Tamara Turner

My communication style

I am supportive and positive, but also fairly direct. If I hear that you are getting in your own way, I am likely to tell you so once I feel I have established some trust with you.

My journey to mental healthcare

I find people endlessly fascinating and inspirational. I get bored easily, and this work has never been boring; it's different every day. That's what I always tell young people who tell me they are thinking about being social workers, teachers, or therapists.

My goals for you

I ask people what they want to work on, and if the response is very vague, I keep asking and reflecting back on what is said until we get it down to something more specific and behavioral that we can actually sink our teeth into, and I write it down so we can both remember it.

Our first session

I take a careful history, sort of a getting-to-know-all-about-you tour, but if there is anything really dark and painful in there, we don't need to go into detail that first session, just give me the big picture. I'm going to ask about symptoms, safety issues, family history, if you've been in therapy before, and what that was like.

I identify as...

• Female
• Caucasian or White
• Non-denominational