Meet Robyn Schindler

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robyn Schindler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Robyn, 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?

Since I was a young girl people have commented on my confidence. “How did you get to be so confident?” I can even recall sitting in grad school with a professor that I found to be quite pompous and frankly speaking an asshole. He told a story about being on an airplane and how stewardesses, yes–stewardesses–not flight attendants, used to be attractive when he was younger. Now, he quipped, “they just let anyone do the job” and he continued by saying that it displeased him to have to look at these women for his entire flight. I, of course, taken aback by these comments, stated out loud that I am sure those working women thought the same of him. The class went silent and some of my peers even looked at me in disbelief. This professor stared me down, expecting me to grow timid. He, like others before him, questioned how someone as “young as me” could have this type of self-confidence. He was the only professor to give me a B throughout my Graduate career. Worth it.

Growing up in a upper middle class neighborhood arrogance was not hard to find. In fact, it was in every direction you could turn. The difference I found, between their arrogance and my confidence was that I never cared what other people thought of me. Most of the kids I grew up with had a “keeping up with the Jones'” mentality. As long as I was proud of myself, happy with who I was, it didn’t matter to me if I wore the newest sneakers or had the “right backpack.” I know this irritated many of my peers. I was seen as different and I valued that.

I think this underlying confidence stemmed from my parents, neither of whom were born in this country. They both were brought up and raised with different values and beliefs than most of my friends families. My father was a blue collar worker, something the people around me knew little about. But my parents were confident, happy and instilled all of these values into me. They had a very strong work ethic, one which I am proud to hold today, and worked hard enough to provide just about anything my sisters and I needed. I grew up as the baby of four sisters and they too helped mold me, shape me into the confident person I am today; the confident person I have always been. I grew up believing in myself because my family believed in me (and I had a big family!) and that was all I needed. My confidence grew as I got older because I strived for academic excellence and as I achieved it I continued to push myself and believe in myself. It was the same for my creative side, pushing my artistic abilities. Eventually, as a psychotherapist I made the jump into private practice because I yet again believed I could do it. My confidence led me to be the entrepreneur that I am today.

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

I am an Art Therapist. And no, not everyone knows what that is.

My career was something that I believe was made for me. It combines all of my interests, values and beliefs into one incredible profession. I know I am lucky to be able to say that I love what I do. That each day “going to work” is not a chore but something I look forward to. So what is it that I do?

Art Therapy is the blissful combination of traditional therapy mixed with creative therapeutic outlets and skills. As I have said for almost 15 years now, think of your regular therapist or counselor but take away the couch and replace it with an easel. We are here to serve the people, helping clients of all ages overcome their mental health struggles. Being an Art Therapist gives me the freedom to help people get in touch with their creative side, their emotional side, the good, the bad and the ugly. The most exciting part of what I do is that no two clients are the same. Client A with anxiety processes their thoughts and feelings differently from Client B with anxiety. Each client keeps me on my toes and pushes my own creative and intellectual boundaries to help assure that we can process all of this together, we can see progress and feel better. I have a true passion for helping people and so seeing anyone overcome any obstacle is the best part of what I do. Yes, there are many difficult moments and cases. I do hear things that most people might have a hard time hearing or processing. But again, I’m there to help them learn and push through and so while getting through the tough stuff is hard, the outcome is still typically positive.

I started my own private practice after running into ethical dilemmas at bigger mental health facilities that I worked at. Greed at the highest level and insurance companies running the show and deciding what MY clients needed did not work for me. I stepped away, with the support of my family, and I went solo. fast forward to today where I Now run a private group practice called Paint the Stars Art Therapy. there are 12 of us working together to help kids as young 3 or adults as old as 100! No, we’ve never actually had a client that is 100 but we would not turn them away! In our practice we specialize in various childhood issues including depression, anxiety, trauma, peer issues, school issues, family issues and more. We also specialize in teens and young adults coping with on going issues of the same nature but also adding in relationship issues and work related stress. With our adult population we work closely with parents, specializing in mom-related hardships and issues. We see it all! Not everyone wants to talk and not everyone wants to create so we find a happy medium (no pun intended) for all.

Currently, we just expanded to our third in person location in Princeton NJ. We are also offering a variety of groups this summer, be sure to check out our Paint it Out Boxing! It’s all the rage!

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

Confidence. Non-judgmental. Creativity.
Without these three skills I can say, without a doubt, that I would not have the career that I have today. Each of these areas of knowledge helped mold me into the professional AND the general person that I am today.
1. Confidence; why confidence? because if you do not believe in yourself you cannot expect others to. Here I am, selling myself essentially as someone that can help you or your child. If I don’t fully believe that I can do this arduous and meaningful task there is no way that you, the parent or adult, is going to trust me to do this job. I believe in myself because I know that I have the education, experience, intuition, common sense, the drive, authenticity and more to rock this job! How can you improve your confidence? Pick out the parts of yourself that you know are there to help you do the task at hand; highlight your best qualities and remind yourself each day of how awesome you are. Create some healthy and positive affirmations that you can practice each day. Just like strengthening a muscle, strengthening your confidence takes work and time. Put in that work, it won’t let you down.
2. Non-judgmental: Perhaps not every profession out there benefits from a non judgmental attitude but mine certainly does. As a therapist you are going to hear and learn about things that you may not agree with. You might meet people who do not align with your values and beliefs. But your job is not to change them into being you. Your job is to help them. They don’t need your judgment, they don’t need your opinion, they need you to listen and be genuine. Every single client that comes into my office wants to be accepted for who they are regardless of religious, political, intellectual opinions and views. It is not easy to leave your judgment at the door before you start a session but if you truly want to be in a helping profession you need to hone this skill. Put them first, not your thoughts on who you think they should be.
3. Creativity: I’m not even sure who I would be without my creativity. Creativity is a force no matter what profession you are in. Being in touch with your creative side, in my opinion, keeps you young. It keeps you on your toes, it helps you think outside of the box, it allows you to see things in a way that perhaps others around you aren’t open enough to see. And that is something that will set you apart from the crowd. Don’t be afraid to listen to that voice inside of your head that says, “I wonder what would happen if I did this instead.” That’s a beautiful and important voice. What good is seeing the world if you only see it as black or white? There is so much grey. And the grey, the mixtures, the imaginative, the inventive…that is what all professions and all businesses could benefit from. The best way to tap into your creative side is by letting go. Let go of any preconceived notions that you can only think one way or do tasks one certain way. Find your creative–art, movement, music, writing, nature, whatever pulls you in, that is where you should start. Creativity is freeing if you allow it to be a part of who you are.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?

Covid changed the face of mental health. Professionals like myself saw an enormous increase in the amount of clients seeking help once covid became a part of our lives. Why is that bad? Well, I would not call it bad, but it is challenging. It is without a doubt amazing that so many people are now willing to seek out help and so many parents/adults are acknowledging the benefits of preventative therapy. The challenge is being able to serve everyone accordingly. Most therapists like myself have lengthy waitlists. These waitlists started around the time of covid and have only increased exponentially. As a business owner and therapist, I am constantly seeking out new therapists to hire and trying to find more ways to incorporate groups so that more kids and adults can be seen. The waitlist is my biggest challenge. It is my Everest.

Asking people to seek help elsewhere only for them to be told time after time…waitlist, waitlist, waitlist. Asking people to wait, imagine having to wait for help with your mental health? You’re not in severe enough crisis to warrant an inpatient stay, perhaps you aren’t even in need of partial hospitalization. You feel unwell but you’re doing your best to cope. You just need someone to talk to but you cannot get an appointment, no matter how hard you try. Imagine doctor after doctor saying to you, “I am sorry you have cancer but we are all booked up.” It is truly the worst feeling. If you went into the mental health field you did so with the desire to help as many people as you can. The waitlist is crushing. My hope is that more and more graduate students will complete their degrees and get out there to help those who are tired of waiting. I would love for graduate schools to be more affordable so we could get more students in. My hope is that we can get to a point where people do not have to wait for good mental healthcare.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paintthestarsarttherapy.com & www.robynspodekschindler.com
• Instagram: @paintthestarsarttherapy & @robbieschind
• Facebook: paint the stars art therapy, LLC
• Linkedin: @robyn spodek-schindler
• Other: Tiktok: @paintthestarsarttherapy

Image Credits

All images are courtesy of myself, Robyn Schindler