Beyond the Chair-- Getting to Know Your Therapist: Q&A with Olivia Allan
- Olivia Allan
- Mar 25
- 6 min read
For our Beyond the Chair series, we've gathered a selection of fun and insightful questions from client suggestions to help humanize the therapy experience. In this series, we'll be showcasing each of our therapists, giving you a glimpse into who we are beyond the therapy room. So, here's a little insight into me—Olivia Allan, your therapist—beyond the chair.
Q: What inspired you to become a therapist?
A: Does anyone remember those career aptitude tests you take in highschool, that tell you which careers you’d be best suited for? Well mine always said therapist/counsellor! Yet, this is something that I pushed away from for a long period of time. Before becoming a therapist, I wanted to be a full time artist and even pursued my bachelors in Art and Art history right after high school and eventually left the program due to severe artistic burnout (life happens, am I right?). While deciding what I would do now, I found a program which focused on Behavioural Science at a local college and I was interested in learning more about human behaviour. Turns out, all this time I was avoiding psychology, it is one of my passions! Throughout my undergrad, this program was geared more towards working as a Board Certified Behaviour
Analyst (BCBA), working with individuals with disabilities, complex care needs and behavioural challenges. However, another part of the program focused on counselling (CBT), addictions and mental health disorders. This fueled my curiosity and decision to pursue a career in psychotherapy and continue on to
get my Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology.
Q: What is the best part about your job?
A: The best part of my job is having the privilege of offering someone a safe space to learn more about themselves! To have clients become more open with me, they also become more open with themselves and to have the opportunity to bear witness to people becoming face to face with their true
selves.
Q: The TV show you're enjoying right now…
I always go back to my favourites in rotation; The Office, Mad Men, and Love is Blind! The Office has been a constant re-watch for me over the years, and especially the earlier seasons never fail to make me stop, cringe a little, laugh and experience a visceral reaction to Michael Scott and his unconventional approach to management. Mad Men is a beautiful drama that highlights real world events and navigates the narrative of successful advertising men. The thing I love about Mad Men is that the characters are very obviously HUMAN. There are parts of them that I see parts of myself in, there are also parts of them that I do not like. There are times where we love the characters, and times where we hate them too. It is one of those shows that feels like these characters are real people with flaws who make mistakes and poor choices. But in the midst of that, we also see moments of happiness, love, connection and support. In addition to the narrative/script, the set design, costumes and Mid-Century styling is gorgeous and I love the styling from the 1950’s and 1960’s. As for Love is Blind, I just really love messy reality tv! It’s one of my guilt pleasures, and I always find it so fascinating to witness the dynamics between the individuals, the emotions that are evoked within the pods, idealization and the psychology behind love. But also, who doesn't like a little bit of tv drama to distract you after a long, stressful day?
Q: A way to make you laugh…
A: A way to make me laugh, is to be an absolute silly goose. I love to be able to joke around with people, not take ourselves too seriously!
Q: Your favorite tunes – can we have a peek?
A: Oh boy, I have a revolving door of music I listen to! I have a wide range of music depending on my mood, what's on my daily to-do list and the general vibe. Most common the genres I rotate through include metal, rap, hip-hop, rnb/soul, indie, pop, jazz, alternative, emo, punk and rock. Some of my favourite metal/hardcore/alt/emo artists include Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Beartooth, Motionless in White, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, The Plot In You, Korn, My Chemical Romance,
Paramore, Panic! At the disco, Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, and Three Days
Grace. Some of my favourite rap/hip-hop artists include Kendrink Lamar, Drake (don’t come for me on this, let's practice the duality of loving two artists at once), Snoop Dogg, Lil Durk, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, YG, Shoreline Mafia, BabyFace Rae, Denzel Curry, Timbaland, Don Toliver, Travis Scott, Asap
Rocky, 4Batz, 21 Savage, Est Gee, and 42 Dugg. Some of my favourite RnB/soul/ jazz artists include SZA, Mary J. Blige, Al Green, Prince, Brent Faiyaz, Isaiah Rashad, Frank Ocean, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Erkyah Badhu, Otis Redding, and more.
Q: Best piece of advice you’ve received?
A: Do it scared! As someone who has struggled with anxiety their whole life, I am no stranger to the feeling of fear and holding myself back from trying new things. But I had a realization when I was 17 after the loss of a childhood teammate from a sudden illness, that life is too short and tomorrow is not promised. I realized that I'm probably always going to be scared, but I need to do it anyway. Another piece of this is, when you feel uncomfortable and you want to stop, keep going! When you get to that point of discomfort, that is an opportunity for growth and that is when we begin to truly challenge ourselves, become more tolerant of discomfort and learn to rely on ourselves.
Q: Something light and fun – your must-have beauty product.
A: I am a dry skin girly! I always need to have a hydrating serum, moisturizer and SPF in rotation. I cannot get through the winter season without hyaluronic acid serum and a deeply hydrating night cream, otherwise my skin gets very dry and sad. I worked for many years as a retail cosmetician, and from the job I learned a lot about skin care and makeup. My love for skin-care has continued to grow after leaving that job, and I am always trying to maintain my basics when it comes to skin care as self care.
Q: Something you will always find in your fridge:
A: My tried and true trio of onions, garlic and butter. I cannot and will not make dinner without these things, they are my essentials! I even love the smell of onions and garlic with a little bit of olive oil or butter, MMMMMHMMM! Gives me a boost of feel-good chemicals in my brain, instantly makes me
excited to eat dinner!
Q: A place that means a lot to you:
A: I have a huge love for Ontario! I have grown up camping around Northern/Central Ontario. One of my favourite places to go is around Sudbury, Ontario! I love the way the forest swallows the land, the landscape of the Canadian Shield, the never ending lakes and how peaceful it is to be surrounded by nature. Some of my favourite parks include Halfway Lake, Fairbanks Provincial Park, Killarney provincial park, Mikisew Provincial park, Algonquin Provincial park. A few years ago, I went on a family camping trip to Wakami provincial park up near Sulton, Ontario (8 hours from Toronto) and it was one of the
most beautiful parks I've experienced. There is something very grounding and humbling about being immersed in nature, and knowing that you are not the biggest or baddest in this environment (hello bears and wolves). In the future, I really hope to return to Wakami provincial park and go further up to Pancake
Bay provincial park on Lake Superior!
Q: Your vice or indulgence?
A: CHOCOLATE! I make a mean, one bowl fudgy brownie recipe every once in a while and oh boy I can clear that container in one sitting. I particularly love dark chocolate, but let's be honest, all chocolate is good chocolate!
Q: Let’s end this with something big! Love is…
A: To love is to be loved. Love is vast, endless and unconditional. Love is in the big moments, and the small ones too. Love is a commitment in trying to understand, even if we don’t get it. Love is uncontainable, it bleeds into everything we do whether we are conscious of it or not. Love is connection, with ourselves and with others.
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