R. Spalding she/her
My mission
I am on a mission to destroy abuse of power. I see the effects of abuse of power that parents hold on children, the abuse of power of healthcare providers have on their patients, financial abuse of capitalism, and all systems of oppression.
I seek to sow seeds of generative power, shared power. I wish to show people that they can be powerful in ways they had not even imagined because we are often trapped with this mythology that wielding power means stepping on someone. I wish to join with other people and grow powerful with them.
I wish to destroy the way that a seed destroys its pod by exploding forth. The tools at my disposal are years of training as a therapist and my own healing journey to listen to my intuition and my ability to recognize patterns. My ability to recognize what is around me and what is useful to me.
Some people want to know the story of how I got where I am today. One critical piece of that story is that someone was very kind to me and shared his power. As a freshman in college I signed up for Psychology 101. The professor was kind and allowed me to rewrite testing questions so that I could clarify the precise intent. He found my doodles on exams amusing. He understood that my desire for precision was useful and instead of ridiculing me as previous teachers had done he asked if I wanted to help with his research. I later became a Teacher’s Assistant for statistics.
There are only so many careers you can pursue with this major. I applied to a few graduate programs that focused on therapy. In short: I got very lucky. I am very grateful that one of the things I find most interesting (psychology, how people work, helping people) is a career I’ve been able to find employment in since my graduation.
Qualifications
2021 - current
Owner of True Node LLC
2018 - 2022
Therapist for Integrative Empowerment Group
2016 - 2018
Clinical Social Worker for Mid-Michigan Medicine, a Federally Qualified Health Center in rural Michigan
Master of Social Work, 2011
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Bachelor of Arts, 2009
Albion College
Degree in Psychology and English with an emphasis in Creative Writing
2014 - 2015
Washtenaw County Crisis Team
2011 - 2014
Clinical social worker for Michigan Department of Corrections, at various facilities
Licensed Master of Social Work (independent practice) in Michigan and Idaho.
MI: 6801093232
ID: MBTSWO-43991