Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Rowell Levy.
Dr. Levy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, and had a sense that my future was in education and in “helping people.” When I was in college, I had a specific vision that meant helping people in under resourced communities and of low socioeconomic status.
After college, and doing volunteer work in some of these communities, I was accepted to TEACH FOR AMERICA, where I was a first-grade teacher for 2 years in Phoenix, AZ. I greatly valued my many experiences there. During that time, I learned two important things that would shape my future. The first was that more than teaching a large group all at once about general concepts, I particularly like small groups, including settings like parent teacher conferences, or 1 on 1 meetings where we can focus on more specific and person matters.
The second big thing I learned about my work was regarding my commitment. In TEACH FOR AMERICA the commitment is 2 years. A friend of mine decided that teaching wasn’t for him and left the program after 1 year. While some did not support this idea and felt my friend should be bound by duty, I did, wholeheartedly, and felt that teaching is the kind of work that should only be done by people who want to be there. It’s not good for anyone, the students, the teachers, the school or community–if the teacher does not want to be there.
I realized that how I understood my commitment to helping people was also emmeshed with a strong element of duty (I was an Eagle Scout, after all) and feeling of obligation to those who are underserved. At the same time, while I gave it my all, I didn’t find that my particular gifts were especially suited for this area. This created an equation that made for a lot of effort on my part, and some fulfillment and replenishment, but not enough to create sustainability long term.
I learned how important it is to do work that uses my skills and gifts –the ones that I want to be using and the ones where I feel fulfilled. This is very different from things that I simply can do, or even, do well. It’s about how using what I have and want to use, and am good at, to help others who want the kind of help that I’m offering. This has been a much more fulfilling and sustainable fit for me. Similarly, in my work with people, I frequently see those who are in jobs that aren’t a good fit for them. This is a painful experience as our jobs are where most of us spend the majority of our waking hours. If it’s not a good fit, there is regular frustration, invalidation, and other negative feedback. This can take a heavy toll for one’s sense of wellbeing, confidence, and self-worth. It also creates a work force were people aren’t wanting to invest or stretch themselves and grow in new ways.
After my teaching term was up, I moved to the Bay Area where I worked in some nonprofit organizations in education including being a community organizer and later parent involvement specialist.
Like teaching, these jobs had elements that I found fulfilling, but I wanted work that felt more personal. I started talking with people and reading a lot about options and found my way to being a therapist.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
While in graduate school, I tried to earn money with different small businesses.
I made three simultaneous efforts to see what would pan out. I advertised as a dog walker—as I had volunteered walking and training dogs through the SPCA in the Bay Area; an English tutor—given my work as a teacher; and a house and office cleaner—because I liked using my hands and seeing results.
I did some advertising for each and waited to see the response.
Despite my teaching experience, no one ever contacted me about being an English tutor—so that one was out.
I had one client who was interested in my dog walking services. The owner said that the dog was a bit uneasy with strangers. I went to meet her dog who was large and shy. I worked with her to build trust. No matter what I did the dog did not want to leave the house with me. I talked with the owner and we came up with some ideas, including that I could be more firm and insistent.
I put the dog on the leash and basically pulled her out the door. I pulled her across the street, and it was clear she was not too happy about it. After getting about a block away the dog pulled back so hard that she slipped out of her collar, ran across the street (luckily there wasn’t any traffic) and went right back to her front door and waited for my return.
That was the end of my being a dog walker.
The third venture was as a house and office cleaner. For whatever reason, I got several clients and decided to focus my energy there. While I was in grad school it was a great fit for me. It offered flexible hours (day times for houses, when people were working, and late nights for offices when people were home), a customer service aspect that I enjoyed, a decent hourly wage for where I was, the flexibility of being my own boss, and physical work which was a good balance to all the intellectual work of grad school.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a psychologist in private practice. I LOVE WHAT I DO! I’ve learned so much about people from the various settings including Harvard University’s counseling center and McLean Hospital. It allows me to relate with a lot of people from various backgrounds and working on a variety of issues. These days I see clients—college age to senior citizens, stay at home parents, CEOs, managers, artists and educators, laborers, doctors, lawyers, and many, many others. A real slice of humanity walks through my door. My day is very interesting and invigorating. I find it wonderfully motivating to see people work on their challenges, which helps me understand and focus on my own—because we all have challenges. I also feel honored to be invited into the private coves of their lives, far from the more public sunny pages of Facebook. It’s an openness and honesty that one does not commonly find in such abundance. It’s so real.
I help people with a variety of concerns including mental health issues like depression and anxiety; wellness issues like sleep hygiene, exercise and mindfulness; education—teaching clients how our brains work, think, behave and change; and personal and interpersonal growth (personally and professionally), confidence, assertiveness, motivation, setting boundaries, and finding one’s passions. I also do couples counseling which supports people as they engage in one of life’s hardest and potentially most rewarding ventures: getting intimately connected with oneself and one’s loved ones—nourishing that connection, and doing the hard work to repair it when the connection is inevitably broken—in small and sometimes large ways.
I work with individuals, couples, families and groups. I also do coaching and professional consultation to entrepreneurs and other therapists. For entrepreneurs and therapists our work ranges from examining physical, logistical, emotional and other barriers that prevent them from achieving their goals. We might talk about their business and strategy, and how to make them work better. We may discuss their relationships with others at work and in their personal lives—family and romantic, and see what is helping them or holding them back. We may also examine their goals and how to better align them with their passions. We tend to do better when we’re aligned with our curious, creative, and passionate sides.
Like many therapists, I’ve been a client in a number of therapies, including individual, couples and groups, and have learned so much from each of these experiences. They have made me able to understand from the perspective of a client and a therapist. How can I ask someone to work on something difficult unless I, too, know what it’s like to work, struggle, fail, and succeed?
Additionally, a colleague and I own an office space downtown where we rent to other therapists. We provide a supportive, and stable space for clients and other therapist do to their work –where they don’t have to worry about anything else. I really enjoy creating and sustaining this nurturing environment where personal growth and change can be achieved. It turns out that “helping people” can be done in a variety of ways. This way suits me very well, and better than my efforts in the past. I can use the gifts and talents I have, not just do something because I think I should, or because do it well, but because I love doing it and it nourishes me.
Lastly, something I know about myself is that I like doing a lot of different things.
For me to be fulfilled, I must always be learning, growing, changing, and feeling challenged. It’s tremendously helpful for us to be around people who are positive influences and encourage our growth. Working with people from different backgrounds, on various issues, using many modalities, while also creating and sustaining a space for others to do the same gives me a real sense of balance, which is great in a world that’s always changing.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are so many people who deserve credit. These include my parents, for starters, my wife, other family members, my kids, my teachers, and professors, many colleagues, and friends, former therapists–also people I haven’t met but have enjoyed reading about or listening to their stories–like on NPR’s “How I Built This”.
Additionally there are people who teach me about what not to do–and how I don’t want to be. These lessons I find very helpful as well.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
While I’ve lived in many places, I really like being close to the ocean. I was born and raised on the Northshore and could often see it. It’s a beautiful, endless-feeling, dynamic landscape. The size of Boston is good for me too, big enough, and not too big. I also love the seasons, the mixes of cultures, different foods, the arts, academia, innovation, and the rich history.
I dislike the traffic. And while I appreciate that we have various transportation options—I know many cities don’t, I must admit I’m eagerly awaiting some major innovations, like Elon Musk’s hyperloop!
Contact Info:
- Address: 185 Devonshire St., Suite 902
Boston, MA 02110 - Website: http://drrowelllevy.com
- Email: drrowelllevy@gmail.com
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
