Keep Emotional Reactions Separate From Work Environment
Kristina Furia is a psychotherapist and has a private practice concentrating mostly on LGBT identified individuals and couples. She is the founder of Philadelphia LGBTQ Counseling, which started in 2013. Furia is currently expanding this practice to include more clinicians and new space in Center City.
Where did you get your degree?
"I received my master's from Chestnut Hill College. I am continuing my education at the Philadelphia School of Psychoanalysis where I am midway through a six-year-long program, which will qualify me as a nationally certified modern psychoanalyst at its conclusion."
Can you describe your duties as a psychologist?
"My primary role as a therapist working within the private practice setting is to help my clients to share their thoughts and feelings in productive ways. Secondary to that, I provide interventions as needed to help clients to navigate through life more effectively and with greater access to happiness and overall fulfillment."
How has education prepared you for your career in psychology and social sciences?
"Other than what I believe to be an inherent ability to convey empathy, my education has been crucial to my effectiveness as a therapist. Not only did my education provide me with the skill sets needed to conduct the therapy itself but it also taught me how to conceptualize each client outside of the therapy room so I can best understand their ways of functioning in the world as well as their overall therapeutic needs."
What advice would you give someone who is pursuing a career in psychology?
"Never stop learning; not just about the work but also about yourself. Without a deep understanding of yourself and the way you tick, it is very difficult to provide clients with the quality of care, they deserve without mucking the treatment up with your own emotional reactions. We have the immense honor of being entrusted with people's innermost thoughts and feelings, it is of utmost importance that our work is always conducted with an awareness of that."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. She reports on various topics such as: Social Media, Local Events, Entertainment, Food and Drink and more. Her work can be found at http://firstsendmedia.com/