Light in the Valley

I am a clinical psychologist who identifies as a researcher, clinician, and educator. I study grief, bereavement, and the cancer experience, with a focus on how individuals make meaning of their lives and losses. I deeply believe in our capacity to construct and reconstruct meaning, and my drive to support others following my own early personal loss is just one example of this. But this meaning was deepened when, during a difficult period a few years ago, when I was feeling a bit lost and rudderless, a grieving client shared that our work together felt like a "light in the darkness" of her grief. For as long as I could remember, I knew that my last name, Lichtenthal, translates to "light in the valley" in German. But in this moment, I created new layers of meaning as I reflected on the translation of my name and my sense of calling to companion those suffering in the valley of their grief. Was it my destiny all along to work in grief and loss? Was the early death of my father and the way I gravitated toward suffering all part of a greater plan calling me to this vocation? 

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It is if I say so. In the end, I believe that we get to decide the meaning of our feelings, our experiences, and our lives. If the narrative gives us some comfort, as that meaning of my name did during a time I was struggling, we can embrace it, even if just for a moment.

 

The choice is ours.​​​