Luanna
Luanna
I admire the courage of my patients
Luanna met the man who would become her husband in a psychiatric hospital—he was a psychologist, and she was a mental health worker, her first job after college. For more than 25 years, they shared intertwining personal and professional lives … but then came financial reversals, an affair, and the marriage dissolved.
As a result of the loss of that relationship, I became severely depressed, but now I feel much more compassion for my patients because I understand on a deeper level what it is like to feel helpless and hopeless about the future.
Luanna had previous personal experience with mental health struggles. Her younger brother, Jonas, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 17, and she saw how the stigma of his disorder led to shame and further isolation in the family.
My extended family didn’t understand my brother’s problems and would make excuses as to why he wasn’t able to participate in family functions—like he had a skiing accident.
Her brother died of lung cancer in 2008, and her marriage fell apart a short time later. Luanna lost weight and withdrew from the world. It wasn’t until she was placed on an antidepressant that she felt strong enough to follow her own psychotherapist’s advice—to actively seek out the support of others.
She relocated her residence and practice to her hometown, where she reconnected with friends from high school and college, and joined several groups, where she made new connections.
It provided emotional support for me. I also worked hard in my own psychotherapy and focused on rebuilding my personal life and professional practice.
Luanna enjoys working with young people in particular, because she knows that a little nudge in the right direction can have a big impact on someone’s life. She is astonished at comments from patients, who say that some of their friends and family members assume that if they are going for counseling, they must be messed up.
Going to therapy doesn’t mean that you are messed up; it means that you want to be connected to your own life. Those individuals who are in psychotherapy are among the healthiest and strongest people I know.
