Get to know Samantha Jones, MFT!
Hold the Vision Therapy is proud to announce the hiring our first employee, Samantha Jones! You may recognize Sam from her internship year at Hold the Vision. We’re so excited she is joining the practice full-time! Keep reading to learn about Sam and what makes her an incredible therapist!
How did you decide to become a therapist?
I love answering this question, and though it’s a long story, I’ll try to condense it as much as possible! My decision to become a therapist had everything to do with the incredible mental health professionals I worked with in my therapy journey to find healing and build my sense of self in my late teens and then again in my mid-twenties. When I decided to return to school and change my career, I was working in the hospitality industry. While this industry is a total blast and has numerous growth opportunities, I felt it was not fulfilling my ability to impact people’s lives in a meaningful way. As I considered other options for new career paths, I was drawn to my memories of the professionals I worked with in mental health that had given me a safe space to process my struggling with. I knew I wanted to be able to do the same thing for someone else.
Who and with what issues do you enjoy working with?
I love working with adolescents, which was a pleasant surprise to me in my internship year. I was wary of working with adolescents when I started. As I worked through those feelings, I became aware of the impact of the therapeutic relationship I was able to build with the adolescents I was working with. As they shared, I could remember what it was like to be that age as they explored their identity and understood their feelings. I could immediately empathize with them and found I could help validate them and help them feel seen. I also enjoy working with adult individuals and relational cases. I find that having a variety of cases with various presenting problems challenges me in the best way to continue my growth in my clinical skills.
Why was it important to you to work for Hold the Vision Therapy?
When I think of a practice I want to work for, my mind immediately considers the values that the practice holds and whether or not those align with my own. I found that Hold the Vision’s Therapy vision and values were similar to mine, particularly in our beliefs of affirming all intersectional identities and advocating for intersectional justice, racial liberation, Landback, and Indigenous Sovereignty. Working with Rachel Miller has been a true joy and incredible growth experience, and I am ecstatic to continue that process.
What makes you who you are?
This is a hard question that I had to keep coming back to. I think what makes me who I am today are the experiences from my family and the people who raised me, mixed with all of the experiences I have had outside of that bubble and in the socially justice-oriented world that I was welcomed into at Adler University. In becoming a therapist, I explored my identity as a queer woman and the continuous internal and external work of anti-racism and dismantling oppressive systems in the therapy space. Sometimes the pieces of my identity from what I was raised to believe contradict the beliefs I hold today, creating more internal and external work to continue becoming the person I want to be. I think the short answer is that what makes me who I am is complicated, and I am working towards being a more thoughtful version of myself.
What are your favorite books to recommend to clients?
I’m going to be real here. It has been a long, long, long time since I have read a book from cover to cover that had nothing to do with a grade for school. The last book I read completely was Where the Crawdads Sing. It was incredible, and I can’t wait to see the movie! I will say that a lot of the books that are on my to-read list are about expanding my knowledge and growth: The Shame Factor, What Happened to You?, The Body is Not An Apology, and Us: Getting Past You & Me to Build a More Loving Relationship. I’ll be sure to let you know my thoughts on the material!
What are your favorite TV shows?
Oof, this is a hard question. I watch a lot of TV and will often vary in genre! It’s probably easier to share what I am watching (or rewatching): Only Murders in the Building, ER, Grace and Frankie, New Girl, Stanger Things, Ted Lasso, and Shining Girls.
What is your favorite musical genre?
I listen to all kinds of music, with my favorites being throwback 90s pop and country music. If I had to choose between the classic *NYSNC and Backstreet Boys debate, my heart always goes to Backstreet Boys. Just in case you were interested.
What do you listen to or watch whenever you need a good cry?
This is tough because I am often ready to cry for anything that makes me overly excited and anything that makes me excessively sad or exhausted. If I want a solid crying session, I will often listen to soft music that reminds me of someone in my life who is no longer here, like my granny. I’ll take a moment to grieve the feelings that are coming up and the memories I am associating with the song. The movie Marley and Me was probably the last thing I watched that made me cry. Spoiler alert, the dog doesn’t survive in the end and letting go of the dog is always super emotional to me.
What makes you happiest?
This question is one of the easiest to answer! The people I have surrounded myself with bring me the most feelings of joy and happiness, especially my little nieces and nephews. Whenever I can be in their presence, it always gets the biggest smile to my face to understand what they are into, what they are learning, and to witness them becoming the human beings they are growing to be. My cats bring me plenty of happiness and love, too, especially Luna! She’s always needing attention and wanting to snuggle!
Want to work with Sam? You’re in luck. She’s currently accepting new clients. Click here to get started!