Flip the Script: Interview with Tim Campbell, MSEd, LPCC
M: Hello, this is Megan at Cleveland Health and Wellness Center. I’m here with Tim Campbell, one of our therapists, for our Flip the Script interview. Tim received a Bachelor's in criminology and a master’s degree in Mental Health Clinical Counseling, focusing on work with children and adolescent therapy. He has worked in diverse settings, including residential care, crisis agencies, outpatient facilities, and university programs. He specializes in trauma work and is trained in EMDR and CPT, and is also a certified expressive arts therapist. Tim employs an integrative therapeutic approach, focusing on a person's mind, body, and what brings them a sense of connection to their world.
Tim, thank you so much for being here with me today.
T: Thank you for having me.
M: Our first question for you is, when did you initially realize that you wanted to be a therapist?
T: I had to sit back and think of this one, and if you would have told me in 2014, when I graduated with my undergrad, that I would be a therapist, I don’t think I would have considered that route, honestly. I wanted to work in the government, and with it I worked for Children Services for a time. It was my director that actually told me that while I was doing great work, I was acting like a therapist. And she actually kind of, with that sense of immediacy, brought a sense of challenge to the way that I was perceiving things and interacting with individuals. I did some research on counseling and it really fit me a lot more as a human being, so with [my other position in] Investigations it was a lot of assessments and then transferring it on for a disposition, but I love supporting people throughout their processing as long as they’re willing to have me, and be there until the end if possible, and so after her recommendation and my research, I went back to school and got my counseling degree.
M: That’s really interesting, thank you. What populations do you enjoy working with?
T: I enjoy most working with adolescents, teenagers, and emerging adults. I look at that as the season of life when you have been giving a foundation from your family and that childhood development piece has kind of already been set. Now it’s at the point where the individual is starting to construct their own world, they’re starting to exploring their own values and what they want in their life and the meaning that they want to bring to their being. And so I really appreciate that explorative mind of that age population, even into being an emerging adult or young adult. You finish school, you transition at eighteen, and you’re supposed to be an adult, but you don’t have everything figured out, you’re still exploring and figuring it out, so I just love that population.
M: Can you talk a little bit about the treatment modalities do you draw from in your work?
T: Yeah, so I do a little bit of an eclectic, integrative approach. With that, my foundations are going to be Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is where I started, for sure, and solution-focused approaches, so trying to keep it brief and very directed towards goals. But once I graduated and started exploring additional modalities, that’s when I got trained in EMDR and CPT, so Cognitive Processing Therapy. So I do work heavily with trauma, be it developmental trauma, or specific populations of trauma, and with it, those approaches take a little bit more of a holistic approach, which really aligns with me as a person, because you’re not just looking at it like the mind’s construct and thought patterns, you’re looking at behaviors, you’re looking at environmental components, you’re looking at basic needs like sleeping and eating, dietary components of things. So I do have that foundational, cognitive piece, however I do incorporate all those other elements of being the person’s behavioral patterns, the environment they live in, their basic routines. And then that sense of connection that I talk about is really that sense of value or purpose for a person, to really kind of explore and assess the whole individual, is how I conceptualize things.
M: Will you tell us a little bit about your unique strengths as a therapist?
T: Two strengths that I have that kind of play off of each other, in my opinion: one, I do fairly well at building that relationship with another person because I show up authentically as myself at the start of sessions. After the intake I actually just spend a whole session getting to know a person, because they are so much more than whatever they are presenting with, and so with it I also take the time to tell them who I am as a person, how I show up in the world and in the room, and how I can be a support. So I really work to build that therapeutic piece, and then the other component that goes hand-in-hand with that is my sense of creativity. I consider myself a creative spirit in numerous aspects of my life, and I look at people similarly. No two individuals in the world are going to be the same, in my eyes. Therefore no two people will I treat in the exact same manner. I am the clinician that yes, I have this foundational toolbox of resources and skills, and concepts to help them explore and grow. But I’m not going to say that what I teach you is the right way. I tell people, take what works for you and leave what doesn’t, and we are going to reinforce the things that are working and helping you grow as a person. And if it doesn’t, that is okay, because it doesn’t have to work for everyone. I think my rapport-building and sense of creativity, showing up in the room, are two really strong areas for me.
M: Very individualized work. And our fun question: how do you manage stress in your life?
T: Stress in my life is managed in two ways: the first is that, just acknowledging that I’m stressed is a huge piece of it. If I’m suppressing it and holding it down, it will always build up. So just acknowledging that I’m human, it is okay to have those stressful moments, it is going to be okay, and just to grieve that stress and ride it for a moment. But then I switch and I engage in a lot of creativity. Like I said, that is my background. So you can find me getting creative in nature, I love going for hikes and walks, I will create anything. I will paint, I will draw, I will dance, I am also trained in movement therapy and somatic work, and I’m a dance teacher on the side. So my kids [dance students], even though they can stress me out, I also love them with my whole soul. Just being able to teach is a stress-reliever for me. I play music, I love music, I grew up listening to it. That’s one of my childhood favorite memories is my mom having a record player, so that has a sweet spot in my heart. So many different layers. And then time for self-care. I love taking one day a month to just be. Turn my phone off, I will do whatever I want, if it’s a book, if it’s a bath. I will just focus on myself so that I can continue to pour into other people and support them.
M: Definitely, some time for yourself. And our final question for you today: what makes therapy effective, and who can benefit from therapy?
T: I think what makes therapy effective—I’ll start with that one—is two parts. The first is more important, and then there’s a second one that follows up with it. The first being the person’s desire for change, or wanting to grow. That is something that, no matter how much I give resources or I support and encourage, the other person on some level has to take ownership and want to do the work for themselves. So I say, the key piece and foundation is: are you willing to go on the journey with me? And then the second part with that is: how is our relationship? Which is why I spend so much time doing that work. When I get to the end of treatment with people, sometimes I’ll meet with them, say I met with someone twenty-four times. That is, in reality, if we’re meeting for roughly an hour, that is less than a day’s work together. But their change is truly the work that they’ve done individually, on their own independently. So I like to encourage them and reinforce that and acknowledge, you did this work. I gave you the space, I gave you the support, I gave you the skills, but you put forth that effort, and so I think that is a huge piece to making change. Their effort, and then our relationship. As far as who can benefit from therapy, I think everyone honestly can. I also say that therapy is individualized, and it is also okay if you don’t always align with your therapist, because there are multiple people out there in the world that you can connect with. And everyone has their own different approach. I love, with telehealth therapy, something that I really enjoy doing is that people just have to log in. I have all the PDFs onboard, I don’t have to print out papers, I can send it to you in an email, I can do all my EMDR work on the screen, like all you have to do is show up. And with it, if you show up, we can definitely do some amazing work together. And sometimes I say that people don’t even need to do venting work or deep processing work, they just want someone to hear them out. And so that’s why I say anyone can benefit from therapy, because if you just need a supportive space in your journey, that can be provided too. We can celebrate the highs, acknowledge the lows when they’re there, and just exist as human beings sharing space in this world that we’re in. So that’s why I say that everyone can benefit from therapy.
M: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today, and I’m glad we got to know you a little bit better.
T: Thank you so much.