by Jose Medrano
After dealing with depression for a few years, I decided Spring of 2017 that I would finally make the effort to see a therapist.
I was tired of dealing with feelings of self-loathing and losing my sense of self. However, this might have been a little easier said than done. When my local clinic first referred me to a therapist, the therapist had a ridiculously limited schedule which didn’t work well with my school schedule, so I was not able to ever have a meeting with him. Later that Summer, I went to another clinic that accepted my insurance and covered mental health services. Unfortunately at that clinic, my first appointment was mailed to me without any prior discussion, and it also conflicted with my school schedule.
When I tried to call them to reschedule, they would never answer regardless of what day or time of the week I called. I was also too busy to go in to the clinic myself because of school. This past February, I brought up this struggle to my doctor, and she assigned me a case worker who made it their priority to find me a good therapist. Within one week of talking to my doctor, I was reached out to and was able to schedule my therapy at a convenient time for me. Of course, I was a little bit nervous to finally begin such a major step towards good mental health, but it’s a step that many of us need to take.
I sat down with my therapist, JC, and asked him a few questions about why therapy is important to him and how he feels he is making a difference as a therapist.
