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

Molly , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

Honestly, I think my whole job is ripe with heartwarming stories. Getting to help hurting people, see them grow, be a supportive voice, see people discover their strength is a heart-stretching thing and daily a reason for my gratitude. Getting to be a part of people’s positive change, sitting with them, often when they are at rock-bottom, and walking with them until they get to the other side is a beautiful thing. I occasionally receive sweet notes or small tokens from clients who want to express their appreciation for my role in their lives, which is the sweetest. But genuinely, the gift of being trusted by them and sharing in their story is all mine.

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 am Dr. Molly Boyd, I own a private practice in Shreveport, Louisiana. I have been in practice for around 17 years. I see individuals, couples, and families and treat most all presenting complaints. I work seeing clients in person and also remotely via telehealth several days a week. This allows me to see people who are still in my state, but not within driving distance of Shreveport, as well as to treat clients who may not have schedules that permit them to travel to an appointment in person, or even people that have anxiety about coming to an in person meeting. Working via telehealth with some of my clients was a big change that took place during Covid, and has turned out to be a really fabulous experience.

I went into college knowing very clearly that I wanted to work in psychology. Thankfully I was one of those rare people that had that clarity and never deviated from it. I love the opportunity I am given to seek understanding of human behavior, relationships, emotions, and help people to navigate through relational and personal impasses in their lives. My job rarely provides a dull moment, and I am so thankful to get to do what I am passionate about every day. Sharing with people in some of the most intimate moments of their lives and histories, being entrusted to share their secrets, their desires and dreams is the greatest honor I can imagine.

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

Training and knowledge are the foundation for any profession, and clearly have to be in place in working within my field. I am so glad to have had such extensive training and exposure to the realm of situations clinically and academically that I have had. However, in the work I do, nothing replaces genuine care and concern, empathy, compassion and love. We as therapists can be the most skilled in doing the actual clinical work, or we can be the most knowledgeable, but if we don’t have a genuine love for people, we aren’t going to be so brilliant in helping others heal. Starting out many years ago, fresh from academia, I thought keeping a firm boundary between my heart and the heart of my clients was imperative to be a skilled clinician. I have found over the years that this wall needn’t be so impenetrable. Letting my clients into my heart a little is the biggest part of the magic that is the therapeutic relationship.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I would choose my profession over and over again.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: drmolly_
• Linkedin: Molly R. Boyd PhD

Image Credits
Candace Chaney Photography