12 facts about me

Nov252020

Fact 1
My parents always encouraged me to make my own decision. So, at the age of 5 I said “No” to my piano teacher and quitted the class. In fourth grade I decided for myself to participate at an exam for Intensive English class and passed it.

Fact 2
I have a big brother who plays the violin and is the concert master of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Arad, Romania. What I like about artists and about him is that they are unique. They do not search for material things, but the healing energy of music. What a peaceful world would be if we all could just delight in this Journey on Mother Earth.

Fact 3
I took drama classes in junior high school, and I played volleyball and was in debate teams in high school. I was always active and very social. I used to speak for those who couldn’t and make justice where there was none.

Fact 4
I’ve been a nerd all my life. Although I almost always had straight A’s, my favorite classes were Romanian and English Language and Literature

Fact 5
I have a beautiful voice and sang for and with the kids in my therapy sessions. I was always surrounded by music so it comes natural to me. Moreover, a couple of years ago I took an online class at Duke University about “The Biology of Music: What we like to hear and why” that helped me introduce music in speech and language development at nonverbal children.

Fact 6
I only had one boyfriend in my entire life until now and I married him. We’ve been together for the last 14 years. We know each other since I was in 6th grade, but only became a couple when I was 17 years old. He was my brother’s best friend. I love Paul, my husband, more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.

Fact 7
My husband has an atypical brain and a huge IQ ( he’s been tested). Although he has a huge IQ, he encounters difficulties to get to people. In a way, I am his bridge to the world. I sometimes “translate” to him our world. Or, at least I used to, until he took classes of behavioral analysis and psychology and is now a Business Profiler.

Fact 8
Due to his beautiful mind, Paul helps me bring to life all my wild dreams. I was always encouraged to dream and follow my dreams. So, in my private practice, I always went to my manager and told him about my ideas and he always found a way to make them come true. This is how, in the office we had robots and plenty of technology to help clients heal.

Fact 9
We have two dogs. Rey is a Labrador Retriever (a former therapy dog) and Ryo is a German Shepard (a former search dog). P.S. My husband used to be a detective.

Fact 10
We live simple. We found out that having less material things create room for spiritual ones. We have 4 plates, 4 forks and spoons, 1 pan and 1 pot. We do not posses a lot of clothes, but only the ones that help us feel comfortable. Paul has always been this way so I think that for him this came natural. But before being with him, I used to buy a lot of clothes, ones were even in multiple colors (I know now that I was an anxious teenager and had trouble letting go of things). I feel free now!

Fact 11
In my teenage years I was anorexic. I used to throw up or use different and unhealthy methods to lose weight. I always kept my dysfunctional behaviors a secret and few people in my life know this. Paul, my husband, is one of them and for that, for helping me stop, I am grateful and thank him. Unfortunately, in those times, in Romania, psychological help wasn’t so available, so helping each other as friends, family or couples was all we could do.

Fact 12
As a child, I always used to bring stray animals home. As an adult, after therapy, I can understand now that my need to bring all the animals home was due to a childhood trauma, when I got lost from my big brother and was alone. So, when I see animals alone on the streets, I get a knot in my stomach and a huge pain in my chest. I know now that these were my feelings while being lost, and that in the present moment I am safe. But as it is said in the movie “Moana” “scars can heal and reveal just where you are.” For there weren’t my traumas, maybe I wouldn’t be the psychotherapist I am today.

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You get to a certain point in life when you don’t realize how broken you might be until you have the courage to admit it. Same thing happened to me, I knew that something was wrong, I knew that I’ve lost control but being afraid of change is what kept me in a loop and I couldn’t really get out. I was going back and forth just because I refused to admit that I was going in the wrong direction.
Cami came like a blessing in my life and helped me find motivation. She didn’t give me the answer to my problems, she made me search deep inside so I could get on to my own key, that made me get out of the loop.
Cami is sweet and charming, but sometimes she can be a little evil by pushing you a little more, outside of your comfort zone. Cami knows how to say the right thing at the right time, but she also knows when to just stay there and stare at you until you figure it out.
I highly recommend Cami if you want to change something in your life. She might help you in ways you can’t even imagine.
You know what they say: when life gives you lemons, make a lemonade, but I suggest you ask Cami for some help so you make something better than a lemonade.

D. C.

The most important thing I learned in my sessions with Cami is to love myself and not get into comparisons with others. This way, I stopped putting pressure on me and being my worst critic. I started to value my superpowers.
Finding Cami was a breakthrough in my self- discovering and I have to admit that it was the best thing I could do for myself. Now, I am more understanding towards myself and to others, no matter if things turn the way I expected them to or not.
The love I felt at our every session gave me confidence in me and life, and my fear and anxiety are no longer reasons that can hold me back from the job I wish, the relationship that fulfills me or happiness.

L. L.

My story of healing began in April 2018. I have met Cami through my physical therapist who was helping me treat my chronic back pain after having had two spinal surgeries. She implied that maybe my pain had emotional reasons too and that maybe I need to have a look at the psychological burden my spine is carrying. I soon decided to follow this advice thinking that at least I could get some tips on how to accept and manage my pain. I have gained so much more.

Me and Cami did indeed start our work focusing on my back pain, which after about 3 or 4 months disappeared completely. I understood that it was, in specialized language, “an internalized symptom”, which in my own words I would put it like this: I have lived with the pain for so long that I came to identify myself with it as part of ME. I had to understand that I first need to see how the pain helped until that point, and that I needed to be ready to let it go. This was hard work but I am happy that I did it. This story left me with tools that I will use in the future too. I now know that every physical symptom has an emotional background too, and that sometimes just by treating the emotional part, the body will heal itself afterwards.

The most important thing I have discovered in these years of therapy is that healing begins with self-love and self-acceptance. I realized that I perform better at any chapter in my life if I act like my own superhero. Seeing myself as a wonderful person, treating myself with love, kindness and respect has brought a better light on each day of my life. I also learned to forgive myself for any present or past mistakes, and to avoid punishing myself through so many self-sabotage behaviors which were very familiar in the past. This attitude makes me see the people around me differently, because being kind with myself came along with being kind with others too. When I accepted myself exactly how I am, I also accepted the ones around me for who they are – different people, with a different story than mine.

I came to unpack my childhood trauma in my sessions with Cami (I know trauma is a big word, but we all have them, don’t worry ). I understood that even if I don’t want to acknowledge them, they are still there, and I act in their consequence. So, I allowed myself to be vulnerable and to connect with the child that I was, many years ago. In this way we slowly identified what was painful from my past, especially from the very young years. I went from sadness and anger to forgiveness and acceptance, but this was a rocky road. I just want to mention that for me, this needed time. It had great results though, as my relationship with my parents is now a lot better than it was in the past. This brings me a lot of joy, for me it is a big accomplishment.

Therapy helped me with my compulsive eating too, and I can now easily identify a compulsive behavior when it comes along. I was always chubby in my childhood, with a big appetite for food. I have made food my friend, my support, my coping mechanism. Sure, I did end-up as an overweight adult, as I am not so lucky to have a supersonic metabolism. Although in the years since I began therapy, I haven’t yet reached my “ideal” weight, I did gain a much better relationship with food. I now know the difference from when I eat for hunger and empty stomach to when I eat for emotional distress. I have recently begun a food plan and am surprised to see myself eating clean and losing weight with JOY for the first time in my life. So yes – therapy can help with eating disorders too

Cami helped me learn the concept of boundaries, which was something completely new for me. Through therapy I understood that saying “no” is actually healthy sometimes. So, I started practicing it, I think I’m still in a shy beginning period and saying “no” still feels a bit awkward, but I hope to be an expert one day. I now know how a healthy boundary can be set: by refusing what is unfit for me, and by expressing my own needs, without any criticism to others. This has brought a better quality in my relationships: with my family, my friends, my coworkers.

Last but not least, through therapy I learned to take responsibility for everything in my life: my past and present, my decisions for my future, my physical and emotional status. I stepped out of the victim role, where everything bad was caused by others, and entered a protagonist role, where everything that happens to me is only my responsibility. This brings me peace and empowerment.

I let myself feel the whole range of emotions, even the “bad” ones like anger or sadness or even fury because they are all part of life. I try to be my own psychotherapist, to observe myself, to identify my needs, and to act accordingly. If my need is to be spoiled, and appreciated, and loved, I give myself these things and have the courage to ask them from my close ones too. Or, if my need is to sit in my pajamas for a weekend, watch sad movies and cry, I do it, and don’t feel guilty! I came to be more resilient and accept that sometimes in life, bad things happen, but I am responsible for the way I manage the hard situations.

I learned that joy can be brought to every day, by just seeing all the reasons I have to be grateful (there are so many!). Life changed. I take pride for each therapy session, as I now feel better with myself. Psychology was always a passion for me but I would have never thought psychotherapy could have such a big impact on my life.
Cami, thank you for teaching me how to help myself.
With love, T.I.

T. I.

In my therapy sessions I learned a lot of things that help my soul. First of all, I discovered that psychotherapy is as important as seeing a doctor and that it can be the best choice you could make. At first, I lacked the courage to take this step, but I did it anyway. Therefore, I learned so many beautiful lessons, in spite the fact that before I didn’t believe that you could look at your life in a different way. I had a powerful person to support me that knew exactly how to help me. Since then, my life changed for the better. One lesson I received is that life is precious and you can live it beautifully as long as you face your past and accept the things the way they were. I learned that everything has a solution, you only need to be patient and give yourself time. It is not an easy path, but step by step that long and dark hallway will soon have light. My life changed radically the moment I saw my true values, resources. Through these sessions I finally understood the importance of self-love, self-respect and being patient to yourself. Knowing what you deserve from your life and in your life is vital.
In conclusion, my sessions with Cami set a light in my path through life and helped me understand true values in life… I don’t have to be good for everyone, but to feel at peace with myself in my inner world.

P. T.

The most important lesson for me is that change has to come from me. If I am more confident others will trust me more, if I am more understanding and kind to myself, I will be able to do the same for others. Most of all, I need to accept the fact that in life it is important to be patient towards yourself and anything else. All the changes I want to make need time, so…baby steps. I discovered that I deserve to prioritize me and my wishes and to make room in my life for the things and activities that I enjoy. I am responsible for my own happiness and it doesn’t depend on a thing or event. Thank you so much, Cami, and I truly hope that our path together doesn’t stop here!

O. L.

A couple of years ago I started going to Cami’s therapy. I was young, stressed, scared and really worried. Throughout therapy I discovered lots of unresolved issues from my past. With Camelia’s help I learned how to let things go, how to focus on myself and the most important thing: how to love myself. Now I can say that I am really enjoying life and living it to the fullest. I am happy and at peace with everything that has happened. I am continuously working on myself and endlessly growing and learning, making myself a priority. But all of these things, I could not have done them without Camelia’s help. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for opening the door for me! I will forever be grateful.

C. M.

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