We were lucky to catch up with Robyn Schindler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Robyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Once upon a time, I , like so many others in my field were busy working and overworking at a Mental health Facility. I loved working in the mental health field but I was becoming disheartened by the amount of “extra work” required at these facilities which took away from my time with clients. In addition to the added work, my ethical standards were being challenged daily. Many of the mental health facilities, like the one I was a program director for, required therapists to regularly update clients progress as a means of obtaining additional time from insurance companies. The insurance companies were also part of the issue. They often turned down additional time for clients who really needed it. This was beyond frustrating for therapists because we could see the desperate need for help but our hands were often tied in helping clients secure that additional time. Similarly, the facilities themselves were often run by “less than ethical” professionals who would often ask therapists to “stretch the truth” and secure more time for clients that likely did not need more time. Between these two unethical fronts, a therapist like myself will often find themselves questioning their profession, their role, their integrity. This is where my leap of faith comes in…

My husband and I, as a team, discussed my options. I always knew I wanted to open my own practice but I was not sure if this was the right time. We were hoping to start a family and going rogue into my own practice seemed risky. I would not have additional health insurance or benefits, I would not have the PTO or maternity leave that so many working mothers depend on. I was not sure if my own practice would even take off! I knew I would love working on my own and being able to help people while upholding my own standards and ethical practice. But would people come to see me? Could I help provide for my family by actually doing what I love? We did a lot of talking and good amount of thinking. Eventually, I became so unhappy with where I was that I felt pushed into taking this huge jump.

It was a slow but steady start. I created a name for my business (Paint the Stars Art Therapy) and word spread within my local community of what I was offering. From one client my practice grew to five, then ten and before I knew it I was in more of a full time swing! After a couple of years of working on my own, Paint the Stars was in demand and we had a lengthy waitlist forming. It was at this time I knew my next leap as a business owner was upon me. I decided to open my practice to other clinicians and I have never looked back. We are now a thriving practice of 12 therapists.

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?

When someone asks you to talk about yourself do you start with who you are as a person? The fact that you are a mother? An artist? A writer? An entrepreneur? A therapist? Here goes nothing! I am an artist, an author, a mom and a therapist. I am dedicated to my family and my career. I’ve been a creative person my entire life and I always wanted to include my artistry and creativity in my career but I was never quite sure that I would. Art Therapy, being the happy marriage of creativity and therapy to help others, became my lighthouse. I always knew I wanted to help people. I have a passion for working with children and teens which has been a part of me my entire life. Once I became a mother I found that my journey created a new branch leading me to helping parents and specifically mothers who were struggling.

I am the owner and Clinical Director of Paint the Stars Art Therapy (PTSAT). PTSAT is a growing group practice which includes Art Therapists, Licensed Professional Counselors, Music Therapists and Yoga instructors. I am both an Art Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor and I have been in the mental health field for 20 years. I have seen firsthand how beneficial utilizing creativity can be in terms of healing a person and clearing your mind. As an artist myself, my self-care routine has always included drawing and painting and creating in general. I now get to see the other side of creativity as I watch it heal others with my assistance.

I work with a wide range of clients, as young as 3 and well through adulthood. These clients come to see me due to a variety of issues: depression, anxiety, family issues, grief, trauma, relationships, parenting help, stress management and more. The idea is not that I am there to “solve problems” but more to create a space conducive for a client to work on solving their own issues as they come up. I am a hand to hold, an ear to listen, I am there to stretch your mind and push you to be the best you can as a way to heal and successfully decrease negative symptoms. A big part of what sets me apart from others is without a doubt the creative component. Allowing a person of any age, with any background, dealing with any issue to have a space where they do not need to find the words is…life changing. We use a variety of art mediums: collage, drawing, painting, clay, digital art, photography, printmaking, etc. There really is an art medium for everyone, even those that believe they have no artistic ability. You do not need to be an artist to benefit from art therapy.

Each client is unique in what they need to put into a therapy session as well as what they get out of a therapy session. There is no set lesson plan that can work for everyone. This means I work with every individual client to assess their needs and create goals as we form a personalized treatment plan.

Creating this practice and all that it represents is a huge part of what I am proud of as a business woman. As a therapist, I am most proud that clients can feel better and recommend us to others and this is what keeps us growing. As a mother, I am most proud that I am raising two caring, sensitive, sweet and kind boys. As a person, I am so proud that I was able to channel my own grief after losing my father and create a children’s book to help others cope with grief and loss. If you have not met me or know nothing about me I’d want you to know that I respect you and I am here to help you work through whatever is going on in your life. I will always take the time to really listen and validate what you are going through. I will never judge your decisions or what led you to this place in time. I will never push you to do more than you can handle unless I think you are holding yourself back in which case it is my job to push you! Most importantly, I am here to help. As we therapists love to say, help is out there, it’s available, just reach out.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Without a doubt, being a good therapist definitely starts with education, training and experience. Once you’ve checked off these boxes one might think that is all you need to succeed! But the reality of being a therapist is about to set in. In my opinion there are certain personality traits that cannot be taught but are so very important in succeeding. Patience, for one. Therapy is not a quick fix. If you are looking to help people and help them fast then this might not be ideal for you. You work alongside people, on their timeline, at their pace and you have to recognize when that pace might be very different from your own. Being Non-judegmental, is another must have trait. You will be working with children, teens, adults, etc that are making choices you may not agree with. They might be making choices you are very well against. But your role is not to change their choice to align with your values. It is to help them make those choices as they align to their values. We may not agree with them but we will not judge them. Thinking outside of the box, would be my third piece for success. Any trained therapist can come out of school spouting off theories or sitting silently while nodding along. That type of therapy is not for everyone. You really need to be able to think on your toes, change plans at the very last minute, have a toolbox ready to go no matter what a client throws at you. Again, this does come with experience for some but for others it is very hard to get in touch with that creative part of our brain that allows us to view things differently and act on it in a helpful way. Lastly, I believe that a willingness to always learn is immensely important in order to be a successful therapist. I have been taught so many things from so many clients over the years because I was open minded to listening and learning from them. No two clients will ever be the same even with the same diagnosis. I never assume I have all of the answers because I don’t. We, therapist and client, as a team come up with the answers. Taking the time to get to know a client and hear them out, understand what they need, learn from them…it allows you to reach them on a whole new level.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is a funny word. The idea that someone can bounce back from something difficult let alone quickly seems–impossible. As a therapist who works with children we hear all too often about just how resilient kids can be. It is definitely true, in some ways. Children, in my opinion, do not have this magical ability to push through difficult events but instead I believe it is because children are so in touch with their creative side, their imagination, their playful side that they can build themselves back up through that expressive learning. I was around the age of 32 when I got in touch with my own resilience that I did not know I had and I too needed expressive tools to help me through it.

My father, who was very much my best friend, lost his battle to Glioblastoma when he was just 74 years old. I was 31 years old but had never felt more like a child in that moment. It was and still is one of the most difficult things I have ever had to endure. I feel selfish even saying that out loud because I know he endured way more pain then I could ever imagine a person could withstand but for me, my pain, is all emotional. This devastating loss hit me at a time when my husband and I wanted to try and have a baby. The idea of bringing a baby, MY baby, into a world without MY father seemed so lonely and impossible.

I sat with my loss, my grief, for a long time. If I’m being honest I still do today. When I became pregnant, two years after my father passed, my grief felt even heavier than when I first lost him. I believe I was then grieving so much more than just me missing and needing my father. I was grieving the fact that my unborn child would never know him. Being a therapist, I knew how important it was for me to process my grief before bringing this child into the world. I began writing which was not my typical preferred creative outlet but perhaps I had gravitated towards writing because I needed something more to push through these feelings. I needed writing to help me get in touch with my resilience which felt so buried. Through my tears my writing turned into a story. That story became a tale of resilience both for myself and the family within my story. When I completed the fairytale, now titled Three Brave Stars, I did in fact feel lighter and while I was not totally recovered from my grief (one never is) I did feel as if I had come out of that experience stronger and healthier. My inner child came through for the adult I was that needed some imagination and creativity to cope.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paintthestarsarttherapy.com (business) robynspodekschindler.com (personal)
• Instagram: @robbieschind (personal) @paintthestarsarttherapy (business)
• Facebook: paintthestarsarttherapy: http://tinyurl.com/PTSATonFacebook
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/robynspodekschindler
• Twitter: @PTSArtTherapy
• Other: TikTok: @paintthestarsarttherapy https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/paint-the-stars-art-therapy-llc-manalapan-nj/125842

Image Credits
The image of me alone, grey sweater, with paintings behind me and the image of my sitting with mural behind me are done by Frank J photography @frank_j_photography