Life & Work with Samantha Pieknik of Uptown Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Pieknik.

Hi Samantha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I was a child, I attended therapy related to bereavement and adjustment-related life stressors. I had a great experience, loved my therapists, and I found that it helped me a lot. I was also a very sensitive kid, so having a safe space to talk about emotions was generally a great thing for me. Around the same time, my aunt was getting her master’s degree in social work, which also served as a huge inspiration for me. When I started college, there were some people in my life discouraging me to go into the mental health field, and as a result, I began college with an undeclared major. However, after my first Psychology 101 course during the first week of school, I rushed down to the psychology department and declared my major as fast as I could! I didn’t tell anyone until about a year later, but it was well worth it. . .

Through college, I worked with autistic and/or ADHD youth in various settings. I found I loved working with neurodivergent children as I was able to empathize and connect with my kids in meaningful ways. Looking back, I’m sure I could relate to some of the same difficulties they had….As a child, I had the executive functioning challenges, the big feelings, the overwhelm, the constant monologuing, the shutdowns, the messiness, and the feeling that I was “too annoying” for many people. I am lucky though, because a lot of people in my family have the same challenges I do, and they helped me learn strategies to support my needs.

Because one thing I do very well is hyperfocus on specific subjects, I ended up attending graduate school where I earned my doctorate in clinical psychology. I now work in a private practice setting offering affirming therapy to neurodivergent individuals. A lot of my work involves engaging my clients in a meaningful way through their specific interests and passions, and teaching self-compassion. In addition to therapy, I also love educating others on the topic of neurodiversity. My business partner and I offer workshops, webinars, and trainings for clinicians interested in learning more about neurodivergence, and becoming an affirming practitioner.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing worth doing is ever easy! In a world that isn’t built for everyone’s neurotype, I had to get creative with a lot of my responsibilities (especially in school) in order to work with my brain, and not against it. One of my favorite things to do is turn boring tasks into games, reward myself for completing work I don’t want to do, having a stimulating designated work-space, or working alongside others for accountability and motivational purposes! This helped tremendously. I still use these strategies for paperwork from time-to-time!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One of the things I am most passionate about is teaching other clinicians how to be neuro-affirming with their neurodivergent clients. As mentioned previously, I partner with Neurodiverse Counseling Services to offer these workshops to other clinicians, or just individuals wanting to learn more about neurodiversity in general. Listening to neurodivergent voices and encouraging others to do the same has been a huge part of what keeps me passionate about the work that I do.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I am a toy collector, and have many collections that change over time. It all started with trolls, beanie babies, and furbies as a child, and I’d say it has evolved quite a bit since then. One of my favorite things to collect long-term has been the Tokidoki Unicornos, which I have been collecting since about 2011!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.drpieknik.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neuro.pier/
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/samantha-pieknik-psy-d-42b31a83
• Other: https://www.neurodiversecounseling.com/