Beyond the Clinical: A Look at Our Therapists In and Out of Session: Teal

Sometimes it can feel like a mystery when searching for a therapist.

You read and scroll all of the websites, profiles, and clinical information, but you don’t usually get to hear from the therapist in their own words.

Bright Light Counseling Center decided to lift the veil and introduce our therapists, in their own words. Learn more about them both personally and professionally.

This month we are interviewing Teal Jackson-Mappus, LCSW Teal is a clinical social worker in our Austin, TX office. She provides therapy in person as well as online to residents of Texas, Colorado, and Wisconsin.

(BLCC): What do you like to do in your free time/for fun?

(Teal): My free time is usually spent with friends or flitting between cozy hobbies and projects. Lately I have been excited about gardening, crocheting, thrifting, home decorating, and baking. 

(BLCC): Are you currently binge watching any shows?

(Teal): Nope! I’m usually most likely to get stuck in YouTube or shorter form content. (Why can I not commit to a 2 hour movie because it’s “too long” but I can easily sit down and watch 3 hours of YouTube videos?) 

(BLCC): What music is on your playlist?

(Teal): My Spotify is all over the place, lately my most played are: Clairo, Black Pumas, Cavetown, Thee Sacred Souls, Leon Bridges, Khruangbin, Fleetwood Mac, and Tracy Chapman. 

(BLCC): Are you currently reading any books?

(Teal): I have a hard time letting myself read fiction or read for fun, so I have a huge stack of books on my learning to do list.

The last book I was trying to read was Angela Davis- Freedom is a Constant Struggle. I ended up putting it down because there were too many current events happening in real time to focus on. 

On a fun note- I keep a Foraging Texas book on my coffee table and browse through it periodically to get better at spotting wild foods & herbs.

How can I help you reach a point of safety and creative freedom to access play? A state of child-like growth and curiosity, a true beginner's mind, armed with knowledge but unburdened by anxiety. Where did that person go who feels safe to experiment in the world, to freely ask questions or try things out without fear?

(BLCC): What is your favorite dish to eat?

(Teal): Eggplant Parm! A close second would be the tofu or smoked salmon bowl at Loro Austin.

(BLCC): Where is one place you would like to travel to and why?

(Teal): I’d like my next big trip to be going to Italy and eating some really good food. 

(BLCC): What helps you to relax and calm your mind??

(Teal): I feel most relaxed when I spend time outdoors, physical projects and activities tend to soothe me the most even though sometimes it is hard to motivate myself to get started.

Lately I have been working on building a garden and it feels satisfying to dig in the dirt and see things change and grow from my efforts. 

(BLCC): What is your ideal way to spend a day off?

(Teal): My most ideal days off are when I have no scheduled plans or obligations and I just get to wake up and decide what sounds best. I might spend the day just laying around, I might invite friends over to grill and play games, I might hike around and look at birds, or I might decide to organize the garage… I just like having room to feel out what mood I am in and where I want to spend my energy. 

(BLCC): What is your favorite place?

(Teal): Honestly - my own home! I would say second favorite is a campout with my friends, over the years we have been to Guadalupe River State Park numerous times so it feels familiar and full of positive memories. 

Authenticity and Connection: If you’re looking for a neutral, poker-faced therapist you should probably try someone else.

(BLCC): What was your first job?

(Teal): My first full-time job was at 4-H CAPITAL through AmeriCorps, I taught after school enrichment to kids in Animal Science (I was a lead instructor for Goats! So you could say I taught two different types of kids), Gardening, and STEM.  

(BLCC): What made you choose counseling as a career?

(Teal): Initially I considered studying Early Childhood/Education, but while working in under-resourced schools I felt it was impossible to focus on academic objectives when I was surrounded by the impacts of trauma. The classroom was a microcosm of the greater community; food insecurity, mental illness, homelessness, violence, abuse, neglect, oppression. Addressing these things felt so much more critical to me, and I wanted to try to do something more to alleviate the suffering that I could see in others without the pressure of curricula. 

I started with a degree in Social Work as I liked how many different career options it opened up, and initially thought I would like to work as a School Social Worker or in the Child Welfare System. Having seen the impacts of abuse personally and professionally, I wanted the skills to help people heal and have the lives they deserved. I started as a Communities in Schools Mentor and eventually made my way into the one on one Therapy space. I think a lot can happen through the therapeutic alliance where you have space to focus directly on those struggles without any distractions.

(BLCC): What do you enjoy most about being a therapist?

(Teal): I like getting the opportunity to connect with new people and enjoy all the gifts they bring to the space: humor, insights, special interests, culture, values. I feel like I learn so much each time I work with someone new. But the thing I enjoy most over time is seeing people accomplish the things they set out to do and things they previously did not believe were possible. 

(BLCC): What do you think makes you stand out as a therapist?

(Teal): Authenticity and Connection: If you’re looking for a neutral, poker-faced therapist you should probably try someone else. I think one of the most important parts of therapy is the relationship. Healing happens when you feel seen as a whole equal person, not a checklist of symptoms and problems to be solved.   

 I think there is an inherent irreplaceable value in being seen, accepted, encouraged, and understood by another person face to face. 

(BLCC): What is your specialty or niche? And why?

(Teal): My specialty is meeting people where they are at. I understand how difficult it may have been to make it to the room together and my pace is very adaptable to the needs and tolerance of the individual.  Most often, having a comfort with dark humor. How could you ever feel comfortable to cry about it if you are not allowed to also laugh about it, if you want to? 

In the brain, the opposite state of being from Trauma is Play. How can I help you reach a point of safety and creative freedom to access play? A state of child-like growth and curiosity, a true beginner's mind, armed with knowledge but unburdened by anxiety. Where did that person go who feels safe to experiment in the world, to freely ask questions or try things out without fear?

(BLCC): What would you want someone who has never been to therapy to know about therapy?

(Teal): Release some of your expectations, deadlines, and impatience with yourself. Trying to rush your way to a particular finish line may not be as easy as you think, and being extremely upset with yourself along the way is usually not very helpful to the process.

Speaking of the process, it is a place to explore uncomfortable topics and it is normal and ok if at times you feel “bad”, we can’t do anything to change the situation or your internal voice if we are always trying to avoid feeling upset or disappointed about our actions, relationships, situations, etc. 

I remember my first time in therapy expressing a frustration that I hear now from people a lot:  “We’re just talking, shouldn't we be doing something?!” In the world of Western Medicine we are searching to “cure” our problems as quickly as possible, and the expectations in therapy are often no different. You’d like to come into my office so I can pluck out the splinter of suffering and dysfunction and send you on your way (I wish I could!). Of course I want to help you figure out what is holding you back, but we need to deconstruct and figure it out together, it takes time and an annoying amount of practice and repetition to actually make a lasting change. 

(BLCC): What is rewarding about working with your clients?

(Teal): I love to see people grow and accomplish their hopes and dreams (or feel good enough to develop some). I like to see the weight lift off a bit. I can tell someone gets close when I hear them start to reframe things on their own.  There is often this moment when I have been working with someone for a while and I hear the shift in the way they talk about themselves; an air of forgiveness, a breeze of confidence. I hear a switch in their internal voice, it is no longer their abuser talking through them about the ways things are hopeless or worthless, it is now a new voice of compassion, resilience, respect, and love. 

(BLCC): What have you felt most challenged by as a therapist?

(Teal): The world… Especially lately it feels difficult to support people with the insurmountable anxiety of world events.

(BLCC): What makes being a therapist worthwhile?

(Teal): Seeing people accomplish, change, and be brave! The therapeutic relationship is an absolute privilege, I get to see you blossom into the person you were supposed to be before you were encumbered with negative thoughts, fears, and doubts. Everyone I work with teaches me something, and I get to share that understanding with others; collectively you are all supporting each other even from afar. 

(BLCC): How have current events impacted how you approach therapy?

(Teal): So much training as therapists is about “staying neutral”, but I think there reaches a point where neutrality is actually harmful. It's ok to say that something is wrong when you see something truly, deeply wrong happening.  

(BLCC): How do you feel about technology and its impact on therapy?

(Teal): On the one hand I think that Telehealth has brought incredible access to better connect clients who might not live in the same town as their therapist, and it can be such a bridge to getting support from any place. However, I think that therapy has become commercialized by subscription-based “online therapy” platforms who advertise quick fixes and instant gratification but offer unlicensed and questionable services like texting, quick meetings, or phone therapy.  

If talking to an AI chatbot helped you feel better or learn something, that's great, but it was not “Therapy”. I think we are seeing an interesting convergence of predatory technology in a time of profound loneliness and suffering.

Research has shown that one of the most important parts of therapy is the relationship. I think there is an inherent irreplaceable value in being seen, accepted, encouraged, and understood by another person face to face. 

(BLCC): What is one common misconception about therapy that you would change, if you could? Why?

(Teal): Magic Quick Cures. Once we identify the patterns that are going on and getting in your way, then we really get started. 

It takes practice to overcome these things and make the changes that you want to see in your life. People often express frustrations that they “know what the problem is” but keep falling back into the same patterns of repeating it. This could be continuing to talk to yourself in a negative way, seeking out unhealthy relationships or falling into a particular role that is comfortable but unhelpful to you. Just because you now know that you are depressed doesn’t mean you can just “stop being depressed now.”

To learn more about Teal, click here.

To schedule an appointment, reach out today.