Tailoring Therapy for Trauma and Autoimmune Healing with Samantha Tomer. Ep.66

Episode Overview

• Episode Topic:
  In this episode of Mastering Counseling, Samantha Tomer from Samantha Tomer LLC, discusses her journey into mental health, her unique approach to therapy, and how she integrates her personal experiences with an autoimmune disease into her professional work. She shares valuable insights on creating a safe space for clients, the importance of accessibility in therapy, and the significant overlap she has observed between trauma and chronic illness in her clients. Samantha delves into the challenges faced by individuals with chronic illnesses and trauma, and the holistic methods she employs to support them effectively.
  
• Lessons You’ll Learn:
  Listeners will gain an understanding of the challenges faced by individuals with chronic illness and trauma and the unique strategies Samantha employs to support them. Samantha emphasizes the critical role of self-care for therapists, providing practical advice on managing stress and preventing burnout. The episode also covers the benefits of virtual therapy, making therapy more accessible, and the importance of a holistic approach in mental health care. Samantha’s personal and professional experiences offer a comprehensive view of the intricacies of working with these vulnerable populations.
• About Our Guest:
  Samantha Tomer is a dedicated mental health professional with a focus on trauma survivors and individuals with chronic illnesses. With a background in community mental health and nonprofit work, Samantha has built her own successful private practice that operates virtually, allowing her to reach clients in various locations. She is committed to ongoing education and integrating holistic methods into her practice, ensuring comprehensive care for her clients. Samantha’s approach is deeply informed by her own experience with an autoimmune disease, making her uniquely empathetic to her clients’ struggles.
  
• Topics Covered:
  Samantha Tomer’s background and journey into private practice are explored, highlighting her significant experience with trauma survivors and individuals with chronic illnesses. She explains the benefits and challenges of running a virtual therapy practice, emphasizing the importance of creating a safe and accessible environment for clients. Samantha discusses her holistic approach to mental health care, integrating knowledge of physical wellness with therapy to support her clients fully. Practical advice for those starting their own therapy practice is also shared, along with insights into the overlap between trauma and chronic illness.

Episode Transcript

Becky Coplen: Thanks so much for joining us again on Mastering Counseling. We’re so excited today to have Samantha Tomer on the show. Welcome to the show, Samantha.

Samantha Tomer: Hi. Thanks for having me.

Becky Coplen: She is accomplished, LPC and she has her own practice by her name, Samantha Tomer. And she does a lot of specialization with survivors of trauma and those especially who have autoimmune diseases. That’s correct. Right. Samantha?

Samantha Tomer: Yes. So I work with I mean, autoimmune and chronic illness is one specialty. And then sexual abuse and assault is another or trauma in general. I’ve also found that a lot of people who have trauma also have chronic illness and autoimmune disease disease. So both separate. And then there is some overlap at times.

Becky Coplen: Okay. That’s a great clarification and I’m sure you’ll discuss some of the connections between the two that you see. why don’t you tell us about the beginning of your practice and what led you to focus on these people with such challenging scenarios in their life?

Samantha Tomer: Sure. So back I couldn’t 2016, I guess it was. I was working in community mental health and getting very, very burnt out as many of us clinicians have probably experienced at some point in time. and I was a contract employee, and that was really difficult to make a steady income and community mental health. So I found a job at a nonprofit, a rape crisis center outside of Philadelphia, one of the suburbs. And that’s really where I got my start working with survivors of victims of crime. primarily a lot of sexual abuse and assault, childhood sexual abuse, and then some other crimes. sprinkled within that, a lot of homicide victims. and so that’s where I got my start being interested in that population. I left that job and kind of took a break for a while from counseling. Very brief break. but I was also getting a little bit burnt out by that time and worked as an academic advisor while I got started at a group practice. And then the pandemic happened and, switched to virtual online. And during the summer, I was ready to leave counseling together as a whole. I couldn’t see an option of staying online at that point in time. and I really liked working remote and being able to be flexible in my location. And then when I got back to Philadelphia, I had stayed in South Carolina for a few months. During that time, I realized I actually could start my own practice and it could be remote. And I already loved working with this population, so that’s what I continued working with. so that’s the sexual abuse trauma victims of crime part.

Samantha Tomer: And then, during that time, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and it was very isolating for me and very difficult to process emotionally because it was new. I was having to change my lifestyle. There was there was a lot of stuff happening. And then as I was going through that, so many of my female friends were going through the same thing and nobody was talking about it. So I became a lot more invested. And not only my health, but just health in general and how to better take care of ourselves. and so that’s kind of how I’ve segwayed into that. And I, I do think it’s very isolating having a chronic illness or autoimmune disease, especially an invisible one doesn’t. But a lot of people don’t understand it. They’re like, well, you look fine. I don’t understand why you’re saying you feel so bad. And so it can it just is. Again, isolating is the first word that comes to mind for that. So that’s how I’ve segwayed into that. And then also the overlap that I spoke about earlier is when you have chronic stress or PTSD that really does a number on your body. So a lot of people who have chronic stress of some kind end up having or suffering from chronic illness and or autoimmune disease. So that’s been an overlap that I’ve seen. So it’s been kind of I had these two separate things. Then there’s overlap and some prevention to say, okay, this bad thing happened to you. Let’s take care of ourselves now so that it doesn’t develop into something else.

Becky Coplen: Wow. Thank you for sharing the personal side of your story. And I definitely heard the word isolation. And you said a lot of this came out during the pandemic where people. In general, I would say felt a little more isolated and then just throw in a new type of disease where you probably had to separate more. Must have made the time so challenging. So yeah, thank you for sharing that. I am we’re going to talk about a lot of different things. But when the clients come to you and a lot of times they have both of the things that you mentioned that you can help with, do they usually come first because of chronic illness and trying to get battling that? and then you find out about past trauma or is it the other way around? Or it may be equally.

Samantha Tomer: I think it’s probably equal. I also get a lot of clients who come to me and say they’ve been in therapy a long time, and they’ve never told anyone about the trauma that they’ve had. Yeah and I actually have gotten a couple of new clients recently for specifically chronic illness. And then they throw in. Oh, yeah. And then this horrible thing happened to me however many years ago. So I do I do think it’s a mixture. It’s probably an equal mixture of both of those things. Yeah. I’d say like 50% are the people that have been in therapy before but never talked about the trauma and are like, okay, I need to talk about it. And then they have some of the like health issues coupled with that. And then the other 50% are people coming in to say, well, I have all of these issues, I’m isolated, I can’t talk to anyone. And this stuff happened to me a long time ago.

Becky Coplen: Wow. So interesting for people that have been in therapy, gone through some significant life events, and they weren’t able to share them. So, let’s talk about, your practice in relation to that. And, some things I saw on your website and how you have some unique strategies and ways to help people that allow them to open up more freely. Can you talk about what makes your practice stand apart and why these clients are coming to you?

Samantha Tomer: Sure. So I think one thing is that I am virtual. I can see people in person in South Carolina. I do live in South Carolina now. and that’s actually been very recent. So most of my clientele are online and I think the online environment makes it a lot easier for clients, and it provides more flexibility and accessibility for clients to get dive into the therapy world in the first place. I think there is a lot of resistance to starting therapy. When you were anyone thinks that we have to go in person because it’s like you have to leave work and then you have to be there for an hour and then you have to go back to work. And it makes that whole process a lot more difficult. and not as accessible and online. You can have a session from the comfort of your home or where really wherever you feel comfortable. so I think that that helps, especially with the clients who I know with all of my clients, really, with the trauma and needing to create a safe place to have session if you don’t feel safe somewhere, but you’re not going to get as much out of it, you’re going to get some things out of it, of course, but you’re not going to get as much out of it. so I think that allows people to feel safe to be wherever they feel comfortable. and then again, the accessibility of having a little bit more freedom to, you know, on a lunch break, close your office door and you don’t have to worry about not using like an extra hour or two out of your day just to commute back and forth.

Samantha Tomer: I also believe in flexibility with clients. I have my own cancellation policy and I do stick to it when I need to. But I also know that life happens and I’m not going to. I don’t like to use the word punish but punish somebody or charge them for something. If I can make room somewhere else and I keep my caseload, I don’t have like a huge caseload so that I can be flexible with clients. so I think that that’s one thing. And as far as both trauma and the autoimmune disease for trauma, I do have significant experience working with a particular population. I also was an advocate for a while in addition to a counselor. so I do know the other side of things that clients are going through. And I do think that’s unique because it’s not just the therapeutic side. I understand the criminal justice part of it and what that looks like. and then for the autoimmune and chronic illness, I think there’s a personal connection there. Because I do suffer from one myself. And to have someone understand what you’re going through there, that level of empathy is, is different and unique.

Becky Coplen: For sure. And I’m sure that plays a part when they know you’ve been through those things. I think it’s good. You mentioned, you know, the flexibility. You know, all different therapists and counselors that we have on here have different and a lack of a better term rules about if you can’t make it and stuff like that. but I, I think I’m sure your clients really appreciate that, especially if they’re medically suffering and there may be a day that they don’t feel that they can even get on the computer, even if it is online. So, yeah. can you just share, maybe some of the types of autoimmune diseases? I feel like we hear that so often since the pandemic, and we know it means people are more easily compromised. But what are some of the diseases that fall under that?

Samantha Tomer: So mine in particular is Hashimoto’s. It’s a thyroid autoimmune disease and other people might have graves where have had their thyroid removed, which your thyroid can just, like wreak havoc all over your body. It’s crazy how intertwined all the hormones are. I’ve learned so much about it. Lupus is one that I see often. Some people complain of chronic fatigue syndrome or adrenal issues or adrenal fatigue, and there’s a lot of mixed stuff in the media about what that means. I believe it is a thing, and I definitely believe that my clients experiences are real and valid, and I’m here to listen to them and help support and advocate for them as well. What are some other ones pots?

Becky Coplen: Say that one again because I just say pots. How do you know it’s Pots?

Samantha Tomer: It’s an acronym, okay. It’s a heart thing. Okay. What else. My CRP, which is chronic regional pain syndrome. I think I might be getting the C wrong. So a handful of things that a lot of times people complain of various symptoms and then you can’t pinpoint what it is. And or their doctors often, especially with women, are saying, oh, well, your numbers are fine, so we can’t do anything, but then you’re excessively tired or you’re not sleeping through the night, or your heart’s racing, and when you’re eating something and you can’t pinpoint it, and then all of the things. So, it chronic illness I think can look like a lot of different things. And then we can label them as various things. If you have a provider who’s willing to dig in. And I’m also there to help clients get connected with providers who will help, especially if they’re faced with a lot of resistance. and that was, you know, that was something I experienced to my PCP wouldn’t run test for me. And yeah, I had to kind of figure it out on my own and which prolonged a diagnosis and medication and all that stuff. Yeah. And it’s frustrating. So I’m, I’m also there to help. I’ve gotten a decent referral list of good doctors. Oh, good. especially in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, because that’s where I lived. So that’s something I help clients with a lot, is to get connected to people who do listen and want to help and, you know, are a part of a team.

Becky Coplen: No. Thank you for broadening our scope on the medical side. And, you know, I think people have heard of a lot of those diseases. Some of them, though, I had not. and it just helps us understand the terminology. I feel like better. So. And that’s what I was going to ask you about, was with a lot of this involving medical help, do you often have disclosures with people’s doctors to communicate with them? Because obviously at some point, your therapy, what you can do ends to where a medical doctor picks up. So how much are you working with doctors for clients?

Samantha Tomer: I have a pretty good relationship with someone I refer people to often. or for two particular people in general. And depending on the client, I leave it up to them to either fill me in on what they’re going through or, you know, sign a release to be able to talk to the provider. And it really depends. And sometimes, you know, I, I have a good friend who’s a naturopathic doctor, and if I have questions about just general stuff or like, how does this impact a physical health and what recommendations before I send them to you is something that I can let them know. I and I read a lot and get myself a little bit more trained. I completed a training recently about integrative medicine, and trauma. And so I, I do have a little bit more that I can offer and that I’m comfortable with offering, but I always refer when it’s something that I don’t feel comfortable with, like recommending particular supplements can interact with medication, and that’s not something I feel super comfortable recommending on my own. I am pursuing more training in that area to be able to feel more comfortable doing that. but so that’s when I hand it off and say, here’s, here’s someone really great who can help you with this particular piece. And if you want me to know what’s going on, I’m happy to sign a release to talk to them about it and understand how what, whatever the particular thing is that you are going through impacts your mental health and how I can be more supportive in that.

Becky Coplen: Yeah, no, that’s very cool. I love how you continue to read and, know more about the whole. Process, because we know so many of the mental issues are holistic and related to our body. And, I was going to say, I totally understand the thyroid thing. I’ve had my own thyroid. I mean, issues I don’t there’s so many people who struggle with that. And, I remember my doctor, thankfully, I’m grateful for her. But she said, well, my numbers were off the charts and it’s not about that. But my point was going to an alternative doctor. They were like, wow, yours must have been bad because a lot of medical doctors don’t even catch it through normal bloodwork. You have to do like extensive, extensive bloodwork to get through that. And so, I’m wondering, you probably work with many alternative health type of doctors and chiropractors. Okay.

Samantha Tomer: I haven’t been to a chiropractor myself. But acupuncture, actually. That’s one that makes. I like massages, and that is one, one way of doing stuff like that that I enjoy. I personally, it’s not a fear, but I hesitate to start going to a chiropractor and then having to go. What I had heard is that you have to continue to go over and over again. I agree that feels like a big financial commitment for me. but yes, working with a lot of alternative or integrative providers, that’s actually been the more helpful thing for me than medication has been. I’m very lucky that my endocrinologist has is a little bit more. I mean, she is functional, but I can she bills insurance. A lot of times you run into those kind of providers that they don’t take insurance. And then there is a roadblock there for many people who are maybe resistant or unwilling or don’t have the means to not use insurance. so there’s definitely education that I provide around that and how they can be helpful. And then it depends on what state you’re in, because some states allow those holistic doctors to bill insurance and then some states don’t. So well it’s, it’s and that’s some that’s an area that I’m not well versed in. So that’s when I say, okay, let’s find you somebody who can do this and do the homework there. But yes, I think they all alter, especially with autoimmune stuff, when regular doctors are dismissing your symptoms or saying, well, your numbers look fine, which is what happened to me and why my doctor wouldn’t run more labs, which she was like, well, your TSH is okay, so we’re not going. Meanwhile, it was like borderline and way higher than like optimal range, which was explaining why I was feeling as terrible as I was. And then, lo and behold, when I did get a full thyroid panel, my numbers are they’re coming down, but they’re still off the charts. So, yeah, understanding a lot of that, which there’s not as much education, not for doctors, but in our world of like those connections and how it connects to mental health.

Becky Coplen: Yeah. And the other word medically is adrenal gland. I’m sure you’ve run into that. You figure out the thyroid. But then there’s also the adrenals that are super important.

Samantha Tomer: Well and the adrenals are something I talk a lot about with my clients because they’ve had so much traumatic stress or like complex stress that their adrenals probably are shot from the constant release or your cortisol, cortisol levels are off, which is going to impact your sleep, which is going to impact your day to day functioning. If you’re not sleeping through the night, or you’re up at 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. every night because your cortisol spiking at the wrong time, that’s going to impact how you feel on a regular basis. So I do provide a lot of education about all of that and helping clients. I share a lot of information about it, and hormone metabolization and how that is impacted when you’ve experienced significant stress. So lots of those. There’s just so much that’s been interconnected that I’ve seen that’s important to address from. And I’m very holistic in that way. It’s not just mental health, it’s there’s so many other things impacting how you feel. And let’s let’s look at all of them and how to best support you as a whole, entire person, not just this one little piece.

Becky Coplen: No. Very fascinating. So let’s talk a little more of I don’t want to say other side, but the people who have gone through. Incredible. That’s probably a bad word, but horrible things in their past that were possibly criminal. you said you had worked a lot with people who had been the. Victims of a crime. are you finding that sometimes. Then you also have to work with the police? Because our people sharing things with you that have not been shared with appropriate authorities. and it would be a time when you would have to break confidentiality because of the perpetrator.

Samantha Tomer: With now, I work with only adults. So typically that answer is no. obviously there’s circumstances where I would have to break confidentiality, and, I always have that conversation with clients of the times that I have to break confidentiality. But now that I work with adults, I usually never. I can’t say never. I usually don’t have to because they’re an adult. And it’s their choice now to report things to police. So I have a mixture of clients at this point where they have gone through the process or have thought about it and have said, I don’t want to, or things have happened in the past that I wasn’t involved in. but and, and of course, if somebody tells me that something happened to a child and I know that, yeah, the information on that child, then I have to. I’m a mandated reporter. Of course. but I up until this point in my own private practice, I haven’t worked with police and haven’t had to, I have some clients who have kind of always been on the fence of wanting to report things that have happened. And that’s another thing is, like all all the statute of limitations are different in every state. So I’m very familiar with Pennsylvania because I worked in that field for so long in the state of Pennsylvania. So I’m a little bit more familiar with how Pennsylvania’s processes.

Samantha Tomer: Which is really just education on my part to learn about the other states I’m licensed in. If I were to come up. so now but in in the past, I have been as an advocate and, we were a crisis line as well and in our county. So if somebody went to the hospital for a forensic rape exam in our county, we would be called. And then you’re sometimes the police are there at the same time. Not always. and that there’s a handful of different ways you can get involved with doing that side of things. Yeah, fortunately, I haven’t had to do any of that in my own private practice or I haven’t been subpoenaed or anything. I’m sure that that’s knock on wood. That’s probably not a forever.

Becky Coplen: Race that you actually said that. Oh, no, thank you for that perspective. I didn’t know. You know, I’m sure much of the time the police were involved and the person just hasn’t wanted to deal with it on their own side of their emotions and, reliving the events and all of that. So, Yeah, I would say you’re so brave. you know, everyone has their group of people they can work with, but to go back and relive with people what they experience. I’m sure you’ve heard some things that a lot of people have never heard. So, in light of that, how do you, take care of yourself and deal with having your own fulfilling life while knowing the things that people have gone through that have been, you know, that are you know, I don’t want to categorize it. But, you know, some people struggle with friendships and things like that, which is definitely hard. But then to have been a victim of a crime, it’s just a whole other level. How do you process that and, be able to enjoy your time and not think about it?

Samantha Tomer: When I was at the Rape Crisis Center, I had a phenomenal supervisor, and she really emphasized self-care. Not that as clinicians, we aren’t always hearing, like, self-care, this self-care that you have to take care of yourself and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, which obviously is important. I’m not hating on any of that, but she really took a proactive approach and encouraged all of us, who were under her to put a sick day on the calendar in in advance and take time for ourselves, even if we didn’t earn that time off yet. But to do it and make sure that we’re we’re taking that proactive, preventative approach. And that’s something that has like really, really stuck with me. And I’ve fallen off of that, like habit for a while. And in the past couple of months, I’ve had some significant life stuff happen in my own family. And I was like, you know what? I need to start doing some things differently because it’s the stress is starting to catch up to me. So. I’ve been re-implementing taking some time off for myself. I take I’ve been trying to do about one day a month of self well, one day a month of self care, if not more than that. If I can make it work. But also about one day a month, or maybe a little bit more spread out than that of catching up on admin things from a work perspective. I have my own network of therapists friends that I can lean on for that extra support when I need it. I have I’m, I’ve learned and I this is definitely something I have learned over time is to close my laptop when I’m done for work for the day and completely separate it, because if I’m so tied in that, then I can’t take good care of myself.

Samantha Tomer: I’ve really, with developing an autoimmune disease, or at least being diagnosed with one, I have really had to think about how I take care of stress, because stress for me is in my adrenals are one of my major triggers. So when I’m more stressed, my numbers go up and I feel like crap, and then I have to like start over again, not start over. But it’s a whole process. So I really have to like slow down. And that’s been one thing that’s been really helpful for me is to slow down, and that is in every single way possible. Like I moved to the suburbs, I took on less clients. I when I travel, I travel for and I really enjoy traveling, so that’s something I prioritize. But when I travel, I travel for longer periods of time so that I’m not like rushing the whole time and learning to slow my body down has been really helpful. I love yoga and taking care of myself physically, being outside and reading and doing all those like typical self-care things that we talk about. But slowing down has been one way for my brain to just feel calm. and, so those are some of the ways. And I have a cat and a dog and, I locked my cat out of here so she didn’t jump in the screen. She likes to do that. but they bring me a lot of joy. I spend a lot of time with my family and my partner. so the things like that, that, really emphasizing what brings me joy and what makes me feel calm and trying to do more of that and not make it like. Like a task I have.

Samantha Tomer: To do, but making time for the things that I love and enjoy.

Becky Coplen: Now that was a great personal summary. Why I’m always jumping at my own dog barking. I’ll never know. But no. I love that the six day ahead of time and I totally hear you on, the travel to make sure it’s spaced out. Like if I ever go on a trip now and it’s a very, active, like seeing lots of sites schedules, I’m like, there has to be built in days, either on the trip or after to recover, because otherwise you come home when you’re worse off.

Becky Coplen: Think that’s a great advice that I so agree with. and very cool. I love how you kind of incorporated in the day to day and then even on, bigger things in travel just for fun, where some of the places you love to travel.

Becky Coplen: Recently.

Samantha Tomer: I love.

Samantha Tomer: I was a French major in college, and, I was when I didn’t know anything about what I wanted to do. And I was like, I’m just going to major in French. And so I have a huge love of France and French culture and the language. And so I have been very fortunate to be able to go back. I’ve been there three times in the last two years and I’m getting ready to go again. I have a friend that has allowed me to house sit for them for a segment. They have such long vacations that they need a house and a cat sitter from time to time. So I’ve been very lucky the last few years to utilize that for travel, and it makes it so that I’m really just paying for a flight and whatever else I want to do while I’m gone. so I’ve been trying to get outside of the they have a place in had a while. They still have the place in Paris. but that’s where I was staying. And then utilizing time line there to visit places outside of that, because I am a little bit more familiar with Paris and just trying to learn a little bit more about the other parts of France. so that’s one place that I’ve been a lot lately. And I again, I know I’m very lucky and fortunate, so I’m very grateful to have that. And I’m getting getting ready to go back in two months. This time I’m not housesitting, but I’ll be working while I’m gone and we’re going to do a little bit more travel outside of France. I’ve never been to London, so I’m excited to go there. And then, oward the end of the trip, I think we’re going to it’s not 100% booked yet, but I think we’re going to go to Portugal. my partner is a sommelier, and so he is very excited to go to all these wine regions and.

Samantha Tomer: Something I enjoy too. So it’s it’ll be a good time. And, I like working. Well, I mean, I’m, I like working. I don’t always like working while I’m traveling, but with being virtual or a hybrid practice, it really does allow me. I mean, that’s why I did this in the first place. It allows me to be able to go and do things like this. So that’s that’s next up.

Becky Coplen: Well, you’ll be happy to know one of the main tech people of this whole team of mastering counseling is in the, often in the south of France. And. Oh, that’s so cool.

Becky Coplen: So it’s it was cool to talk to him. He has a great accent and, Yeah. and yeah, my kids went to Portugal last year and they just loved it.

Samantha Tomer: So I heard. So many good things.

Becky Coplen: Yeah, I did hear too. It’s like the third safest country in the world. So yeah, hopefully that goes, great and very exciting. and just another aspect of the business and two of counseling that those who are fully virtual or hybrid can go around the world and, and go where they want to go and still work, even if it’s on a, less schedule. But keeping up with their clients is huge. So, you know, is there anything else that you’d like to share with us before we end our time today? Or any advice for people who are looking to begin their own practice?

Samantha Tomer: I think as far as advice goes, it it feels more daunting than it is. I think, there’s so many resources out there to help you in this process to get where you want to be, whether it’s free or if you pay for it. And there’s so much out there that can help and, you know, break it into. I like to tell my clients, and I work with clinicians sometimes on a 1 to 1 bill, to get licensed in multiple states or just consultation, getting their practice started. and do it in steps. And I, you know, every state is different. So you have to. Came to consideration, like the steps in your state that you live in. but it can be done, and it doesn’t have to be as hard. I think we’re so hard on ourselves, and there’s so much imposter syndrome in our work that it makes it feel like these things are impossible, but they’re not. And there it can be done. It might take time. I’m now in my third year of practice and I’m only now full. So it’s I mean, it took some time to get here. It took a lot of effort. But it can be done and there’s ways to have it be done faster and there’s ways to take your time.

Samantha Tomer: So don’t be too hard on yourself. Be patient. Give yourself some grace with it. There’s a lot we weren’t taught, so it is a lot of new information to take in and learn and process. but I, I definitely think we we can do it. And we should be able to have the life that other people have and not not suffer. And through it.

Becky Coplen: No great advice. We’re such a self, fast paced culture. It’s like, oh, I’m here and I should have this now in a month. And it’s not always realistic. So, it’s great encouragement that things can be built. And it took a few years. but you knew who you wanted to help and you stayed with that instead of, you know, opening yourself up to everything. And then maybe in a few years, feeling so overwhelmed. so, yeah. Well, thank you so much for your time today and sharing all these insightful, ideas and all about your practice and your life. We really appreciate it.

Samantha Tomer: Thank you for having me again. It was great to be here.

Becky Coplen: Yeah. her website is samanthatomerlpc.com/ for anyone who’s interested. And it’s a great website. I did want to note that you said you have some experience in French, and I think Italian too. I saw that as well.

Samantha Tomer: My Italian is not nearly you. It’s like I know a couple of words at this point, but oh, French is a lot more. I can speak that a lot better. And it gets better when I’ve been there in like, you know, been utilizing it more. Yeah. And my website, just one small correction samanthatomerlpc.com

Becky Coplen: So sorry. Missed that. That’s okay. They’re a little shadowy. Well, thank you so much. for everything that you shared to our listeners, please continue to follow us on social media, leave us comments and questions, be invested in the guests that we’ve had on and learn from them so you can help your own practice or whatever phase you’re in in the mental health world. I’m signing off for today. Have a wonderful day.