Q and A with Nemetria Tate, PsyD

Nemetria Tate is a dedicated psychologist who understands that seeking assistance is a courageous step toward growth. Holding a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, she specializes in helping adults navigate challenges such as low self-esteem, boundary issues, communication hurdles, adapting to life changes, trauma, anxiety, and depression. Nemetria's therapeutic approach is centered around Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and other proven methods, all while maintaining a culturally sensitive and strengths-based perspective to ensure a customized and enriching therapeutic journey. Beyond her professional commitment, she finds joy in audiobooks, movies, and cherished moments spent playing games with loved ones.

Let us delve deeper for an exclusive Q&A session into what Nemetria has to offer her clients.

1. What are the top benefits of seeing a therapist or psychologist?

Everyone needs at least one person they can trust who allows them to be themselves and feels comfortable being vulnerable. While our loved ones are able to do these things, there are some additional benefits one gets from seeing a psychologist. Psychologists receive years of education and supervised training to ensure they are providing a high-quality care. They are able to assess you and provide a diagnosis, which is essential because the correct diagnosis helps to make sure the right treatment is being provided. They can help you determine the cause of your struggles, what is keeping you stuck in situations, and teach you skills to manage or get rid of these problems. Additionally, there are protections for your right to privacy that psychologists are required to uphold.

2. What made you choose to work in the mental health field?

My interest in pursuing a career in the mental health field began in high school. Many of my friends started to inform me of past and current experiences of trauma, which were mostly forms of abuse and neglect. I never realized how common these issues were. My friends mentioned how others responded when they told someone close to them. I started to notice that those who had more positive responses seemed to not be as negatively impacted compared to those who received responses such as telling them they were to blame, not telling anyone else, and being told they were lying, among other things. This made me want to be that positive support for others who may not have someone to help them realize their trauma does not define them, nor does it get to determine how the rest of their lives continue.

3. Why did you choose your specialty?

One of my specialties is trauma. Trauma is such a pervasive and profound issue that can come in many forms. My reason for choosing trauma goes back to how I became aware of how it was impacting those close to me.While I enjoy working with individuals of all races and ethnicities, my other specialty is black mental health. I chose black mental health because historically, there has been a stigma surrounding mental health in the black community. This stigma causes many in our community to suffer continuously instead of seeking support. Luckily, more of us are seeking and encouraging others to receive mental healthcare. Additionally, most of my black clients would say they were excited to have a black mental health professional. This is because people often build connections when they feel like there is a shared identity between them and the other person. We automatically feel like this person gets me. As of now, only 5% of psychologists identify as black.

4. What motivated you to pursue a career in clinical psychology and work with adults facing specific challenges such as low self-esteem, boundary problems, and communication difficulties?

I decided to get my degree in clinical psychology because I wanted to help people in a more personable manner rather than heavily focusing on research. Clinical psychology helped me learn more about mental health disorders and how important it is to consider how our identities and experiences impact us. I learned how to use this information to guide how I approached therapy and testing with clients. Issues such as low self-esteem, boundary problems, and communication difficulties came up often with my clients. These problems heavily impact our relationships with ourselves and others. A lack of self-esteem can often make people feel like there is no need to try because they feel like they are good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, and the list goes on. It can eat away at your motivation to achieve your goals. Boundary problems and communication difficulties prevent us from having healthy relationships because we do not understand how we want others to engage with us and how to let them know.

5. How do you approach therapy with your clients?

It begins with learning about and understanding my clients. I want to know what brought them in and who they are beyond those problems. We discuss what changes they want to experience that will tell them they have successfully completed therapy. I discuss what forms of treatment I think would be appropriate to help them get there, and we come to an agreement on how this process will look.

6. Can you explain the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy and other therapeutic approaches in your work?

The main purpose of cognitive-behavioral therapy is to help develop awareness of and alter thoughts and behaviors that cause distress or negatively impact important areas of our lives, such as how we function at work, school, and in our personal lives. Often, I incorporate strategies from other therapeutic approaches to deal with other issues that occur. For example, we can discuss your values and what is preventing you from living out those values. We can determine what the best ways are for you to calm yourself down when anxious or angry. We can discuss how family patterns are passed down, and you can be the one to break the cycle.

7. In what ways do you incorporate a culturally sensitive and strengths-based approach into your therapeutic practice?

Being culturally sensitive can be thought of as how this person's identity influences or plays a part in the problems they have and what treatment can look like. Our identity can be related to our race, ethnicity, religion, gender, education, socioeconomic status, etc. It is essential to consider identity because it can be tied to problems such as racism, sexism, and classism, which are not problems that magically go away with going to therapy for a period of time. However, therapy can help us determine what we can do to keep these societal problems from causing us too much harm. This can look like developing a sense of pride in ourselves, finding ways to advocate for change, creating a strategy to get out of harmful environments, and more. A strengths-based approach tells the client that they come into therapy with something that will help them be successful. It emphasizes how we all have qualities that are important and useful. I help my clients see how we can use those strengths to help them achieve their therapy goals. For instance, if a client is artistic, we can use those skills to help them communicate things that are difficult to talk about or use them as stress relievers.

8. How do you create a safe and supportive environment for your clients to open up about their experiences and concerns?

I create a safe and supportive environment by listening without judgment. I let clients know that while it is good for me to know a lot about them, there's no rush to say anything they aren't ready to. My clients know they have control over their therapeutic journey. While I will challenge them at times, I'll never force them to do anything.

9. Can you share some examples of how you have helped clients overcome difficulties in adapting to new changes in their lives?

An example of helping a client adapt to changes is moving to another city where you do not know anyone. The client that comes to mind struggled with anxiety. One of the first things we did was create a schedule of how she would split her time between college, work, and working toward her therapy goals. Once she had learned and practiced two or three anxiety-reducing techniques that she found effective, we began creating a list of fears that would require her to socialize and explore the city. We started with the smallest fear and worked our way up. I believe her first fear was joining a club at her college that was related to one of her hobbies. Prior to her joining, we discussed what worried her about being a member, how she could use her techniques, when she would know that she needed to use a technique, roleplayed what it would be like during a meeting, and helped her to connect how her knowledge and interest could help her feel more comfortable.

10. How do you address trauma in your therapy sessions, and what techniques or interventions do you find effective in supporting clients through the healing process?

This is hard to answer because it is going to look different for each client. I have had clients who thoroughly discussed their traumatic experiences and others who never went into detail about them. The most important thing is making sure they feel safe and have a sense of control. We identify triggers, determine the response they have to those triggers, and determine which techniques help them calm down.

11. What strategies or tools do you recommend to individuals struggling with anxiety and depression?

One of the biggest strategies is learning what anxiety and depression look and feel like for you. There is no one way to exhibit these conditions, but awareness is a great starting point. I say this because many people do not realize they are struggling with anxiety and depression until their symptoms become so severe they can no longer ignore them. It's always easier to deal with a problem when it's "small" versus "large." However, when someone is first starting to work on these issues, they have already gotten to that higher level of anxiety or depression. Two things I try with clients for anxiety are deep breathing and using distractions. For depression, try to engage in activities that you really enjoy, like exercise. and spend time with people you like.

12. How do you collaborate with your clients to set goals and track progress throughout the therapy process?

I collaborate with clients by setting goals and creating action plans with them. I encourage them to give feedback about what we are doing. That feedback could be how they felt a session went or things they think I do that are beneficial or could be changed. Tracking mostly occurs by using a scale or chart. This helps us see what is working and what can be discontinued or replaced with another strategy.

13. Can you discuss the importance of self-care and how you encourage your clients to incorporate self-care practices into their daily lives?

Self-care has become a buzzword nowadays, but it really is necessary for a high quality of life. We have to find time to make sure our needs are being met because we can only neglect those needs for so long before they become detrimental to our health and livelihood. I encourage clients to incorporate self-care by telling them it does not have to be some fancy or expensive activity. While a spa day is amazing, self-care can be as simple as a short walk, not skipping a meal, or dancing to good music.

14. How do you balance the use of evidence-based techniques with the individual needs and preferences of your clients?

The balance between evidence-based techniques and an individual's needs and preferences is going to be based on how the client is responding. Some clients do great with a very traditional format of therapy, and others need to be able to add personal preferences to feel connected and seen during this process.

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