Daily Inspiration: Meet Shelley Treadaway

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelley Treadaway.

Hi Shelley, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today. 
In 2022, I went to graduate school to pursue a brand new career in the mental health field as a Marriage and Family Therapist. As an adult with children, the idea of starting over was slightly terrifying, but every dream that is worth pursuing is worth pushing past the uncertainty and unease.

My journey as a therapist started with a keen interest in human behavior. I have always felt relationship-centered, and learning about human nature with respect to relationships became a key focus as I became a parent in 2012. As a single parent at the time, I valued the idea of parenting from a conscious state that invites freedom of expression for my child.

I continued reading and engaging in material centered around neurobiology, attachment theory, and parenting skills to buffer the insecurities I had as a new parent while also learning material that helped me become a “better” and more regulated person.

As soon as I walked into the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Arizona State University, I knew I made the right decision. The coursework was fascinating, the friendships I made were life-long, and my internship launched me into the thick of the work as a therapist. Despite the bumps along the way, I loved every minute of it. Now, I work at Life in Motion, a private practice in Phoenix, as a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road was not so much bumpy as it was littered with unpredictable potholes. Having young children while in graduate school was one of the most difficult undertakings I have experienced in my life. The demand of learning, working, parenting, and attempting to have a life was a constant juggle. I had to decide what plates could drop (usually my social life) and what plates were too important to not keep spinning (parenting).

I struggled with being a beginner again. The lack of confidence and second-guessing I experienced in the early months of my internship would have been crippling without the support of my family, friends, and fellow therapist interns.

I struggled with balancing life as a whole and became resentful of the change I decided to make, switching careers from time to time. Thankfully, those moments were relatively short-lived in comparison to the joys and breakthroughs I felt during graduate school and still today in private practice.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work for a private practice in Phoenix called Life in Motion. As a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (LAMFT), I work with couples, individuals, and families to restore balance, enhance relational security, improve communication, reduce anxiety, and offer tools to my clients to feel unstuck in their lives.

Our practice, run by my Supervisor Trisha Kelly-Serrato (Owner/Clinic Director), is deeply rooted in helping clients connect the dots of past (childhood) and present (today), identifying healthy or unhealthy patterns, adaptations, and views of self and others that often shape internal thought patterns and facilitate relationship dynamics (good and bad!).

We specialize in couples and individuals, but also understand that in order to change the symptom, often we need to change the symptom, and that can come in the form of family therapy as well. Despite the method or style of psychotherapy we use, as Marriage and Family Therapists we are looking beyond the current individual experience and mapping family history and patterns to understand the issues or crises clients are experiencing today. Our clinic is known for trauma work, couples counseling, therapy for infidelity, religious trauma, attachment issues, and more.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
As a child, I remember being imaginative, open, sensitive, curious, and kind. I struggled academically, and relationships very easily became a focus of mine. I had many different friend groups, played a lot of soccer, and did my best to make my parents proud. I struggled with confidence in most things but developed a stronger sense of self later in life.

Pricing:

• 50-minute session – $140
• 80-minute session – $225

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lifeinmotionaz.com/welcome
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeinmotiontherapyaz/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifeinmotiontherapy/

Image Credits
Life in Motion Therapy