Creating safety is your first job [as therapist], and then once that's established, you can use many tools to help someone see the folly in their thinking.

One of the reasons I picked Pacifica was because, for a lot of classes and for your thesis, you could do artwork because of the Jungian slant of it all, and that really called to me.

I didn't think I'd be a good therapist. I didn't think I could do both at the same time. Maybe some people can, but I wanted a bigger spotlight and I don't think that's right for clients to have a therapist who wants that kind of life.

[Humor] could be dicey for a therapist and needs to be used very deftly.

This has been my struggle for years - the pull between wanting to be in the spotlight and yet also to make a difference in the world. Lately I've come to conclude that I can be a "selfish" artist that focuses on issues of individuation, power, and freedom.

Being a therapist can be very serious though. There are people's lives in your hands. For me, it was too much.

Being successful as a creative person is a crapshoot, but it's essential if you feel drawn to being creative that you express it.