Dr. Nicole Peak: WHM

What does?WHM?mean to you?

It means an opportunity to take some time and reflect on how far women have come in terms of their opportunities in the workplace, their changing roles in the home, and ultimately their place in society.?It is a time to reflect yet also celebrate how wonderful it is to be a woman!

What is an obstacle?you faced in your career and how did you overcome it?

I came from a household that role-modeled the belief of 'respecting your elders'.?Most of my educational training was done so by Caucasian males, which was interesting because most of my classmates were female.?Thus, early on, I remember?feeling intimidated and maybe subservient to some of my mentors and instructors.?I found myself spouting out their ideas and vocabulary.?In learning more about therapy, self-differentiation, and having therapy myself, I started gaining more confidence and started to feel more comfortable in voicing my own opinions and forming my own beliefs in what it meant to be a women in the field of psychology as an academic, a researcher, a therapist, and ultimately an entrepreneur.

Who has been an inspiration to you?

There are many :)?To simplify, I would say one of my biggest inspirations has been my mother.?A latina who came to the USA and made a successful life for herself against many odds stacked against her.?Being a young, uneducated, Peruvian woman who came to this country, not knowing the language and yet not using her disadvantages as an excuse but as motivation to make her dreams come true.?While she came from a very gender stereotyped culture, she also went against the grain.?She modeled for me what it was to work in the home but also to be successful at work outside the home.??

What advice would you give to a young therapist starting out in the field?

Continue to learn.?Don't let yourself become stagnant.?Too many people stop learning the day they graduate.?Continue to learn and grow as a professional.?Read, attend workshops, stay connected to professional colleagues, and make use of mentors.???

Dr. Nicole Peak