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AuthorAbout Gina Schuchman
I love PEOPLE….and helping people perfect their RELATIONSHIPS! Relationships are what make the world go round as far as I’m concerned. Without connection people end up feeling lost and depressed.
I see life as an EVOLUTIONARY process, hence my corporate identity of Evolving Woman Enterprises. We are born with certain temperaments or personalities and then that gets balanced and developed in the families we are raised in and by the influences of the world we grow up in. We grow and change and can always grow and change as we transition through the paths and challenges that we face in life.
I, myself, have lived a few years….I survived a dysfunctional family, years of bad relationships, infertility, adoption, parenthood, single parenthood, divorce, dating, becoming a grandparent and finding a good relationship at long last.
In my work as a clinical social worker I have worked in a variety of settings. Initially I worked in one of the pioneer programs treating families where there had been sexual abuse which was designed and run by Patrick Carnes. I went on to work with children, adolescents and families in a private practice setting and while I was raising my children I went to work as a school social worker in inner city Minneapolis while also working in my practice part time. I have worked in an OB-GYN clinic also.
For the past 7-8 years I have been back again in private practice focusing on working with couples, individuals and groups. People come in for help when they feel they cannot handle relationships and situations they face in their lives.
After 31 years I have assembled an effective toolkit which I use to help people get their lives and relationships back on track. I believe that we are all basically competent but run into problems along the way that our usual coping skills do not help with and we need to find help elsewhere.
If we can figure out who we want to be (The Best Person I Want To Be) and figure out how to live in our relationships in respectful ways, with respectful communication and treatment of everyone, including ourselves, we can conquer anything.
My goal in my life is to be a happy person. I believe this is true for most people. What does it mean? It means that I have good relationships in which I feel safe and respected. It means I take responsibility for my own issues, feelings and behaviors. It means I have things that interest me that I feel passionate about. It means feeling that I have something to offer to the world and my relationships that helps make the world a better place. It means I feel and experience JOY.
I really don’t think I’m much different than most people. I think most of us want to feel the same way and be content and at peace with the world. Sometimes we need help to get there. We’ve done the same things over and over getting the same negative results that might leave us feeling hopeless.
I see my therapist role as that of a detective and a tour guide in your journey. Together, as a team, we try to find all the clues and put them together in a way that makes sense out of your life so you can find a different road to go down. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. As a tour guide I hope to help people, with a little bit of knowledge and experience of my own, to avoid the bad parts of town and drive down roads that lead to beautiful sights and a fulfilling journey.
