image Credits
DZN Creatives- the company that created my logo