Lily Szafranski, Master’s Level Intern
Specialties: young athletes, young adults, anxiety, depression, women’s issues, adolescents
Supervised by: Harry Cates
Getting to know Lily
Lily was born in Sierra Leone, Africa; She was adopted at age three and grew up in Buffalo NY. Always showing an athletic aptitude, she became a competitive gymnast starting around the age of 7. She eventually continued her gymnastics career at SUNY Cortland where she pursued a Bachelor’s in Sport Management. After working in the sport world, she developed a passion for mental health awareness, and went on to receive her Master’s at Southern Illinois University in Sport Psychology. While in school she specialized in athlete mental health where she learned how to provide services with mental health concerns, injury recovery, and performance related concerns.
Upon graduation, Lily relocated to Houston Texas. After going through her own mental health journey, she realized the value in reaching out for help. As someone who had always been fiercely independent, taking this step was not easy. After listening to an experienced third party with the tools and knowledge to help her, she found she was better able to understand her own thought processes. She made the decision to enroll in Houston Baptist Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, broadening her specialization to include both athletes and non-athletes in their mental health journey. Lily is currently in the practicum portion of her degree program, and will be specializing in Sports performance, adoption, ADHD, blended families, anxiety, trauma, and depression. She believes that too often people put on a brave face and smile on the outside while there is a storm brewing inside.
Style & Approach
Lily’s approach to counseling is person-centered. Her aim is to create a comfortable, non-judgmental, safe environment where the client has the capacity for growth and self-actualization. She believes that solution-focused therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy can help people find the truth within, and ultimately achieve long term success. She also leverages the Adlerian theory which emphasizes the importance of overcoming feelings of inferiority and gaining a sense of belonging in order to achieve success and overall confidence.
She believes self-love is the key to living an authentic and meaningful life. Her main focus is to educate and create solutions through different tools and strategies to help individuals find ways to explore the struggles that they face. “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you” (John C Maxwell). Counseling is more than just a bandage for the pain. It is a healing process that can help one emerge feeling whole, confident, and powerful.