I am a clinical social worker, having earned a masters degree in social work from the University of South Carolina in 2007. I have worked as a therapist in a variety of settings – including government and non-profit agencies, psychiatric and medical hospitals, in offices and even jail settings. I’ve been honored to share in the struggles, hopes, fears, and triumphs of my clients over the years. While I’m wondering what to write for this page, the first two questions I’m routinely asked in a job interview spring to mind.
The first question I’m usually asked is a hesitant one, “Your name is… unique. How do you pronounce it?”
My full first name is Bryony, pronounced BREE-uh-nee. My mother got it out of a romance novel, “Touch Not the Cat,” by Mary Stewart. It’s not a book worth reading. The character was a telepath who married her first cousin. Bryony is also the name of poisonous vine. Yes, it’s an odd name. No, I’m not terribly fond of it. I generally go by “Brie” instead. I really like cheese, and dairy products in general, so Brie is a better fit and much easier to say.
My undergraduate degree is in Math, and I graduated from the University of Florida in 2002. So the nextquestion people ask me is often, “Why did you switch from math to social work?”
Before going into social work, I worked as an actuary for Blue Cross and Blue Shield in both South Carolina and Florida. If you don’t know what an actuary is – neither did I until the night before my first job interview. (Thanks, Google!) It turns out that an actuary basically does statistics for insurance companies. The first definition I learned was that an actuary is someone who predicts future results based on past experience.
Part of my transition from “predicting the future based on past experience” was the fundamental shift in my worldview that we do not have to be defined and bound by our past. Change, healing, and recovery are possible. Traumas and difficult experiences are not a life sentence to the prison of our fear and anger. We can live in a present that is informed by our past, but not bound by it. We can break out of the cycles we feel stuck in. We can find our solid ground.