FEATURED THERAPIST OF THE MONTH
Susan Harper Slate, Ph.D.
Susan Harper Slate, Ph.D. Email: shslate@aol.com
Dr. Slate received her Ph.D. in 1983 from California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles. She worked at Loyola Marymount University Counseling Service with college-age students for eight years. At LMU, she was the Director of Training, supervising interns working towards qualifying for their licenses. She also taught Psychopathology in the Psychology Department. Dr. Slate has served as a supervisor in other counseling services with other populations. For over 35 years, she has had a private practice, working with a variety of clients and issues. She has given hundreds of lectures to both public and professional audiences. Personal Statement I love psychotherapy. I’ve never wanted to be anything other than psychologist and I am passionate about this work. Being a therapist has allowed me to be “front row and center” to humanity, to love, to suffering, and even to nobility. Besides all my graduate work, and all the books I’ve read, there is something amazing about sitting across from people week after week, month after month, and now, decade after decade. Watching what unfolds changes you. It can sometimes be scary to seek out a therapist. The work is very intimate. Your job (as the client) is to be as vulnerable and honest as you can about yourself and your life, and my job is to deserve the trust you place in me. We work collaboratively to focus on your issues and what you need. I call myself a psychodynamic and existential psychotherapist. Being psychodynamic means that I believe behavior and symptoms are meaningful. It may feel as if depression or anxiety just fell from the sky, but as we make sense of it, it begins to reveal how this developed. The existential part of my beliefs is that “existence precedes essence.” In other words, I don’t “put you into a theory” but rather follow your experience as the guide. Then I show you how to listen to yourself, so you can use your experience to inform your options and decisions. I believe I am blunt but kind, personable and easy to work with. Where appropriate, I encourage humor in the therapy. I am active in the therapeutic exchange. I can talk to you about how change happens. It’s interesting to talk about, but incredible to experience. The process helps you discover more of who are are. |
