This is the first request I have had for my blog! It's definitely more personal than most of my other posts but I think it is relevant to those seeking a therapist or considering career change, so here goes.

For those of you who know me professionally, you may already know that I worked in the investment field for many years. A lot of people expressed surprise when they heard that I had made such a drastic career change—to become a therapist after working in the intense, corporate world of finance. I worked my way up from an entry-level role at an investment company where some of my more memorable responsibilities included sending prospects maple syrup for the holidays, punching and binding presentation books, and backing up the marketing database with 15+ floppy disks. Those were some fun times.

Before this time, however, I was unquestionably focused on becoming a therapist. In my mind, therapists seemed pretty squared away, able to help people sort out their problems. It seemed like a viable profession and I have always been intrigued by figuring out how the mind works, especially at it pertains to my own experience. In sixth grade, my beloved English teacher Mr. Freeland assigned us a paper on where we see ourselves at 30 years of age. Of course, my paper was about being a therapist. At that time, I metaphorically painted a picture in my mind where I was seated in a professional looking office in the city with a great window view, engrossed in conversation with a client.

A shaky start to work

I entered college with a plan to become a psychologist, and I assumed that the steps would become clear as I progressed through my studies. This was not true; I had an advisor who was responsible for hundreds of students and she was of virtually zero assistance to me during my four years at school. During my college years, I was booked solid and always exhausted—I worked multiple part-time jobs both on campus and at home on breaks, did volunteer work, and still managed to squeeze in some fun and some classes. My family was very encouraging about getting a college degree but graduate school—a mandatory step in becoming a therapist—was optional and I really wasn’t sure how to get started. I began working mostly for practical purposes–I needed to pay some bills--so I kicked off my job search without much direction but lots of effort. After a few years of working, I was in a better place financially and began to think of my next steps but wasn’t sure if I really wanted to go back to school.

At this point, I was already making a decent salary by progressing slightly past the presentation book punching responsibilities and I realized I was going to have to make some major changes if I wanted to return to school for a master’s degree to become a therapist. I had a number of other reasons, too, such as a recognition that I was not great at managing my own work stress (which is ironic, as this is my primary focus in my therapeutic work with clients) and I thought it might be too difficult for me to maintain professional objectivity when dealing with clients who were truly suffering. Some of the people I knew who worked in the mental health field were not particularly encouraging about the nature of the work and the likelihood that one could make enough money to pay their bills. I guess I bought into this belief.

There was still something missing

I also liked the world of finance, well, maybe not every aspect of it but I enjoyed the work, my colleagues, and ended up with a reasonable amount of success. However, there certainly were times when I thought about my original plans to become a therapist but it seemed less likely as I progressed in my finance career. Part of me, however, still craved the chance to help others and, while I always had a lot of work to do, I was feeling professionally unfulfilled. I started teaching yoga (I still do so), finance classes part-time, then full-time, and I really enjoyed it. Teaching was probably the first job I ever had where I was able to set my own agenda without a bunch of other people telling me how to do my work.

At that point, however, I realized that, if I ever really wanted to return to school to train to be a therapist, the time was pretty much now. Because of my serious math skills, I was able to determine that returning to school would take 3-4 years, then I would need at least 2 years of working post-graduation at effectively below minimum wage level in a community agency setting to meet the requirements for state licensure. Then, assuming all went according to plan, I would want the option to work for 10-20 years in the field. When I added it all up, I knew that it was now or never.

Money fears

As I thought it through, I realized that the main reason I was resisting career change was the money. Not only would I leave a fairly well-compensated job, I would have to stop working altogether and spend my savings to pay for school. My graduate school was in fact reasonably priced and I was able to defray some

of the expense by working as a research assistant for one of my professors but it was still stressful for me to not be earning a living wage, as being able to take care of myself was a big part of my identity. I worked through the financial piece of this dilemma in a boring but effective manner – I updated my personal financial statements and sold down some of our assets to reduce our monthly expenses and voila- we could actually afford this multi-year plan. I guess all those years of working in and teaching finance really worked out.

My journey I have recently become a professional licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and opened my own private practice in downtown Boston offering in-person, tele-health, and walk and talk sessions. I work with stressed out professional women who feel undervalued at work and at home, and I help them regain their confidence without guilt or self-doubt. I have a few clients that don’t fit neatly within this category and they are pretty amazing people, too. I love going to work, I look forward to seeing my clients, and I gain great satisfaction running my own practice. I am able to operate my practice as a business and pay my business expenses and take home a paycheck. Looking back, I may not have been ready to make such a big change when I was in my 20s but I sure am ready now. So far, so good.

email: Rachel@rachelcsykes.com
phone: 617.804.6471

* I am licensed to work in Massachusetts.