Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Vest.
Taylor, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story can be defined as me listening to my intuition and letting it guide my way,. My intuition has been the strongest guide of all, and it has never led me astray or led me into something that wasn’t a good fit for me. There are many factors that have helped me get to where I am today, but my intuition has been the biggest factor of all. My journey of becoming a therapist was also heavily influenced by my own personal therapists. I like to think that my therapeutic style is a combination of everything that I learned from them (& grad school, of course!).
I figured out that I wanted to be a mental health therapist during my junior year of undergrad at Texas A&M while I was volunteering for the Student Counseling Helpline. Once I graduated in December 2016, I jumped right into the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master’s program at St. Mary’s University – San Antonio. After three years of grad school and two state exams later, I finally started working as a therapist during the pandemic in June 2020. I have learned so much during my time as a therapist and also all my prior work experiences that I accumulated through my 20s.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The journey has been anything but smooth. I immersed myself into multiple different life experiences and career fields that ultimately were not a good fit for me. However, I learned something new about myself and about the world around me in every single one of them.
When becoming a mental health counselor, hardships are not avoidable. In order for us to help others heal, we have to heal ourselves first. Healing is an ongoing journey with no exact destination. As soon as you think you are fully healed, something else will come up to prove that there’s more work to do. When you enter into a counseling Master’s program, you sign up for a lot of things that you don’t realize right off the bat. You sign up for many tear-filled nights, many sleepless nights, and many nights where you wish you could unlearn some of the things that you are exposed to in classes. You are pushed to your limits, not to the point of no return, but to the edge. Your own trauma will inevitably get triggered and present itself like a neon flashing sign, and must be addressed. Grad school in itself is a process of growth, change, & re-birth, in my opinion.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I provide mental health counseling services to children, teens, young adults, and their families. I absolutely love what I do and couldn’t see myself doing anything else! I specialize in teen counseling and sand tray therapy. There’s a few things that set me apart from other therapists in the community, but one of my strengths that I bring into counseling sessions is pure authenticity, intuition, and laughter! I love to work with people regarding a variety of life concerns, such as: depression, anxiety, life transitions, transitioning from teen-hood into young adulthood, transitioning from being a college student into the working adult world, self-harm, suicidality, boundaries with self and others, empaths, HSP, teen athletes, perfectionism, self-growth and discovery, spiritual exploration, spiritually gifted individuals, and those experiencing paranormal phenomena.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
This is a hard question! I have multiple. I think one of my favorites would be going to Schlitterbahn with a friend in high school – we rode all the rides & people watched (one of my favorite hobbies – probably no surprise that I became a therapist!)
Pricing:
- $125 / 50-minute individual session
- $145 / 80-minute individual session
Contact Info:
- Website: www.taylorvesttherapy.com
- Instagram: @taylorvest.therapy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taylorvesttherapy/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_GKrFAm7VG7lTZ3yHONXdw
