We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Oliva González. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Oliva below.
Oliva, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I would say that it has been a very long process, and that it has no end. Fundamentally, it has been, and is based, on personal work. In looking inside myself, investigating every judgment, belief, idea, and opinion I had about myself, and asking myself questions about them. Is this really mine, or does it come from someone else? What facts, what foundations do these ideas have? Can I change them? This looking at myself from the inside has often been accompanied by professional accompaniment, specifically, by psychologists
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am currently a university professor and psychologist. I am developing a psychology center focused on trauma and mood disorders. My brand name is Skopos Center. Skopos is a Greek word that means purpose. In the translation industry, it is used to define the goal of translation, which, in the end, is to understand the meaning of a text. Both purpose and translation have a lot in common with therapy, specially in the field of trauma. In therapy, we work to integrate the difficult into a person’s life. And this integration happens when you understand, when you can give a meaning and a place to what has been difficult. I offer three types of services, therapy, psychoeducation, and group sessions with a focus on art. I believe that there is a significant deficit of knowledge and information about what mental health is and what are those aspects that each of us can manage to achieve good mental health. Sometimes you don’t need therapy, you just need to put things in right place, and that, sometimes, can be done with the right information and knowledge. That’s why we offer both. Therapy for those situations that require it, and knowledge and information for all. In the case of grupo sessions, it is important to know that art is a mobilizer of our emotions, thoughts, and barriers. We use photography, painting, dance, theater, or any other art that we consider convenient for the development and growth of the group. One of the photos of this interview is from a group session in order to work in personal identity.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think it’s essential to have patience, perseverance, and resistance to frustration. Starting a new business, especially when you’re starting from scratch, and there is a lot of bias and stigma in the market about what you offer, is hugely complicated. In order to achieve the three things I have mentioned: patience, perseverance, and resistance to frustration, it is essential to be very clear about your purpose, your objective, why you do what you do. Many times you will want to abandon, to leave it, and then, it is essential that you remind yourself why you are there. It works very well to have an emotional and very concrete motto, because it will be our main source of motivation in difficult moments.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
A person who has experienced difficulties in their life, and who understands that they can be overcome by trusting a competent professional. That he/she/x also understands that he must dedicate time and money to work on this difficulty, and that he/she/x is willing to incur that investment, even at the cost of leaving other things. He/she/x is, therefore, someone who understands that working on his/her/x mental health is something he/she/x cannot put aside.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.skoposcenter.com/
- Instagram: @centroskopos
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivagonzalez/
Image Credits
Honevo and me
