Why WellByShell
When I was at Lesley University studying psychology at the master’s level in the early 90s, I had a very memorable professor, Dr Merlin Langley. I was taking his course on Gender, Race, and Ethnicity and he said two poignant statements that have stayed with me and ended up shaping my purpose for my practice in mental health care. The first is this: ‘in this field you will come across a lot of people cut off at the neck.’ He was referencing how disconnected humans can be in their mind and body as well as from other human beings. The second is this: ‘people will fall into the same hole over and over again until they learn to go around it next time.’
With 25 years of clinical experience so far, I created WellByShell with the purpose of helping people to connect to themselves and get ‘into training’ to make the desired behavior changes that align with their personal values. To identify the hole they keep falling into and why and how to go around it next time.
WellByShell is for my clients. I want them to have a place they can easily access resources while on their journey of healing and transformation. For my young clients who recognized earlier than most that something wasn’t right within and they were curious as to why and what they could do to respond to the world in a different way. All the while, embracing their singleton lives, un pressured by a desperate seeking of a mate. I have so much respect for them.
WellByShell is for my midlife clients who spent their early years working so very hard to build their beautiful life visions only to have them blow up and dissolve into 1000 pieces. Either from an early trauma that was never cared for or healed or by a trauma inflicted upon them as adults. They found their way to radical acceptance, a growth mindset, behavior change, and a new healthier lifestyle. I have so much admiration for them.
I believe in my clients and I intentionally tell them from the start that the answers and efforts they need to succeed are already inside of them, they just need the right elements to be expressed. They had already made it this far in a challenging world and still managed to create a life along the way. We are in training together. It takes training to make behavior change. It takes training to truly tune into the self and gain the control we desire.
To witness them transforming is an honor, as any good therapist will say. When they come to radically accept that the trauma inflicted on them by other people was not their fault, how the trauma deeply damaged their sense of trust in themselves and others, and then to create an actionable plan of how they want to live their lives going forward. And sometimes it is not a trauma at all, just a loss that needs processing and placement.
WellByShell is also here for health providers and anyone who is seeking optimal health and personal growth. This is where I put all the things clients have taught me about mindset, transformation, and healthy living. And the learning I have gained myself thus far. This is where I put the neuroscience and research by well respected experts in the field of helping to heal people. I hope it educates, inspires, validates, and motivates you.
If you’re reading this and you’re currently in therapy and you’re thinking, ‘my experience is nothing like this’ then perhaps you’ll consider taking the wheel and driving yourself to a new therapist. If you’re reading this and have never worked with a therapist, hopefully you now have a sense for how it can go. Check out Sondermind and find a therapist that matches your needs and location.
With Respect,
Shell
p.s. I have Amazon links throughout for items I recommend. Check them out.