Meet Dana Lindsay

We were lucky to catch up with Dana Lindsay recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dana, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

After over 6 decades of life, I think one can grow more resilient just by being on the planet. That said, I believe resilience develops best when we maintain a level of curiosity about our daily lives. Curiosity, without judgment, allows us to see the ups and downs of our world and gives us space to process how we see and understand those ups and downs. Humans are kind of pre-disposed to filter external happenings through a lens that represents both their hopes and fears. This limits our resilience growth because it filters out anything that doesn’t have an immediate and comfortable fit into the way we see the world. For years, I used that filter and it resulted in increased anxiety, reactionary fears, as well as excitement when things went “my way.” I have seen the joys of new life with my now-grown children. I have seen the intense pain of loss with the early death of my Dad, the loss of my Mother in her later years, and the loss of my husband during Covid. I have cheered with my family when they reach a milestone or goal and I have held them when they experience sorrow or disappointment. Being open and available (and curious!) to what is presented to me allows me the opportunity to grow in resilience, which, in turn, gives me more space to stand in the gap for my family, friends, and my clients. It is an honor to carry the strength I feel from within and use it, not only for other, but for myself as well.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I like to think that becoming a licensed mental health therapist in my 50’s is the capstone to my earlier career(s). I endeavor to take all that I’ve learned in my technology career (my first post-college career), my non-profit/volunteer leadership years (in college & as a stay-at-home parent), and my post-graduate masters education & internship in order to pour it into my current and future profession. I played oboe and piano from 4th grade to college and I also developed a solo/ensemble/choir career during that time and beyond. Music is such a great way to see the world and to express what you see to others! I am proud that I try to stay current with all types of music, including the joy of discovering young clients who are listening to the rock music of the 70’s that I grew up on! Music endures and staying up with the expansion of music genres keeps people like me feeling young! My counseling practice is what we refer to as a private practice and I share office space with other private practitioners. I am a people person, meaning I draw energy from being around others, so this office set-up is perfect for me. I specialize in several area, including trauma, mood disorders, anxiety, depression, religious deconstruction, and balancing the current political climate with clients’ concerns. The clients drive the subject and I use all that I have learned to assist them in their own personal discoveries.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

With regard to being a mental health practitioner, knowledge and skills of the job are of utmost importance. We commit to practicing with evidence-based interventions which protects the client-therapist relationship and helps keep the client’s needs out front. Without the knowledge & skills that are learned in a Masters program, we cannot ethically practice, so those two things are super important for my work. As for qualities, those are shown clearly by the personality style that we, as individuals, have. They will differ based on how each person sees and interacts with the world. There are qualities of the written word, for instance, in which case a person may express themselves and the messages they want to convey best through writing vs. verbally. As for me, I’m a verbal communicator. I strive to show my clients empathy and compassion through my words and through my countenance and tone of voice. I have worked hard on balancing my own happiness and “joie de vivre” with being present for my family, friends, and clients so I can really take in what they’re sharing with me. If we don’t take care of our own needs and life balance, we will be robbing others of what we’d like to be offering to them.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Although my Dad died when I was 10 years old, I still remember many of the things he taught me. Some specific things, like teaching me to cut the grass, which came in handy after he died because somebody had to start doing it! More importantly, I remember how much interest he took in just about anything I wanted to talk about. He was a physics engineer so he loved helping me with my science projects in elementary school! He and I would work together on his beloved sports car, a TR3, some weekday evenings so we could ride in it on the weekends. My “work” was holding the light so he could work under the hood. The quality time he gave to me was priceless and I can still picture us in some of the memories I just described! My Mom raised my sister and me on her own and while she admired and praised all of my achievements in music, in school, etc. I most remember her continued reminder that I could do and be whatever I wanted to be. The generality of that repeated statement freed me up to pursue various avenues. I spent so many years in music that when I decided, in college, to major in business instead, I was worried about how she would take it. She immediately said that I was the one who knows best what my next steps need to be and she trusted me to take those steps. She was my biggest cheerleader!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.riversedgecounseling.com/
• Instagram: riversedgecounseling
• Linkedin: Dana Lindsay

Image Credits

Headshot credit: Jo Reeves Photography