Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Grusky Foley.
Hi Ariel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My Journey to becoming a therapist and opening Ariel Xochil Counseling started when I was very young. Being raised by two parents who were very involved in social justice and living in Washington DC made it clear that I wanted to do something that felt like I was giving back. I remember always saying I would either be a teacher or a therapist when I grew up (something I did not revisit until much later). I was always around kids and had a natural affinity toward children, even when I was one.
My parents have always been community organizers and figures of support in every community they were in, instilling a drive and expectation to find a career that would do the same in my own way. After graduating from UCSC with a BA in sociology I worked as a preschool teacher. Although I really enjoyed teacher ultimately I decided to look into other career paths due to the low pay and demands of the job. I decided to return to school, attending Palo Alto University to get my Masters degree in Marriage family and child therapy, and a little over 5 years, 3,000 hours of experience and 2 clinical exams later I became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. The time as a teacher really supported me in building skills for communication especially with a background in Montessori education.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the hardest parts about being a therapist is the need to put your own feelings and emotions aside to be present for your clients. Navigating how to show up for clients as a new therapist was stressful. When I was still doing my internship hours during my grad program, balancing classes and showing up for my clients took up the majority of the space in my brain. Once I graduated, this shifted and at first it felt like I wasn’t doing a good job because I wasn’t constantly thinking about my clients and conceptualizing how to support them. In retrospect, it was just a shift based on increased experience and learning how to balance my life outside of work, which was a good thing, and left me with ultimately more to give.
As I continued to move through my career, working at community agencies and group practices. I worked on managing burn out. At the community agency setting you are often working with high needs clients while managing a heavy amount of paperwork and case management. When in group practice your pay is directly connected to how many clients you are seeing each week, making it easy to overbook yourself. I found myself pretty exhausted as I got closer to my licensure exam, but between managing living expenses and student loans it’s hard to take a step back when needed. Luckily this was something I did do, although in retrospect I could have used a lighter caseload than what I was doing at the time if I could have afforded it. Given the circumstances of the low pay most therapists are getting (outside of private practice), and the high living expenses of Santa Cruz this just wasn’t something I could realistically swing. Studying while balancing my caseload was definitely a struggle, but in the end I got through it! Once licensed you get better pay especially if you move towards owning your own private practice which is the route I chose when opening Ariel Xochil Counseling.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a licensed therapist I am currently working with high trauma teens, and young adults, often through the technique of eye movement desensitization reprocessing therapy (EMDR). Many of my clients are working through relational trauma in connection to past relationships whether romantic or familial, and struggle with anxiety, low self esteem and body image. I would describe myself as a direct therapist, meaning that I strongly believe that not only does the relationship between client and therapist matter, but also working together to identify patterns in which clients are creating their own barriers towards creating the lives they want and are craving. Often our own core wounds and fears are also what we crave the most. By identifying these patterns and talking about them openly and with love and care, it allows clients to find autonomy in their own lives, and empowers them to make the shifts they need in order to find themselves where they would like to be. Being able to witness this process is one of the greatest honors and most beautiful things. It leaves me feeling fulfilled and lucky to have been able to chase after this career.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.arielxochilcounseling.com/
- Instagram: @arielxochilcounseling
