Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Swanson.
Hi Paige, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up thinking that there was always a higher answer or wisdom that could be uncovered through the subtle gesture of compassionate action. As I grew older, that subtle gesture would seem to appear as the hands of god or simply grace. Psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists tell us that love is learned. It isn’t something that just happens spontaneously. Yet, who teaches us to love? Children grow up believing that their parents are perfect. But quickly, we learn that perfection is an illusion and love is really just an attitude. It is a choice, and that choice to teach others these same principles became clear to me along my journey as a therapist.
As we reach adulthood, it is the simple task of realizing our parents are ordinary human beings like ourselves, with hang-ups, misconceptions, tenderness, joy, tears, and sorrow. Making sense of it all is how we can learn to unlearn and relearn how to love; therefore, there is tremendous hope even amid extreme shock or grief.
I was born into a good family. A family that took care of others and always cheered for the underdog. Growing up, my family instilled in me the importance of the underdog; but more importantly, they answered the questions I’ve always had, with mistakes and hang-ups on how it is exactly we learn to love. And what creates loving people. They instilled in me the importance of breaking bread, bearing compassion, helping those in need, and of acceptance. Because of them, I knew that there was more in the world than rooting for the champion. That theme of understanding the underdog’s story and loving them for their courage, wildness, and openness to try, became essential to developing the skills as a therapist to acknowledge that people all go through heavy and painful burdens.
Many people say that when becoming a therapist, there is some sort of divine calling or intervention from God. Yet, shrinks are a lot more like everyday people. Graduate programs prepare us with the tools to exercise the material of neuroscience, theory, and methods. But what truly sculpt an amazing therapist may be the same ingredients that help sculpt a loving person.
In college, I needed to make sense of this deep need I had developed for altruism. An avid reader, I picked up Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In.” That along with Heidelberg, Freud, Marx, and overly ambitious interest in the women of the women’s suffrage movement Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Through my reading, I realized that learning to love meant looking at the past. I started my campus’s first female empowerment organization, “Women In Leadership.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Women in Leadership (WIL) was a group that explored intersectional systemic issues associated with women’s advancement in their occupational and personal lives. Its weekly topics ranged from female identity development, violence committed against women (emotional, physical, and sexual), as well as their self-concept as leaders in their occupational and home life. By the time of my graduation, the organization had grown to over 20 undergraduate females and is still an active organization on my campus to date with a member base of hundreds. Women In Leadership was my first voyage into understanding what it means to walk with people through their stories and how narratives are a crucial part of defining how people behave or achieve their passions despite barriers to advancement; it symbolized a path towards helping people who are traditionally cast as an underdog in society. My objective still today is to help people make waves and work through failures, adversity, and mental illnesses that limit them from accomplishing their goals – no matter how big or small.
Was it always easy?
I was admitted into Northwestern University in the Graduate School of Applied Psychology and Family Studies at the beginning of 2018. While attending graduate school, time seemed to pass slower and faster all at the same time. Graduate school was not an easy feat and there were moments when I almost dropped out or laid in bed for hours staring at the ceiling thinking, “I am never going to get through this.” Northwestern was almost like the world of gymnastics for therapy – traditional and rewarding to those who landed a perfect double with their bra strap sticking out. Deduction!
However, I was always inspired to start my own practice: every day after class, I would take the content from that day’s lesson and begin building my business.
Having a keen eye for marketing, I knew a little bit about building websites and would begin building my business online. At first, my business started as a variety of different ideas: a candle company that would support mental health awareness, a botanical oil company that sold customized yoga products, an exercise studio that incorporated a wellness curriculum, and (finally when I got my license to practice) a therapy boutique. Now, Sauna Therapy appears to be an amalgamation of all the above.
Even when it felt like life wasn’t going in the right direction or the setbacks I faced led to overwhelming challenges like a financial burden, loss of social life, and, of course, graduating from graduate school during the Coronavirus where I was unable to walk the stage. I still knew, in every bone, that opening Sauna Therapy was something that I would accomplish despite being an underdog.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Sauna Therapy is a boutique mental health studio in Dallas, Texas. Its core objective is to offer multiculturally informed and affordable mental health therapy to those who need its services. It is meant to shift traditional models of therapy practices by creating a retail environment and brand where people can feel more relaxed and at ease while reducing the stigma of seeing a private practice therapist with excruciating rates and aloof protocols. The main premise of Sauna is to incorporate mindfulness curricula with movement and neuroscience to produce evidence-based therapies.
The idea for the name Sauna Therapy came about during a long hike in Sedona, Arizona. Hiking in the Arizona desert is a magical experience that reminded me of the resiliency of the human spirit. Much like the cacti that stand tall amid the pounding Arizona heat, humans have an adaptable capacity to not only survive but thrive despite their circumstances. In the book, “A Man’s Search for Meaning”, psychologist Viktor Frankl, writes about how his survival during a Natzi concentration camp led to the lifelong objective belief that man creates their life despite war, poverty, sickness, and desperation.
I am an associate licensed therapist, LPC-A, NCC, and I see individuals and couples who are looking for a relaxed, attuned, and warm therapist. My style is centered on current research in cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and neuroscience. I offer several different therapeutic modalities and specialize in trauma disorders, eating disorders, mood & anxiety disorders, and women’s issues. Currently, I am getting my Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200) Certification and will be offering yoga movement therapy in the Fall. The location of my practice is in Highland Park, Dallas above Fairgrounds coffee.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting.
Although I am still a new business owner and Sauna Therapy is growing rapidly, I would tell new business owners that no matter how intensive it may feel to defy boundaries and set out to be an entrepreneur, “if you feel it in your bones, never look back.” It is amazing what a little bit of grit, tenacity, and strength will get you. It reminds me of Thoreau’s marvelous line, “Oh God, to reach the point of death only to find that you never lived at all.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://saunatherapies.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sauna.therapy/
