Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Fox.
Stephanie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I did not plan to become a psychologist. Instead, my passion was journalism. I loved gathering information, investigating and solving problems, and expressing myself through writing. Unfortunately, when I took my first Journalism course in college, I hated it! Instead, I found myself signing up for all of the Psychology courses and eventually realized this was my passion. During my graduate training, I learned about assessment, which is actually one of the things that sets psychologists apart from other mental health professionals. I learned how to administer tests and “see” how a person’s brain works, such as how they learn and process feelings. Assessment also involves a lot of writing, and a good assessor will be able to tell a story with the information they are given and uncover. Most psychologists do not like this line of work, but I could not get enough! I took every assessment opportunity I could find and became very adept at utilizing data and history to answer difficult questions. Now, my work focuses exclusively on assessment – mostly learning and psychological evaluations for kids, teens, and adults. I’ve realized that the work I do now parallels my old love of journalism – I gather data, investigate, and compile information to help people understand difficult and interesting things. After all of these years, I still have the same passion for digging deeper and finding answers.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Part of what led me to choose assessment is that I struggled with the therapeutic aspects of being a psychologist, particularly with heavy caseloads and long therapy sessions. I realized I had a lot of trouble staying focused and tracking what my clients were saying, and feeling easily overwhelmed when balancing too many responsibilities. Throughout school, I utilized many strategies to compensate for focus and memory issues, such as extensive note-taking, extra breaks, and repetition of material. When I did an assessment, I could utilize these strategies in a way I could not with conducting therapy. As I began working with clients with ADHD, I learned the differences in presentations (especially with women) and recognized that my story was very similar to those I was assessing. When I sought my own answer, I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Recognizing that I need to “self-accommodate” is what drove me to open my own practice where I can structure my workday and workload in a way that works for my brain.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I provide educational and psychological assessments, meaning I use tests and interviews to discover underlying conditions and give recommendations on how to support challenges. I see kids as young as 6 all the way through adults. Most of the time, folks are coming to me because they or their child is struggling in school or a particular subject (like reading), and I can help figure out what is going on. Outside of academic concerns, I offer testing when someone is experiencing a large number of emotional challenges or concerning behaviors, and we need to clarify the diagnosis and treatment. I also see adults for autism evaluations, as well as adult-specific ADHD evaluations. As I’ve mentioned, there are many things I love about this work, but the most fulfilling is the validation I’m able to offer my clients. They are seen, they are heard, they are valued. I truly give the most time and attention I can to each client, taking great care to understand their stories and connect them to the right resources. I provide robust reports with a large amount of recommendations because I want the process to feel as useful as possible. I spend ample time reviewing results and making myself available for future needs. My clients are not just one of dozens I see each week. They are each treated with care and compassion, as I recognize testing sounds and feels like a scary or uncomfortable process for many.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Wow, great question! I loved being outside and exploring. I could make any outdoor time interesting by hunting for bugs, cool stones, and tiny flowers. I loved to look closely and see if I could find something no one else did. My parents and I would take walks at dusk and count the number of bunnies we saw. It was a delight when I could point out a bunny they didn’t see! And of course any other animal sighting was really fun. Gardening was another exciting outdoor activity, as I could check the growth of each plant every night and feel victorious when a new blossom or veggie started to emerge. Again, it strikes me how much this aligns with my work in hunting and gathering information that may be hard to find!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fourcorners-ps.com
