Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Olson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I went through some rough patches with my family of origin growing up, and honestly, I think I ended up in psychology because I wanted to explore the whys of human behavior to help myself make more sense of my life and to cope with hardships. I got my bachelor’s degree in both psychology and business and pursued a master’s, and then a doctoral, degree in counseling psychology from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Looking back, I lived very much “in my head,” worrying about being good enough, being a failure, what other people thought of me, and who I needed to be to get their love, respect, and approval. Not to over-simplify matters, but that’s what pain does to a person, right? It typically makes one focus inwards for the sake of healing and making improvements.
When I first started to actually provide therapy in an internship setting, I was still “in my head”, worrying about how good of a therapist I was being and whether or not my patient was judging me accordingly. A significant shifting point for me as a professional was when I literally thought to myself, “This is not about you. This is about them, and getting them the help they need right now”. Once I was able to more fully focus on who I was with, and not on whether they were coming back, I was able to more easily follow their energy and help them to explore whatever it was they needed to explore.
Sometimes I find that patients want techniques, skills, and hard “evidence” to use to work on their problems. This can be helpful in regards to challenging negative or irrational thoughts, getting out of your head, calming a tense body, and getting in touch with one’s senses; however, what I think generally speaking has been the most helpful for my patients is my presence as an attentive, caring, and objective individual who is there for them to lean on.
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?
Once as an intern, I may have done more harm than good for a couple. I remember I had just learned about triangulation in a psych class, and when a couple presented as having a problem with a relative, I suggested that this may be going on. The couple did not like this suggestion and complained to my supervisor about it. Since then, I’ve been working more and more on not saying everything that goes through my head and being careful on how I word or frame things.
I’ve had two patients commit suicide, one lady in her mid-30s, and one lady in her late 60s, a grandma. Both of these deaths were heart-breaking, and they definitely made me wonder whether there was something more or different I could have done as a therapist to prevent the suicides from happening. I’ve had to call the police on various patients several times to do wellness visits, which can be very stressful.
As you know, we’re big fans of Aging Well Together & Boxes by Genna. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I own a private practice, Aging Well Together, and offer counseling services and psychological testing. In regards to the former, I counsel folks with depression, anxiety, intra-, and interpersonal issues, and occasionally something more chronic and pervasive like a personality disorder or bipolar disorder. In regards to the latter, I test for things like IQ, personality traits, cognitive and adaptive abilities, learning abilities, memory, and psychopathology. Using psych assessments, I explore these tendencies and abilities with individuals to diagnose things like ADHD, a learning disorder, autism, or a psychological disorder for the purpose of treatment planning.
Out of Aging Well Together grew Boxes by Genna. I began making care packages for patients to help alleviate feelings of depression, grief, and anxiety, and it turned into a bigger and broader gift boxing business.
How do you think about luck?
I think there are probably numerous factors that are out of my control that influence me daily on both a personal and professional level, but I’m not sure luck is one of them.
Pricing:
- I accept most insurances.
- The boxes range from $49-$99
Contact Info:
- Email: katie@agingwelltogether.com / katie@boxesbygenna.com
- Website: agingwelltogether.com / boxesbygenna.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boxesbygenna/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boxesbygenna
Image Credits
Therese Steinhoff
Alli Parfenov
