Meet Shelby Measel

 

We recently connected with Shelby Measel and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shelby , 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?

I get my resilience from a lifetime of mountains to move, not only my own but being in a front row seat to watching generations combat one another through family systems and society. I have held my friends hands and hearts when it feels like there is no tomorrow coming, when I have felt like there was no tomorrow coming. I have gained the strength to recover from difficult times because I desire a world full of better days, more love and equal opportunities. A world full of better days can not come unless we become more compassionate, educated and willing to fail. It’s really about staying connected to what gives us purpose and strength. A blend of personal reflection, support, and the ongoing learning.

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

My journey has led me to my dream position. I currently work as a mental health therapist with a wide demographic across the state of Tennessee, along with doing psychological evaluations for children who might align with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I feel so fortunate to be able to support my community by holding space for life changing news, inflated symptoms and big life decisions.
Life is overwhelming, creating a safe space for my clients to better understand themselves is an honor. It is was drives me to wake up every morning to get the chance to hold hands and walk with clients and sometimes their families through different paths, to provide resources for independence.

Personally, I am a very empathetic person. I firmly believe we as humans can be emotionally charged, meaning we feel things to our depths. Through all my practices, I strive to give as much as myself authentically and ethically to each client. Most importantly strive for the well being of my clients. I am not afraid of a challenge or carrying the heavy things until you are ready to share the load.

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?

Three qualities I think that impacted my journey in a positive way was; determination, compassion and being willing to fail. We are not perfect at something the first time. Getting out of my own head has been my best tool yet. Showing up for yourself and for others is strongly paired with the compassion for everyone to do well. Pushing forward to improve is far greater than pushing forward to be right. My advice to early travelers would be to give yourself grace. We do not know what someone will show up in our sessions with, all we can do is provide a space, use the knowledge we have gained to help others combat their concerns and believe in both yourself and the client. Take everything as it comes your way, one day at a time.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The number one challenge I am currently facing is imposter syndrome; is the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills. As I said previously getting out of my own head has been my biggest tool, but this doesn’t mean I am not facing self-doubt often. As a therapist we know there is a constant flow of information, skills and theories coming out each day. If you are not on top of the latest news it can become overwhelming, quickly.
I am currently combating imposter syndrome by sharing my experiences with my supervisors and colleagues to remind myself that I am not alone. I implement my own coping strategies and I am transparent with my clients. I always inform my clients that I am still learning, so I do not know everything but I am always willing to learn. I encourage my clients to share materials with me if they find them helpful or want to bring them up in session. Reminding myself that I am human and trusting in my education and effort I continue to put forth for my career helps tremendously.

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Image Credits

I took all of these myself.

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