Meet Wanda Sevey, MDiv, LMFT, Featured Staff Therapist for December

Every month, Council for Relationships highlights one of our staff therapists on the blog. Read our interview below with December’s Featured Therapist Wanda Sevey, MDiv, LMFT.

Why are relationships important?

I think that being in relationships is baked into our existence as human beings. When things go well for us at our beginning, we experience ourselves as cute as a button, the most beautiful baby ever born, with the full attention of the adults who gaze at us for hours and waits for a sign that we are returning their gaze. Those first relationships initiate us into the reality that at our essence, we need each other. Without relationships we cannot be fully human. Without being fully human, we can’t be in relationship.

What do you tell your clients who are struggling with depression or anxiety?

We will work together to discover how you got to this place in your life and then create a plan focused on how you can feel better.  It’s like figuring out a mystery or putting together a puzzle.  We look together at your physical, emotional, mental, experiential and spiritual history and what’s happening now in your life and use the tools that best suit you and your situation to treat your anxiety and depression.  I also want you to know that research tells us that talk therapy used in addition to other treatment options works best.

Is inner peace real? If so, how can one work towards this?

Inner peace is real, but it’s a lifelong process not a destination.  We find it over and over again as we develop compassion for ourselves, and others, and as we move from anxiety to action in our lives.  In other words, inner peace comes in those moments when we have ” the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference” regarding ourselves, our loved ones, our communities and the world.

What is one piece of advice you would like to give people who may be struggling emotionally and would like to seek counseling but may not be ready?

You’re not alone.  Even counselors sometimes feel that way when they need counseling themselves! It’s important to feel you can ‘come as you are’ to counseling, so take your time and talk to several counselors on the phone to get an idea of who you might feel comfortable with.

What makes CFR special?

I can’t just pick one thing! First is our absolute priority on compassionate, exceptional client care by everyone in the organization.  Second is our mission to be accessible to everyone regardless of income.  Third is our commitment to training the next generation of couple, family and sex therapists.

Dream job? (Not the one you have now!)

I have always wanted to be an Aircraft Marshal….the person at the airport who stands on the runway with flashlights and uses hand signals to direct the pilot as they pull up to the gate.  Either that, or a Forest Fire Lookout who lives on the top of a mountain, spots forest fires and radios their location to the forest rangers on the ground.

Favorite artist, musician, or famous actor and why?

I admire women and men who have been forced by circumstance to make drastic changes in the direction of their lives.   One artist I admire is Frida Kahlo, who was so passionate and brave in the face of great loss and many health problems. I am very moved by her powerful self portraits.

Wanda Sevey, MDiv, LMFT
Staff Therapist
Director, Clergy Training, Postgraduate Program
Office Director, Voorhees, NJ Office
Tel: 215.382.6680 ext. 7043
wsevey@councilforrelationships.org

Read more about Wanda by clicking here.

To make an appointment with Wanda, click here.