Tiffany Lee Begley LPC

All novels by Jane Austen. Austen has taught me how to put my thoughts aside to consider those of others. Austen teaches us empathy and patient understanding. The characters depicted are often wrought with emotional experience while practicing the utmost self-control for social decorum. Most of all, her work has influenced my understanding that we can have strong emotional experience, pay attention to it with compassion, while still being able to converse with our neighbors.

Humor! The Greek playwrights talked of life being full of comedy and tragedy. I have found this true in my work, especially with those who have suffered severe trauma. Humor is healing and it is necessary. Some of my most memorable therapy breakthroughs included humor in some way.

The experience of therapy is like finding a good friend that you get to tell all your most private thoughts to, will hold you accountable in a compassionate way, and will never make you feel less than. Therapy is a way to explore, in a supportive space, all the thoughts that come into our minds and struggles we often find ourselves white-knuckling through alone. Therapy is, to put it simply, a safe space to be you. Not the you that society expects. Just you.

• Texas, Licensed Professional Counselor, 80182

I like to think that my work in therapy actually began during my developing years where I would find myself riveted by the family dramas depicted in novels by V.C. Andrews. Throughout my life, I have exposed myself to other peoples, cultures, and beliefs that have left me with an empathetic understanding of human nature in many forms. During my graduate work, I completed an internship with Out Youth. Here, I worked with teens and young adults (ages 15 - 21 yrs) in the LGBTQIA community, running groups and providing individual counseling. I left grad school to find myself working in community based mental health, serving the very community that I live in. I dedicated 3 1/2 years as an intensive case manager, working with individuals suffering from moderate to severe mental illness. I loved my work with these individuals, ever held in my heart. After my work in the community, I moved on to work in a behavioral hospital where I still continue my work. Here I work with active duty military, veterans, and first responders in an intensive out-patient group setting. I have worked with these resilient individuals for 1 1/2 years and love the camaraderie that I find within the groups. I feel a strong drive to serve those that continue to serve us and to walk with them through their pain so that they are not left alone in struggle. I look forward to taking all of these experiences into account as I continue to work with individuals from all walks of life.