Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I write traditional Regency romance, which is historical romance in a style similar to Jane Austen. I currently have two books available in all formats: Two in the Bush, about a widow who falls in love with her daughters suitor; and Romance of the Ruin, about a girl who …
Interviews & Features
Interviews with and features of therapists and novelists

Author Interview With Daisy Knox
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! I’m Daisy Knox, romantic suspense author. My book, Go For Broke, was just published in 2021 and I hope it’s the first of many. Tell us about the characters and relationships in your stories The main character, Cady, is 23 and has really bad luck with guys so …

Author Interview With Serenity Snow
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Serenity Snow, and I’m an author of both contemporary romance and fantasy or speculative fiction. Tell us about the characters and relationships in your stories I like to write about women who have been emotionally wounded or carry childhood traumas. They are afraid of getting close …

Author Interview With Tanya Chris
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Writing under the name Tanya Chris, I’ve published more than thirty romances, mostly M/M, in a variety of sub-genres such as contemporary, fantasy, historical, suspense, and action/adventure. My most popular books are my BDSM series that combine BDSM relationships with intriguing, action-oriented plots. My books are available through Amazon …

Author Interview With Elias McClellan
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Elias McClellan and I write crime. I have a heist-caper book with the editor now that I hope to have out by summer. I’m hip-deep in revisions on my cop-turned-cartel enforcer book. I’m outlining a third book. Tell us about the characters and relationships in your …

Author Interview With Misty Vixen
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I live somewhere in the United States and I’ve been writing professionally (see: earning more than pocket change from my self-published works) for about seven years now. I started out as an erotica author with a focus on down-to-earth human men protagonists having sexual and/or romantic relationships with alien, …

Author Interview With Sarah Monzon
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Sarah Monzon and I am a stay-at-home mom and military wife. Both of those titles come with their own set of rewards and obstacles, as I’m sure you can imagine. When I’m not busy wrangling the kids (or the husband! haha), I’m trying to lasso my …

Author Interview With Verena Key
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Verena Key. I live and work in a small German village, with a river nearby, and remnants of a medieval fortress on the hill, surrounded by vineyards and a forest… In other words, I don’t have to walk too far in search of inspiration. I have …

Author Interview With Jeevani Charika
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi. I’m Jeevani. I wrote multicultural romcoms and women’s fiction. Also write less multicultural romance under the name Rhoda Baxter. I’m a microbiologist by training (so what better pen name, than the bacterium I used to work on ‘Rhodobacter’). I live in the UK, where I write books, wrangle …

Author Interview With Fenna Edgewood
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I write historical romance from home while my four-year-old and two-year-old run around me (with help from my partner). In my past lives, I was a wedding photographer, a high school English teacher, and an academic / adjunct professor who specialized in medieval and Renaissance literature. I picked up …

Author Interview With Betsy St. Amant
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I’m Betsy St. Amant (Haddox), and I write contemporary romance novels that fall somewhere between regular romance and rom-coms. I love infusing my stories with hope and humor, and creating witty banter between my characters. I’m sarcastic by nature, so it overflows! I’m an author by night, but by …

Author Interview With Sunshine Rodgers
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I am an International Best-Selling Author on Amazon and I have attended 31 book signings and 5 Book Tours. My books have landed on 23 different Amazon Best Seller lists in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. My stories are translated in several different languages (Spanish, English, Portuguese). …

Author Interview With J’nell Ciesielski
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is J’nell Ciesielski and I’m a bestselling historical romance author. I live in Virginia with my husband, daughter, and our very lazy but equally adorable beagle, Daisy. My novels are set during the Great War and WWII and feature characters finding out who they truly are when …

Author Interview With Barbara Elsborg
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Barbara Elsborg. I live in Kent in the south of England. I always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, I decided it was not for me. Volcanology scorched my feet. A morbid fear of sharks put …

Author Interview With Astra Rose
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Astra Rose and I started independently publishing dark romance and erotic fiction last year. My stories explore taboos and kinks; vanilla isn’t for me. My recurring tropes are age gap and daddy kink. My most popular series of stories has been the Daddy’s Girl series, about …

Author Interview With Clarissa Harwood
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I’m Clarissa Harwood, author of three historical novels: Impossible Saints, Bear No Malice, and The Curse of Morton Abbey. My novels feature strong women trying to find their place in a world that is often hostile to them. These books are also love stories, showing characters trying to navigate …

Author Interview With KG MacGregor
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I once had a career in polling and market research that left me with lots of time on planes and in hotels, which I filled by reading Xena: Warrior Princess fanfiction. It was addictive! I’d never been much of a romance reader, chiefly because I didn’t see myself in …

Author Interview With Alexander Elliott
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! My name is Alexander Elliott, an indie author living in the USA’s upper Midwest. When I’m not busy writing, you’ll find me reading, cooking, giving to charity, or keeping up with my family. I love chocolate, insist on sending birthday cards, and consider myself an old-school Star Trek …

Author Interview With Joe Cosentino
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I’m author Joe Cosentino, winner of the Divine Magazine Readers’ Poll for Favorite Mystery Author of the Year with Drama Queen, the first (of 15) Nicky and Noah mystery novels. I’ve written 31 novels so far, causing my mother to ask me, “Don’t you have anything better to do …

Author Interview With Golden Angel
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! I am Golden Angel and I am a USA Today Bestselling Author who writes kinky books in a bunch of different genres. I’m mostly known for my contemporary BDSM series and my historical spanking romance series, of which I have several series for both, all set in the …

Author Interview With R.K. Hart
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi there! I’m Rebekka (R.K.) Hart, a fantasy author and educational technology specialist living on Ngunnawal land in Australia. I’m married, and have two young children and a feline fur baby. My debut novel and first in the Death Dreamer Legacy series, To Dream of White & Gold, was …

Author Interview With Emily S Hurricane
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi there! I’m Emily S Hurricane, author and freelancer. I’m an east coast Canadian work-at-home mom of two humans and a furbaby. I write in many genres, but heavy on the erotica and romance, so I’m constantly weaving relationships, throwing wrenches in them, and stitching them back together. Tell …

Author Interview With Nadine Little
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! I’m Nadine and I live in the Central Belt of Scotland. I’ve been a published author since 2020, The Year of Our Plague. My books are often based in Scotland and are either science fiction/dystopian or paranormal fantasy. Whatever the genre, there’s always swearing and sexy bits so …

Author Interview With Melanie Pickering
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hey there, my name is Melanie Pickering and I write Australian urban gothic thrillers and other genre-mashing novels that all have relationships and romance at their core. My novella Adrift can be found in the romance anthology Mermaid Kisses, and I’ve just released my debut in late 2021 – a young adult …

Author Interview With Rita Lee Chapman
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi, I’m Rita Lee Chapman and I live in Queensland,Australia. I have self-published seven books – four in the Anna Davies Mystery Series, a book for horse lovers from teenagers upwards Winston – A Horse’s Tale, and two crime mysteries, The Poinciana Tree and Dangerous Associations. I am an …

Author Interview With Sandy Barker
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I am an Aussie author with an American mom and an English dad who considers all three countries ‘home’. A lifelong and passionate traveller, many of my books are inspired by my travel adventures and my real-life ‘meet cute’, meeting my partner, Ben, in Santorini as we were about …

Author Interview With Caitlin Moss
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Caitlin Moss. I am the author of three contemporary romance/women’s fiction novels: The Cracks Between Us, Not Mine to Love, and Sixteen Summers. I am a wife and mom of three and reside in the PNW. Tell us about the characters and relationships in your stories …

Author Interview With Nicole Banks
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Nicole Banks. I am a native New Yorker who loves cats, ice coffee, warm water, and yoga. I’ve been writing since as long as I can remember and music has always fueled it. I Deliver Sinful Delights with a dash of suspense and a little darkness …

Author Interview With AJ Ryder
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is AJ Ryder, and I am a romance author. My specialties are fantasy romance as well as paranormal romance. I love world-building and getting creative with lore and characters, which is undoubtedly a direct result of my playing D&D. Tell us about the characters and relationships in …

Author Interview With Laurie Larsen
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi! I’m Laurie Larsen, an author of over 20 books. I specialize in romance novels that feature an inspirational faith journey. Although I generally set my books on the beautiful coast of South Carolina (Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet), my current series is called Big Apple Blessings and takes place …

Author Interview With Susan Griscom
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi. I’m Susan Griscom, and I write primarily contemporary and paranormal romance. I began my writing career out of boredom after I retired in my 50s. My mind seemed to be crying out for something that required more thinking than quilting, gardening, and reading. I still like to do …

Author Interview With Karen Nappa
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I’m an Amazon bestselling author of Contemporary Seasoned BDSM Romance with HEA. I turned fifty this year, and I’m married to the love of my life — we have been inseparable since 1993. Both my husband and I identify as pansexual and we have an open relationship. Although hampered …

Author Interview With Jennifer Lane
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hey, relationship lovers! I’m Jennifer Lane, psychologist and author (psycho author). I write sports romance and romantic suspense with a psychological twist. My latest release is Rivals, a romance between coaches from rival universities, and my Blocked trilogy also explores the transformation from hate to love. Completing my collection is …

Author Interview With KC Poitras
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi, I’m KC. I am originally from Virginia and now reside in Florida. I found myself coming up on the ripe age of fifty when my marriage fell apart. Like many others, I felt my life was over. I would never find love, and was destined to grow …

Author Interview With Delaney Diamond
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! My name is Delaney Diamond and I’m the USA Today Bestselling author of more than 40 sensual contemporary romance novels and fast-paced romantic suspense novels. My hobbies are cooking, traveling, and watching way too much Netflix. All of my stories contain characters of diverse cultures and …

Author Interview With Annette Mori
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) As a LGBTQ+ author, I feel a great responsibility to create characters that create greater representation in the broader literary community. Having been blessed with numerous awards for my work, it is my greatest hope that those books resonate with a wide variety of people. I’ve often joked that …

Author Interview With Karen Grey
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! I’m a long-time actress and audiobook narrator and published my first novel, what I call a “nostalgic romantic comedy” in June of 2020. This series, set in Boston in the 1980’s is now complete (and available in all formats including audio, everywhere books are sold). I’m working on …

Author Interview With Molly Ringle
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! I’m Molly Ringle, and I live in the Pacific Northwest with my family, which includes a corgi. I’ve written something like a dozen books, but the one I’ll talk about today is my recent release, Lava Red Feather Blue. It’s a queer love story (a male/male Sleeping Beauty …

Author Interview With Barbara Claypole White
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Born in rural England, I’m a novelist who lives, writes, and gardens in the North Carolina forest. (I think of myself as a Southern Brit!) My passion is for creating stories about the impact of mental illness on relationships through characters who chip away at stereotypes. I have five …

Author Interview With Stacey Komosinski
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I write contemporary romance that crosses into women’s fiction. My work focuses on not just a developing love story but friendship, family and other critical relationships in life. I have been writing for two years and have published two books and one short story with several more in the …

Author Interview With CL Walters
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I’m Cami though I write under two pen names (CL Walters and Maci Aurora). I’ve published seven books under the CL Walters pen name and am busy at work on the first for Maci Aurora. Both contain character-driven explorations into relationships with threads of romance, and the difference between …

Author Interview With Melissa Cummins
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello and thank you so much for having me! My name is Melissa Cummins. I have been writing Paranormal Romance for the last five years. Writing is something that has always been very near and dear to my heart. I love writing characters who fall in love and grow …

Author Interview With Linda Broday
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi, I’m Linda Broday and I’ve been publishing Historical Western Romance novels for twenty years. I love writing about people in the 1800s–the settlers, the fortune hunters, the ones simply looking for abetter life and those who just want to start over fresh. The American frontier offered all that …

Author Interview With A.D. Ellis
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! I’m A.D. Ellis. I’m a mom of two teens, an educator of twenty-three years, and an author of seven years and over fifty titles. I live in central Indiana and teach in the inner-city of Indianapolis. I started writing romance in October 0f 2013, published my first title …

Author Interview With Glynnis Campbell
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I’m Glynnis Campbell, a USA Today bestselling author of swashbuckling “medieval action-adventure romances,” mostly set in Scotland, with over two dozen books published in six languages. Tell us about the characters and relationships in your stories My books feature brilliant and empowered heroines–whether that means brandishing a sword, cultivating …

Author Interview With Kayelle Allen
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I’m Kayelle Allen. I’m a science fiction author and a US Navy veteran. I’m married,mom to three grown children and a grandmother to five. I write Science Fiction and Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance, Fantasy, Contemporary, and non-fiction. I’ve been published since 2004 and have over twenty books. I’m …

Author Interview With Ailish Sinclair
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I write historical fiction set mainly in the part of Scotland where I live: Aberdeenshire. It centres around little known historical events such as a witchcraft panic and the mass kidnapping of children and young people. All my books include romantic relationships and strong friendships. Tell us about the …

Author Interview With Maya Tyler
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi, I’m Maya Tyler. I’m a coffee-drinking, avid-reading, paranormal romance novel author. I enjoy listening to music and going to rock concerts. I also love live musical theatre. To keep fit, I walk and do yoga daily. It’s good for the body and the soul. Being a published author …

Author Interview With JC Calciano
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! My name’s JC Calciano, and I’m a filmmaker, author, and podcaster. My career started in the ’80s as a music video director, and for years after that, I worked as a producer in Hollywood. In my mid-forties, I decided to make a change. Rather than producing, I decided …

Author Interview With Christina Tetreault
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Christina Tetreault, and I am a USA Today Best Selling author of 27 romance novels. I wrote my first book at the age of 10 on my grandmother’s manual typewriter and never stopped. Born and raised in Lincoln, Rhode Island, I have lived in four of the six …

Author Interview With Patricia Johns
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) I am a romance author who writes from Alberta, Canada. The winters here are long and cold, and they are just perfect for writing! I write sweet romance, which means that these are stories about people falling in love and navigating new relationships, but the intimacy level on the …

Author Interview With Cait Marie
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hello! I’m Cait Marie, a young adult/new adult multi-genre author, who loves love. I write everything from fantasy to contemporary fiction to sci-fi, but the one common theme is the importance of relationships (romantic, platonic, and familial). My books always include romance, and I guarantee a happily ever after …

Author Interview With Fiona Lowe
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) Hi, I’m Fiona Lowe, an Australian author and I write contemporary fiction that explores the messiness of life, relationships and family. Tell us about the characters and interpersonal relationships in your stories I write issue-based books about family and community, usually from women’s point of view, although not always. …

Author Interview With Karen A. Wyle
Please introduce yourself and your book(s) My name is Karen A. Wyle, and I write a bewildering variety of books: historical romance, afterlife fantasy, near-future SF, other-planet SF, and picture books (illustrated by some terrific artists). I wanted to be a novelist from an early age, sometime before I turned ten, but took a multi-decade …

Interview With Rochelle Schwartz, LPC, MA, QMHP
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I decided to become a therapist in high school after hearing that I was a great listener and advice giver, and realizing I loved being that for friends. I attended college and received a BA in psychology, and continued on to get an MA in Counseling. I …

Interview With Samantha Dareff, LCSW
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I majored in womens studies in college and began to do a lot of public advocacy work around gender equality but soon realized I wanted to help people on a more direct and interpersonal level. I traveled to India to volunteer at a womens short stay home, …

Interview With Psychotherapist Rachel Buchan
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I was interested in people. This began as an interest in Theology and Anthropology, but whittled down to an interest in therapy — In the personal and subjective experiences an individual has rather than looking at those experiences on a larger scale or a group level. As …

Interview With Mari Grande, LCSW-R, LCAT
How and/or why did you become a therapist? My background is in the Arts. My initial professional intention was healing through the use of art, teaching and leading groups. I still love that, but find a lot of richness and reward working with individuals and families in a more intimate setting. Before becoming a therapist, …

Interview With Lisa Angelini, MAPC, LPC
How and/or why did you become a therapist? During my work as a spiritual counselor and transformational life coach, I would often receive referrals from other coaches whose clients were not sustaining their gains. Most times, there were unresolved childhood issues wreaking havoc in their relationships. The problems in their relationships would then impact every …

Interview With Simone Ayers MBACP
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I was working in an office in Central London when I first began training. It had often been suggested to me that I would make a good counsellor and I wanted to learn some new skills so I enrolled on an introductory course to see what it …

An Illness By Any Other Name
What does it mean to be ill? And who gets to decide which illnesses are worthy of being researched, treated, discussed, and valid? Physical illness and mental illness are not treated equally. As a society, we are slowly making it ok to talk about mental illness, but the stigma is still there. Our culture has …

Interview With Psychotherapist Emily Rooney
How and/or why did you become a therapist? My reason for becoming a Therapist was due to having a confusing childhood. I really wanted and needed to understand myself and other people, the way we think, feel and behave. My own personal issues led me to seek counselling in my teens, and Counselling training followed …

Interview With Psychotherapist Paul Jozsef
How and/or why did you become a therapist? My decision to become a therapist was largely informed by having had my own therapy at various points in my life; I felt that I wanted to give back/pay it forward in some form. Further, if I am to be honest, my decision to become a therapist …

Interview With Psychotherapist Naelah Khan
Naelah has been practicing as an Integrative Psychotherapist and Counsellor for individuals and couples for over eighteen years. She has worked in private practice for over nine years alongside working as a specialist individual therapist and group facilitator to survivors of trauma for the past fourteen years. She previously worked in the NHS as a …

Interview With Montreal Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Nicolina Ratto, MA, PhD, CCC
“I help heal the relationships people have with themselves, with close others, and with the world.” How and/or why did you become a therapist? My earliest memories are about helping people who suffered, were misunderstood or mistreated. As a shy and sensitive child, I had an innate ability to understand people’s emotions leading me to …

Interview With Psychotherapist Nigel Moyse
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I paid a lot of money to a careers advisory firm in London in the 1990s. When they suggested “counsellor” I was surprised and didn’t accept this as a possible career for several years, but after ten years experience I’m completely sold on the idea! What are …

Interview With Dr. Melissa Schacter
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I was always interested in people and subsequently their behavior. Being a therapist, therefore, seemed like a natural fit for me. What are the most rewarding aspects of being a therapist? It’s most rewarding when a client, couple, or family feels as though they have acquired the …

Interview With Anthony Costello LMFT
How and/or why did you become a therapist? Becoming a psychotherapist was not a career I originally saw myself pursuing. It took life experiences, a desire for a fulfilling occupation, and an earnest determination to help others for me to end up where I am today. I spent 7 years in a corporate role and …

Interview With Psychotherapist Natalie Moore
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I’ve known that I wanted to serve in a helping professions role as far back as I can remember. When I took an AP psychology class in high school that was it for me! I knew I would become a psychotherapist. In my studies and work with families, I was a …

Interview With Morgan Barber, LCSW
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I became a therapist by getting the necessary education required in order to be hirable as a therapist. Then I worked as one for awhile, while working on becoming licensed. Became licensed and started to work exclusively as a psychotherapist and as a couples counselor. Why? Well..15 …

Interview With Psychotherapist Gaea Woods
What are the most rewarding aspects of being a therapist? It’s therapy’s dirty little secret that doing this work is extremely rewarding for therapists and clients alike. I identify with the concept of the wounded healer archetype coined by Carl Jung. To paraphrase, maintaining awareness of your own personal wounds while acting in service of …

Interview With Yaji Tramontini, MA, MFT
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I knew I wanted to be a therapist at a very young age. I was born into quite a bit of turmoil and thanks to my school therapists I was given a chance to overcome the obstacles that life gave me. I wanted to give back the …

Interview With Nancy Harris, LCSW
How and/or why did you become a therapist? Becoming a therapist was a natural progression for me in terms of a life-long curiosity about people and what makes us tick. Even as a young child, I was always trying to figure out what was really going on with people beneath the surface. I was a …

Interview With Lisa Bahar, MA, CCJP, LMFT, LPCC
Lisa Bahar is a licensed marriage and family therapist, professional clinical counselor and certified drug and alcohol counselor. She works with individuals, couples and families and specializes in personality disorders, mood disorders and substance abuse treatment. Lisa specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) an intervention skill set that helps client regulate emotions, learn how to …

Interview With Deborah B. Knoll, LCSW
How and/or why did you become a therapist? My parents say that I have always been listening to people – from my friends when i was young to the elderly in a nursing home when i was in high school to parents when i was teaching parenting classes in my 20’s. So, they were not …

Interview With Psychotherapist Francesca Glenn
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I felt most alive and connected when I could help others make sense of their fears and longings. In my growing up years, the well of my own unmet needs drove me to try and make things more bearable for everyone. What are the most rewarding aspects …

Interview With Counsellor & Art Therapist Michelle April
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I had resigned from the Canadian federal public service. At a loss about what to do next, I was soaking in the tub and “art therapy” as a vocation dawned on me. Since I was a teenager, art and expression had been my own catalyst to healing. …

Interview With Marcello Real, MFT
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I became a therapist after I had lived abroad, mostly in Asia, for 7 years. My pre-travel days undergraduate degree was a BA in psychology, from which I had learned a lot about myself and the human condition, but after living in various Asian countries and diving …

Interview With Dr. Roberta Gottardo
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I decided to become a therapist when I was I was fourteen. I was an adolescent and I was going through all the difficulties of this developmental stage. My favourite subject at school was philosophy. I think that I used to love that subject because at least …

Interview With Lisa Cloyd, Ph.D.
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I think, like many people in the mental health field, from a young age I wanted to better understand people, including myself. As I grew, I also knew that I wanted to help others. My goal was to leave the world a better place than when I …

Interview With Karen Peabody, LICSW
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I became a therapist for the same reason everyone becomes a therapist, I wanted to change the world. And I was terrible in math. There is almost no math in any of the undergraduate or graduate programs! Kidding aside, I have always been interested in people and …

Interview With Jaye Kelly-Johnston, MA., LPC-S, CMS-CHT, FIBH
I’ve been a licensed psychotherapist for 25 years now. I spent the past 10 years working in partnership with law-enforcement. I have had many opportunities to serve a wide variety of people, from all backgrounds, and with a variety of belief systems. One thing that each person I worked with had in common, was a …

Interview With Psychotherapist Damian George
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I decided to retrain as a Gestalt Psychotherapist following a very serious car accident eight years ago. My right leg was very badly injured and needed reconstruction. At the time, I was working in the TV industry, which involves spending a lot of time on one’s feet. …

Interview With Kristina Dragnea M.C., R.P
What are your favorite or most interesting interpersonal relationship tips/advice? When couples come in to see me I start off by stressing the imperative nature that each party work their darnedest (against all odds set out by the ego) to focus on themselves, developing a keen eye for personal virtues and also faults in the …

Interview With Mary Marano, RP, MSc
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I became a therapist because at one time I was a foster parent for the children’s aid Society and due to wait lists and a flawed system children had to wait extensive time for service which I found to be painful and unfair. As a therapist I …

Interview With Psychotherapist Philippa Smethurst
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I became a therapist because at the core of me is a deep and abiding interest in people. I was a music teacher and overseas development worker/recruiter, bur all the time it was what people are about that interested me most. What are the most rewarding aspects …

Interview With James McCracken, LCSW, PLLC
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I was a Political Science major during undergraduate studies, but realized after graduation that I had a knack for listening to people, being able to take multiple perspectives, feeling and dealing with a full range of emotions, and feeling ok being an active part of people’s lives …

Interview With Hilary Brown PhD
How and/or why did you become a therapist? Why did I become a therapist? There is a feeling dimension to the question and thinking strand. When I was younger there were times when I was left to deal with things that were too difficult for a young person to manage. It was the emotional equivalent …

Interview With Jayni Bloch M.A. C.Psych.Assoc.
I always, even as a little child, wanted to understand how relationships work best, and knew that there are more to it than what seemed on the surface. Wondering why people experience so much conflict, became a puzzle that fueled my passion to solve. After years of studies, personal experiences, and sharp observations of my …

Interview With James Matthew Green, M.Div., LPC
How and/or why did you become a therapist? As a young man I became impressed with how psychotherapy helped me become more emotionally healthy and happy. The personal growth that I gained in therapy resulted in me having much better relationships. So I got interested in the field of psychotherapy and eventually became a therapist …

Interview With Psychotherapist Edward Traversa
How and/or why did you become a therapist? A very abbreviated version is that someone told me that I would never make something of myself and I wanted to prove them wrong. What are the most rewarding aspects of being a therapist? Seeing a client go from struggling with life to thriving. Its also a …

Interview With Counsellor Nadja Zivkovic Nikitin
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I was always very curious about people and interpersonal relationships and people recognized this so they often came to me with their problems as I was a good listener and natural in empathy. I genuinely care about people and the more I work with them, the more …

Interview With Krystal Boothe, LCSW
Krystal Boothe is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and owner of Wings of the Future. Boothe grew up in Detroit, MI from an underprivileged family in an abusive home; her father had two wives. The abusive environment made a major impact in her schooling as she had special educational classes. As an adult, she found …

Interview With Psychotherapist Tressa Porter
How and/or why did you become a therapist? “Because I failed miserably as client!” I’m joking, though I felt like that for a long time! In therapy, fortunately you cannot fail. It’s a process of growth and understanding. I struggled deeply for many years to find relief from my own mind, to make sense of …

Interview With Jennifer Jones, LMFT
What’s unique or special in your background or approach to interpersonal relationships? Blending lots of different experiences, see below. What are your favorite or most interesting interpersonal relationship tips/advice? Being authentic and understanding your real feelings is a much better basis for long lasting trust and satisfying relationships than “behaving” correctly. I think truth, even …

Interview With Michael Raskind, LCSW
How and/or why did you become a therapist? Originally I was interested in police work and was accepted to college for Criminal Science. My mother put the bug in my ear about how people seemed naturally attracted to me as someone who people seem to like to talk to. I have a cousin who was …

Interview With Psychotherapist Jeannine K. Vegh, M.A., I.M.F.T.
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I began working with other people as a Girl Scout and later through charity work. After a decade of working in the fashion industry, which I found very shallow, I looked up schools with a psychology degree and was hooked. I am not as creative as I …

Interview With Stephanie Konter-O’Hara, LPC, 200-RYT
I became a therapist after a difficult time in my life where I went to therapy in college to a few different therapists. One of the therapists was not so helpful which made me feel worse, but then I went to one that was so helpful and I felt a weight being lifted off my …

Interview With Dr. William Cloke
How or why did you become a therapist? I grew up in a family that believed in being of service and doing something that mattered. I became a teacher in 1970 after graduating from a program at USC called Teacher Corps which was a fellowship program with the goal of bringing new teaching methods into …

Interview With Dr. Debra Mandel
How and/or why did you become a therapist? I knew I wanted to become a psychologist by the time I turned 12 years old. I distinctly remember stating my goal out loud while serving appetizers to my parents’ friends during a social gathering at our house. One of the guests asked me the ever-so-common, and …