Each month, the 'Day in the Life' series offers PACFA members the opportunity to share their personal and professional experience as dedicated Practising & Registered Clinical Counsellors and Registered Clinical Psychotherapists who embody the art and science of holding space for others.
This month, we follow the day with Registered Clinical Psychotherapist Lindy Spanger.
About Lindy
My Name is Lindy Spanger, I am trained in a Bachelor of Education and a 3-year Diploma of Soul Centred Psychotherapy. I am a Registered Clinical Psychotherapist, a Clinical Supervisor and a member of the PACFA College of Psychotherapy Leadership Group.
What brought me to this work
Since I was a teenager, I have been attracted to helping others and at the age of fifteen I started volunteering for ‘Riding for the Disabled’. It was a great marriage between my love of horses and the desire to help young people who were living with mental or physical disability. I loved the work and am very grateful to that period of my life.
Later in my early 20’s I studied teaching. This was a particularly creative teaching course where I was exposed to Psychodrama and the arts in a way that drew me closer to seeking therapy for myself and wanting to work in the industry in some way or another. I just hadn’t figured out how to yet.After a difficult relocation in my late 20’s moving back to Australia, and a transitional period of my life, I sought out therapy for myself and was referred to a Soul Centred Psychotherapist. It was the first time I felt really met by a therapist; someone who was curious about my story without trying to fix me.During that time, I decided to enrol into the Soul Centred Training as it had become clear I was ready to embark on that journey. This was what I was waiting for. I enrolled in 2000 in the training and from the first day I felt like I was home. I studied for three years at the Kairos Centre in St. Kilda, Melbourne and returned to do another year of study in 2010. It was a life changing course. I met my husband in 2002 and we started a family in 2004 with the birth of my daughter Ella and Noah followed in 2008. Becoming a mother offered me new learnings about myself and helped me deepen into becoming the therapist I am today.
I have been in private practice for 20 years, working form my home office. I am a supervisor and supervise therapists in group supervision and one on one in private practice. I had the great privilege to teach the three-year in-depth training in psychotherapy at the Kairos Centre 2019-2021.
How I work
I work in the Soul Centred modality, which is based on a Jungian psychodynamic, holistic framework. I work in a relational, dynamic way that focuses on all aspects of a client’s life: thoughts, emotions, body sensations, dreams, relationship with others and with the world. Working in a holistic way incorporating a range of techniques to support the client’s mind body system so that they can experience more choice and free will around the complexes and negative patterns and beliefs they are struggling with. I use mindfulness, energy psychology (tapping, EMDR), dream work, focusing, myth and art to support the therapeutic process.
Whilst my main work is in private practice and I deeply value and enjoy this work, I have a real love for teaching and facilitating professional development workshops. I find it deeply creative and rewarding to share with others what I have learnt. It also brings more life back into my private practice
A Day in the Life of Registered Clinical Psychotherapist, Lindy Spanger
6.30 am Morning Rituals
I wake up at 6:30 and I feed my animals: Luna the dog and teddy cat get their brekky. I make a cup of tea. This is a ritual I have been doing since I was quite young and it’s a quiet time when everyone is still in bed, and I can sit and gather my thoughts for the day. At 7, I make lunch for my remaining school kid and then eat my breakfast which is usually a mix of muesli and fruit. Then, I make a coffee, get ready for the day ahead and drop my son to school.
8:30am: This Jungian Life
After dropping my son, I park up and walk around the beautiful leafy park and either listen to a podcast, usually This Jungian Life, or just walk quietly grounding myself for the day.
9:30am: Prepare for my working day
In my home office, I turn on the lights, light my candle and do an exercise called ‘cross overs’ which grounds me and helps my mind body system get online for the day. I then look over my notes.
10:00am-12:00pm I Run My Weekly Supervision Group
I am currently running two groups of supervision as well as private supervision sessions.
Part of the membership requirements for the PACFA College of Psychotherapy is that members attend supervision within their modality for a certain number of hours a year. Some of the supervisees are new graduates and some are seasoned therapists. This makes for a very dynamic and interesting learning space. As a supervisor, I work from a Soul Centred modality of psychotherapy. This means it's a reflective space where supervisees are supported to bring in their clients and work from both the lens of what's happening for their client and what's happening for the therapist in relationship to their client. I support supervisees to stay in the ground of curiosity and with their working hypothesis as a guide and an anchor - a vital map for the work. It's dynamic and inclusive so that members of the group offer observations and input, and different perspectives. It is a very rich way of working. The key is to make sure this is a resource for the therapist and a place of support for the work
12:30pm: Lunchtime
My lunch menu can vary from a turkey or salad roll to popping down the street for some sushi. I also love a tuna salad. In winter, I might have some soup that I made the day before or something else that is warm and hearty. I will probably have a cup of tea too.
1:00-2:00pm: Monthly College of Psychotherapy Leadership Group Meeting
I have been a member of the leadership group for a few years now and believe passionately in supporting and strengthening the development of psychotherapy within PACFA and Australia-wide. It's also nice to meet other psychotherapists, as it can be quite isolating working in private practice. Being in the group has inspired me as I can be quite introverted regarding my profession. It has felt more important and more possible lately to add my voice to other psychotherapists and speaking out about our profession. Through the group, I found the courage to get creative and write a few pieces about psychotherapy for a journal and a blog.
3:00-4:30pm: Client and a Snack
I usually have a snack and a cup of tea, maybe a piece of cake or crackers with dip. Then I see another client.
4:30-5.30pm: Content Creation
I am currently working on creating the content for a professional development training I am providing for my association on how we establish our working hypothesis.
6:00-700pm: ZOOM Client
I see an international client via ZOOM.
7:30pm: Dinner
On this day, dinner is cooked by my husband! His signature dish is marinated chicken on the barbeque with roasted veggies and salad.
8:30pm: Tea & Drama
I have a herbal tea with some chocolate and unwind from the day whilst watching something on one of the many streaming channels. I won’t lie, I enjoy watching a good British detective drama before bed and would have made a good DCI in another life!!
9:30-10:00: Bed
I love a good novel and always read before bed. I am currently reading a great book by Pip Williams called, ‘The Dictionary of Lost words’. Another favourite was, ‘The Covenant of Water’, by Abraham Verghesse.
Out & About
My hobbies include swimming, walking, and being in nature. I am committed to my Pilates practice as it sustains me on so many levels.
On my days off, if the weather is good in Melbourne (not a given), I will go down to a particular beach that I have been going to since childhood. It is a safe place and offers me peace and calm.
I enjoy going for a massage monthly and seeing my Chinese doctor. Over the years, it has been vital for me to fill my cup and be restored, especially in this line of work that is so very ‘other-oriented’.
Connect with Lindy
Website
LinkedIn profile