Meet Andrew Rogers

We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Rogers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

My professional counseling career began with a large company that provided virtual counseling to clients across Texas. As I was new to private practice, it was only natural that I was still learning, still growing, and even (gasp!) making mistakes. As a recent master’s graduate, I was well aware that imposter syndrome was not only common but something to be expected when beginning a career in counseling. During my second month in the field, I found myself face-to-face with imposter syndrome in perhaps the most overwhelming way I had ever experienced.
On a Monday morning, I sat down in my home office ready to face a full schedule of clients—excited for the day and eager to walk with people through their fears, anxieties, and struggles. About twenty minutes before my first session, I opened my computer to review a new client’s paperwork. As my eyes scanned the screen, they suddenly stopped on one word that seemed to stare back at me: Psychologist.
The client I would meet for an intake session—and potentially for follow-ups—was a psychologist. Allow me to clarify: I was a newly licensed counselor in my second month of practice, with minimal experience. The client coming to me had not only a master’s degree and a doctorate in psychology but also more than twenty years of experience in the field. What on earth could I possibly offer this person? Whatever insight or techniques I might share, surely they would already know them—perhaps even teach them.
The intensity of the fear and anxiety I felt in the hours leading up to the session was more than I was used to. I’m not someone who typically sits long in fear or worry; I tend to process my thoughts and feelings quickly and move toward a sense of peace. But that day, I was stuck in a loop of self-doubt, convinced I would be exposed as a fraud—incapable, inadequate, unworthy. Then, in the final moments before the session began, a new thought struck me—sudden, clear, and cutting through my anxiety like a knife: The client was not a psychologist. They were human.
I had spent hours viewing this person only through the lens of their profession—an expert, someone far above me. In doing so, I had forgotten the most important truth: they were human. A person with a beating heart, a mind that feels and worries, a life story shaped by family and culture—just like me.
The moment I recognized this, my fear began to fade. The clock turned to the start of the hour. I logged into the session and met the client not as “a psychologist,” but as one human being meeting another—with compassion, curiosity, and understanding. That session reminded me that imposter syndrome often loses its power the moment we shift our focus from who we think we’re supposed to be to simply being present with another human being.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am the owner and lead counselor at Grandview Counseling, a private practice located in Grandview, Texas. We provide therapy for individuals, couples, and families—helping people navigate anxiety, depression, grief, relationship issues, and the challenges that come with simply being human.
What I find most meaningful about this work is witnessing people rediscover hope—sometimes for the first time in years. It’s an incredible privilege to walk alongside clients as they move from self-doubt and fear toward greater self-understanding, compassion, and peace. Whether it’s a teen learning to manage anxiety, a couple rebuilding trust, or someone processing deep loss, there’s nothing quite like seeing growth take root.
What makes Grandview Counseling unique is that we’re clinically grounded and spiritually informed. That means clients receive professional, evidence-based care rooted in psychological science, with the openness to include faith and spirituality when it’s meaningful to them. This approach allows space for both the head and the heart—something that resonates deeply with many of our clients.
We are continuing to grow to meet the needs of our community. We have recently added a new therapist to expand our availability and continue to offer both in-person and virtual sessions across Texas. I have also started a YouTube channel called Ten Minute Therapy, where I share short, practical insights about mental health and relationships for people who might be curious about therapy but aren’t sure where to start.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

First and foremost I believe that one of the most important areas in counseling that anyone interested in the field should consider, is to begin being comfortable being uncomfortable. It is undoubtedly uncomfortable to sit with a stranger in the midst of their darkest moments of life, in the midst of grief, anxiety, depression, loss, or hopelessness. And yet that is, unironically, the calling of the counselor — to sit in the uncomfortable places with people of different walks of life, day in and day out. A wise counselor once pointed out during a conference that counselors spend an inordinate amount of time in anxiety producing situations, and therefore need to prepare themselves for that journey. So again I say, get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Another important skill or area of knowledge I highly recommend for all counselors is to learn as much as they can about the impact of Trauma, or even study some Trauma-Informed care practices. While this may not be everyone’s specialty, the sheer number of individuals who carry some level of traumatic experience with them throughout their life is disproportionately represented in the counseling room. The more educated on and practiced in helping people navigate trauma and it’s impact on the human mind and body, the more capable the counselor will be in navigating the whole spectrum of mental and emotional health issues present in the counseling process.
Lastly I propose that empathy is not only a necessary part of good counseling, but an essential aspect of human existence. To sit with people in their emotions, to be willing to walk through dark places and indecision, to be grounded but present with others when their lives feel out of control — this is the calling of the counselor. Empathy is something humans are designed to engage in, and all people are in theory capable of giving and are in need of receiving. Counselors are specialists of empathy, experts in giving empathy and in ensuring the person sitting across from them feel and experience it. As such, we would be hard pressed to find a more crucial skill set to practice and perfect.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Counselors, like so many other professions, often feel a need to mask their anxiety, fear, worries, struggles, and weaknesses. There is an inherent sense that counselors need to, “have it all together”, and in fairness, the counselor must be a solid rock in the counseling room. However we must accept that counselors are human, and therefore experience the entire range of human emotions. Here again however, counselors spend a disproportionate amount of time sitting in other peoples emotions (and rarely are those emotions joy or peace). As such, the burnout of the counselor is a real thing that must be prepared for, and the counselor them-self must be practiced in caring for their own needs.
Firstly, as the philosopher Socrates famously reminds us, “Nosce Te Ipsum”, which translates to Know Thyself. We must be aware of our own tendencies, the green flags of healthy functioning, the yellow flags of warning signs in our behaviors, and the red flags of more concerning choices and reactions. Practicing the whole realm of self-care from exercise, to sufficient sleep, to a healthy social life, are all ways that I care for my own mental and emotional health. In noting any moments of feeling overwhelmed in my own life, I believe that identifying it early and catching it low is an essential part of ensuring that I can properly address it before it becomes a red flag.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.GrandviewCounseling.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grandviewcounselingservices
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TenMinuteTherapy