Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Fidler.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I began my counseling career at a place of respite for individuals with diagnosed mental health disorders back in 2002 while I was in my senior year at Westfield State College. From there, went on to work as a Behavior Specialist with Adults with Traumatic Brain Injuries for one year. I attended Graduate school at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where I graduated with a degree in Clinical Psychology in 2006. I completed an internship during my final year of Grad School at Bay State Community Services. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and there were a series of events that led me to Bay State Community Services and I don’t think I would have the success that I have today without the relationships that I built there.
The first gift of my career was that a professor at Westfield told me to not take more than a year off before attending Grad school and when I got motivated to apply there was one local school accepting applications that fit what I was looking for, UMass Dartmouth. I was offered an interview, attended and was accepted. In my years as a Grad Student, I was a Teaching Assistant and at one point I was part of the intern selection process, it was at this time that I realized the significance of being accepted at UMass Dartmouth for this program. It was a very competitive process and very few were accepted. I was one of thirteen people in my year and it was never lost of me that I was blessed with this and was exactly where I was supposed to be.
The second gift: I lived in Weymouth when I was in Grad School and when it came time for my 20+ hour per week internship there were no connections to that area so I opened up a phone book and started calling places to see if they were accepting interns. Bay State Community Services said they would meet me and after the meeting, I was offered an intern position. Having worked there for 11 years post internship, and having a part in the internships throughout the years I know understand how much this was one of the gifts given to me because the positions are sought out and coveted by many.
My third gift: The experiences that were provided to me during those 12 years at Bay State Community Services. The people that I met – the amazingly brave people who showed up and asked for help, the networking of local contacts and community leaders, the challenging positions, the coworkers and the staff that I was responsible for all contribute today to my success. The CEO, Daurice Cox Psy, D, always was moving me to the next level, the next challenge and that gave me such an amazing resume at a young age.
My fourth gift: My sister’s best friend, Heather Wood of Embody Love. Heather asked for me to support her with a specific aspect of her work which evolved into my work now. I always had a dream of private practice and would not be here without her opening this door for me.
My fifth gift: Well… that is my gift. I have always been a clinician, a listener, a helper, the person who will support people and not give up on people when they are willing to be helped. I also always thought that other clinicians brains worked like mine did. It was about three-four years ago when I realized the intuitive abilities that I have and began to reflect on how they had impacted by career, my clients and the changes that I was able to help people make within themselves. It was during this time that I started to understand how to combine my intuition with my clinical skills and really help the clients that I see to have stronger insight and clarity into the roots of their struggles. It has when we dig around the roots that we start to understand why we think, feel and act the ways that we do. Combine these things and I can help people to have the strength to make a change in their life to have a better quality of life. For the kids (I call them “littles”) that I work with the intuition helps me to hear them differently – so many of them are not developmentally able to verbalize what they want or need or think or feel and my intuition helps me to ask the right questions or bring up the right conversation to help them feel safe with me, which leads to sharing their words with me.
My sixth gift: My family and friends. It is hard for me to look back on all that was affected on this journey to private practice sometimes. I have two young children and for 1/2 of my oldest’s life and 2 years of my youngest’s life I worked 7 days a week, Things did not go as planned when I started this private practice journey and for fear of affecting my families financial stability I remained at a job full time while working private practice on the weekends. In hindsight, I wish that I made the jump two years ago so that I could have been experiencing all this joy and balance in life sooner but I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and I was meant to follow this path.
Now, I have been building my own business for three and half years, full time running my business since December 2017 and could not be happier.
Has it been a smooth road?
NO! I think that there are some things that I reference before that were “gifts” to me in my career but there was a lot of sacrifices made along the way. Grad school alone was a three year time period where it felt like my life was on hold while I watched my friend’s lives grow. Friends were getting married, starting families, gaining financial independence – there were times when that was very emotional. My long term relationship ended and I was 26 years old living back at home. That was not part of the plan.
After grad school, I met my husband and my career and personal life were both fulfilling and life was good. When I started my family is when the struggles grew. I think it was (and is) incredibly hard for a hard-working, motivated woman to balance motherhood and work. Particularly when work is something you truly love to do! My job is awesome but I am most fortunate because my job allows me to regularly do my purpose in life. So when I needed to learn to balance between multiple areas of my life that gave me purpose the road did not feel smooth. To be validated so much by two opposing areas of life left me regularly tired. Always, ALWAYS!, aware that if I was in one place I was not in another. That is that part that always stung – to always feel like you are not somewhere that needs you, that pressure was enough to drain me. Leaving my kids and my husband each weekend for hours in the morning to build my practice was the biggest struggle. My husband was/is a supporter and we chose this path together but I don’t think either of us truly understood the toll it would take – for years we were like two ships passing to share details to get us thru day to day and although life is calmer now that was hard.
My advice for other young women who are following their dreams in life is to stay focused, understand that there will be challenges thrown in your direction but when you problem solve and see those challenges as signs or gifts for the path that you are on you will achieve your dream. Understand that there will be times when others are let down by a decision that you make, that you can not be in 7 places at once but you are only one person and do your best to be present where ever you are. Keep your eye on the dream even when you need to shift the path that you are on to get there.
You don’t become a clinical counselor without giving years and years (seven for me) devoted to school so take that determination and perseverance and don’t let go of it!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Rebecca Fidler, LMHC story. Tell us more about the business.
I am most referred to as a therapist or a counselor. My title is a Licensed Mental Health Clinician (LMHC). I do both individual counseling sessions for mental health and substance use as well as consulting work. I work with people of all ages but have become known for my work with youth (ages 5-18). I have been connected with the Quincy Public Schools for a couple years now and this past year (January – June) worked with all the schools to provide Professional Development to the Guidance staff, help schools to individualize plans to promote stronger peer to peer supports within their settings and helped train/facilitate conversations with students around various challenging topics. The topic that comes to me the most and that has my heart the most is promoting healthier decision-making skills in the youth so they we can equip them to manage the stress that life throws at them with confidence, support from others, and most important to me, making sure that all people know that they matter. That they are seen and that they are important. This work caught the attention of Sheriff Bellotti of the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office and I am very happy to be working the Sheriff and his staff to provide the same services to towns and cities all over Norfolk County during the next year. It is exciting to think that we adding another layer of support to the schools to help staff, as well as students, have the confidence to have conversations about topics such as addiction.
I hear most from people and get most referrals based off of someone sharing their experience about what it is like to work with me. I think that my intuitive abilities show and that people around me quickly experience my genuine nature. The most consistent feedback that I get from one to one client’s staff and people that I am consulting for is that people feel connected to me and that my ease in a situation helps people to relax. When people feel emotionally safe they are more willing to share their thoughts and emotions and then we get to the root of what is causing them pain faster. I have had to most amazing conversations with people of all ages for this reason and I think that parents who experience this with their children feel a huge relief because their kiddo has an outlet. I think one thing that sets me apart is that so much of my work is led by my intuition, following my instincts and facilitating conversations that are necessary for a person’s health.
My goals are to grow the consulting work so that more and more of our youth can know, truly feel in their hearts, that they matter and that they are seen. I think that kids with confidence and kids who feel that they have someone in their corner are more likely to spread kindness to others and to make healthier decisions in their life. These kids have the potential to be the most amazing adults and add so much to our world. I am most proud of the work that these kids do, that all my clients do and that I get to be part of so many peoples journey towards a better life.
Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
This is hard to be specific about. There is something that inspires me about all the people that I meet. I am inspired by people who believe in their message and that know that they are put on this earth to do something important. I think of famous people such as Malala Yousafzai, Maya Angelou, Ellen Degenerous and Tina Fey (you can see that my list comes from various places) and I hope that I use my voice and don’t let fear of judgment or criticism derail me.
Contact Info:
- Address: 484 Bedford Street
East Bridgewater, MA 02333 - Website: Rebecca Fidler, LMHC on Psychology Today
- Phone: 857-302-4540
Image Credit:
Joe Rodricks, J. Hayhurst Photography
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.
