We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Miesha Quinones . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Miesha below.
Alright, Miesha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?
On my road to licensure, I had to complete 3000 hours of training before taking a board exam and getting my license to practice. One of the benefits of completing the hours is that there are so many choices and populations to choose from. It exposes you to many different people, settings, and circumstances. One of my internships afforded me the opportunity to work with individuals who were unhoused and struggling with addiction. One of the individuals I worked with struggled for years to get housing as they battled addiction and other mental health challenges. I remember they would come in each week and talk about how much things would change for them, once they were housed. Through their story, I witnessed several attempts of them trying to get connected with housing and struggling with feelings of defeat, until after about a year, they finally were housed. When we discussed what kept them going for so long, they responded that it was hope. My career has given me a front-row seat in some of the darkest times for some people. Hope has been a light for many of them to keep going.
Miesha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who works primarily with adults struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship issues. I’ve been licensed for a little over 5 years and currently work with a group practice in the San Fernando Valley. My ideal client is someone who struggles with identity and attachment-related issues. I’d like to think that I provide a warm, accepting environment for healing and I can use humor, appropriately, in the process. Outside of providing therapy, I would like to create products (books, journals, etc) to support individuals with tools for healing.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Other than training, I think it is beneficial and imperative to not only create a healthy therapeutic relationship, but to continue to work on myself. Healthy therapeutic relationships can not only assist in the healing process for individuals, but it can also be a way to model healthy behaviors, such as boundaries and effective communication. Self-awareness is also key, because therapists are also human with their own “stuff” and it is important to be able to keep things that don’t belong in the therapeutic relationship in check.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think being consistent and sticking to my personal and professional values have benefited my reputation. Outside of getting referals from insurance and through my practice, I have often gotten referals from clients I have worked with and I think that when you make an impact on others, it goes farther than any marketing strategies.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @mieshaqtherapy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miesha-quinones-99654793/