My Journey

I Didn't Start Out Knowing

When I left for college in the 1970s, I had only the vaguest idea what I wanted to do with my life. Like many students of that era, I expected college to provide a degree and a pathway into some career, but I did not have any concrete idea what that destination would be.

That discovery began unexpectedly.

One afternoon my professor in psychopathology stood before the class and introduced himself by saying, "My name is Ken Howard, and I am a real-life clinical psychologist."

My heart beat faster hearing those words though I didn't really know why, beyond saying to myself, ‘that’s what I want to be.’

In that class I wrote a paper about my grandmother, who had struggled with severe psychiatric illness and eventually underwent electroconvulsive therapy. As I learned more about her life, I became fascinated by the ways emotional suffering develops, how families are affected, and how treatment can restore hope. I owe my professional life to my grandmother. She awakened in me a lifelong curiosity about the development of the mind.

Finding My Direction

After earning my bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology, I entered a master's program in Counselor Education. While simply walking across campus one day, I had one of those quiet moments of clarity that shape a life.

I realized I wanted to become a psychotherapist.

Not only because I loved the work, but because I could imagine building a life that integrated meaningful professional work with marriage, family, and raising children. That vision became the blueprint for the next phase of my life.

After several years counseling adolescents in suburban Chicago, I knew I wanted to stretch my education as far as it could go, so I entered the doctoral program in Counseling Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. After completing my Ph.D. and licensure, I eventually established the private practice that has now been my professional home for more than four decades.

What Graduate School Didn't Teach Me

Graduate school taught me theory. It did not tell me it takes many years to understand how theory applies to the practice of helping people.

My own therapist, my supervisors and trainers, and my clients taught me how to become a therapist.

It takes years before most therapists stop asking, "What's the right thing to say?" and begin asking, "Who am I, and how can I use myself in this work?"

I gradually came to understand that becoming an effective therapist requires much more than acquiring techniques. It requires continually developing oneself.

The Best Teachers

Over the years, I've often reflected on how much my clients have taught me. Every person who entrusted me with their story expanded my understanding of courage, resilience, grief, love, shame, hope, and the extraordinary ways people find healing and growth.

Whatever wisdom I have today has been shaped not only by teachers and supervisors, but also by thousands of hours spent listening. For that, I remain deeply grateful.

The Importance of Lifelong Learning

Throughout my career, several experiences became essential to my own growth: personal psychotherapy, clinical supervision, group therapy, professional organizations, and training groups.

Each offered something different, yet together they taught me that therapists never stop learning.

That conviction has remained one of the foundations of my professional life.

Finding My Professional Home

My mentors in Austin invited me into two important families, the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society and the American Group Psychotherapy Association. These organizations became my local and national families where I could connect with other therapists, learn from nationally renowned group leaders, and form lifelong friendships.

Then, in 1994 I attended a workshop led by Dr. Louis Ormont, whose teaching transformed the direction of my career.

His opening words stayed with me ever since: "Every great group leader combines a solid theoretical understanding with their unique personality."

Those words eventually led me to the Center for Group Studies in New York, where I spent the next decade immersed in the development of my personal and professional self as I pursued the study of Modern Analytic Group Therapy.

There I found not only outstanding teachers but also a community of colleagues who believed in lifelong learning, curiosity, and personal growth.

Giving Back

As my confidence grew, I began sharing what I was learning with colleagues in Austin.

Study groups became training groups. Training groups became institutes and workshops. Workshops led to conference presentations.

Eventually I began teaching nationally and internationally, joined the faculty of the Center for Group Studies, and devoted increasing attention to mentoring therapists.

Helping therapists grow into their talents and skills has become one of the deepest satisfactions of my career.

Beyond the Consulting Room

One lesson surprised me.

Some of the most important experiences shaping me as a therapist happened outside psychotherapy.

Joining a creative writing group awakened a part of myself I hadn't fully appreciated.

Later, I helped organize an ongoing group of therapists who met simply to paint, write, and create together.

Those experiences reminded me that creativity, curiosity, and emotional openness are inseparable. They continue to enrich both my personal life and my clinical work.

What I Believe Today

Looking back, I realize my career has been shaped by curiosity, generous teachers, courageous clients, treasured colleagues, and the privilege of growing alongside them. I continue to believe that becoming a therapist is not something we finish. It is a lifelong process of learning to understand ourselves well enough to help others do the same.