Arianna's Story
My career as a professional counselor has taken me from working in in-patient addiction treatment at the Betty Ford Center, to Hospice Care, to a Native American reservation, and then into my own practice. At each step I have been drawn into the very heart of human beauty–and suffering.
At each new step in my career I struggled to adapt to the suffering I witnessed in the new environment. I doubted myself and felt anxiety, depression, and overwhelm. How could I possibly hope to be of help in the face of so much pain? At each step I questioned God. How can this suffering “belong” in the world?
I began to see that I had a choice: To shut down; or to walk into my fears and find a way to grow through them. Facing my fear was making a choice to have my heart broken “open” instead of broken closed. But I needed to find the courage to do it.
I discovered that two things held the key: Someone to be fully present with me as I sought my own wisdom; and deepening my own spiritual connection. As I developed and used tools to accomplish these two things I have been able to summon the strength and clarity to make enormous leaps in my personal and professional life ever since. Each new leap is terrifying in its own way; each one is filled with delight!
As I began using these tools with my clients, along with embodying deep presence and deep listening, they began finding the same transformation and inspiration that I had found, regardless of their religion, spiritual path, or lack thereof.
The greatest joy in my professional life is supporting my clients in taking those leaps, and trusting the strength and integrity of their own wings.
I do not know the exact “landscape” of your soul, but I have trekked the landscape of my own, and I know something about the lay of the land. Each of us must make our own pilgrimage into the wilderness of our deepest self. But I can walk with you, and provide some useful tools. I respect the difficulty – and the importance – of the journey you are on. And I can hold the knowing that you are on the right path, even in times when you may doubt it.
We are all on a journey. You don’t have to walk it alone.
Credentials
Arianna Gray has been serving in the mental health field for more than two decades working in addiction treatment, hospice, child and family therapy, and general practice. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling, with an Emphasis in Grief and Loss, from Southwestern College, in Santa Fe, NM and is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist from the Institute of Therapeutic Learning in Seattle, WA.
Arianna is a Licensed Professional Counselor with the State of Arizona, License Number LPC-14426.
