We had the good fortune of connecting with Senja Foster and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Senja, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk is such an interesting topic to consider….for some, risk may be defined as a scary, uncontrollable, and forced life-decision. My experiences in my education, personal life, and career have led me to appreciate and consider risk as an opportunity to build resiliency as well as flexibility in one’s thinking and actions. When I was an undergraduate, I was informed by a peer counselor I didn’t have the grade point average necessary to gain admittance to a competitive program in which I wanted to major. Rather than accept this at face-value, I decided to determine my own fate and enrolled in the required classes anyway, taking a risk that my performance would demonstrate my ability as a good student and representative of the school–it worked! In my personal life, I choose to be committed to curiosity of the world through travel-I take risks to visit places I’m unfamiliar with as well as committing to engage with new languages, people, and experiences. Some of my greatest adventures while traveling have been those in which I didn’t have a pre-determined itinerary and allowed myself the risk of being fully present and open to explore what the day might bring. My career choices have also been informed by a willingness to take a risk: I served as a museum curator and administrator at two major US museums; and, I was the executive director of an orchestra until I found my current role as a marriage and family therapist and trauma specialist. Each of these career choices helped me in unique ways: I learned the ability to prioritize and trust my instincts and interests opened opportunities from which I gained knowledge, joined interesting and informed communities, and, afforded me the opportunity to contribute to the well-being of others. None of this extraordinary life I’ve been gifted would have been possible without building a positive relationship with “risk.”

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My practice is dedicated to working with those who have experienced trauma and anxiety. I’m fascinated about the neurology of the brain and find that working with EMDR is an incredible intervention that challenges me in new ways with each client. I can’t recall a time in my life I haven’t been fascinated by people: why we think and behave the way we do and most importantly, the meaning we each make about what it means to live, to like who we are, and to love each other. I take a lot of pride in my work: I am energized by and fully present with every client I treat. I view therapy much like walking on a path next to my client in way that facilitates their emotional safety, trust, and ability to open to the possibility and hope they can feel better about themselves and the world they live in. I work very hard to provide an environment my clients can feel comfortable in and I feel it’s my responsibility to consistently re-evaluate how that is established. I do this by ensuring I’m participating in discussions with my peers regarding new interventions and schools of thought, engaging in conferences and continuing education, and reading materials focused on the issues my clients are experiencing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is easy (however, you’re asking me to provide an itinerary and my best adventures were those when I didn’t have one!) I’m so close to New York City and we’d need a month to explore it all but here’s a “shopping list” of what we can do in a week: we’d take the train in each day and focus on a different part of the city. Central Park and the museums (Metropolitan, Guggenheim, Frick, Morgan Library, Whitney, and Modern are the big ones), Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho and Chelsea to shop and visit the art galleries, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, catch a Broadway show and an Off-Broadway play, find a speakeasy for dancing, go to a jazz club, and go to the top of the empire state building. There are so many restaurants and coffee shops we won’t have trouble finding something no matter where our path leads us.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My dedication, as always and ever, go to my children Nolan & Julian: they taught me everything important I need to know about what it means to be a good person on this planet.

Website: https://www.senjafosterlmft.com

Instagram: @senjafosterlmft

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