We were lucky to catch up with Rick Manista recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rick thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

Obviously the biggest one for everyone was the pandemic. Telehealth always existed, but no one was trained in it or ever fully practiced it. Then overnight we all became tv therapists. It caused me to relearn all of the techniques I was trained in, because suddenly they were not as fluid as before. Children were especially challenging to figure out how to play with them and make a connection online. And somehow it happened! It also opened up so much opportunities, especially for travel. It shifted the therapists’ lifestyle so greatly.

Rick, 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”m a psychotherapist who specializes in working with children, neurodiversities and the LGBTQ+ population. I’m also faculty at the New York Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy and Training where I teach and mentor new therapists.

Part of me feels like I have been a therapist all of my life. I was always the person who would talk my friends off of a bridge, try to resolve conflicts with others and the teacher’s pet who always got extra work. Originally I was pursing journalism in college. I found that more of the people I connected with were in my psychology classes. My partner at the time told me I should be a therapist and I said “ok!”. Kinda like Monica in “Friends”

In working with children and people with neurodiveristies, I was lucky to get training in many different types of therapies. One of the main frameworks of my practice is Gestalt therapy: a creative, holistic therapy that focuses on present moment awareness between the client and therapist. While other trainings gave me many tools to work with, I have found some of those modalities can limit the potential for clients to grow and express themselves. Gestalt has helped my work expand client’s limits and beliefs of themselves, mainly by fostering a genuine human connection. It is important for me to bring that with all my clients, and I feel privileged to be guiding new therapists in that process as well!

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Literally, there is not other job I would take. Getting to guide people out of the darkest of times and showing them their strengths is the most rewarding experience. There are so many ways to work as a therapist too: groups, case management, teaching etc. Unlike other professions, there are many ways to use your brain. That always balances me out and I would not trade that for the world.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I was applying to doctorate programs, one school rejected me for being gay. I was so infuriated/shocked/depressed I did not know what to do. It made me work harder and find accepting programs. And it was all the more sweeter when I wrote that program (they who will not be named) and signed my name as doctor.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://rickmanista.com