Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Liz L. West.
Dr. West, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Hi, I’m Dr. Liz L. West, the CEO of Champions Behavioral Health, PLLC and founder of “A New Healing.” To tell you how I began to offer “A New Healing” to my clients, I must tell you how about experiencing this healing. My home life was an extremely loving and nurturing life. My mom and dad were the best parents a child could have, they loved me dearly and they showed it in many ways. But when I went to school, I was hated so much and was shown in many ways. So here I am, this very innocent, little girl already experiencing love and hate, not knowing what to do with it. You see, I was born with the congenital medical condition, “Strabismus.” Well, going to school ugly, skinny, with crossed eyes, course hair, and buck teeth, I was a breeding ground for bullies, and boy was I bullied… horribly.
The way I withstood the bullying is through the unconditional love of my parents. I knew that my mom would be waiting to greet me with a big hug and kiss after school. So, I ran home as fast as I could, and mama would be right there waiting at the end of the driveway. I could remember me dropping my “Big Chief” tablet, husky pencils, crayons, erasers, everything to the ground as she scooped me up in a huge hug and spinning in a circle while kissing me wherever her lips would land. Then I would gather my school things in a hurry to show her the picture that I colored for her that day.
At this moment, I forgot about all the hatred that was shown to me that day. I even forgot about the time when this girl offered me some candy with everyone looking and when I reached for the candy, she threw it to the ground. Then she pushed me to the ground and all the kids started pointing and laughing at me. By the way, it was my candy that she had taken and offered to me. The pushes, the punches, the kicks, the hurtful words, the ugly looks, the blatant avoidance, pulling my hair, leaving me out of games, taking my things and hiding them all didn’t seem to matter at this moment. Being cradled in my mamma’s arms as she squeezes me just right, was everything. Then my dad would come home from work and showed me more love. It’s a funny thing. I never remembered the bullying enough to tell them about it because I was in a different world once I made it home.
One time I was bullied, by a boy, so badly that I took my shoe off and threw it at him. I saw blood and ran home even faster. The fact that he was beating on me for no reason was not what angered me. The fact that he was preventing me from getting to my safe haven is what angered me. So, I did whatever it took for me to get there. The next morning, I got dressed for school, got my big hug and kiss, and the cruelty would be right there waiting for me when I got to school. All I knew is that it wouldn’t last for long, the bell would ring, and I could run home, where I knew I would be safe. This happened to me day after day and month after month, for years.
These love-hate emotions were experienced in middle school too. I wasn’t bullied, but I wasn’t liked either. They would do everything but touch me, and the rest of the bullying was there. Well, this lasted until I graduated high school. The kids (and some adults) bullied me so badly and for so long that I developed a hard outer shell. Needless to say, I was internalizing a lot of cruelty and abuse. Because I had no friends during my school days, I would always read books. So, it was natural for me to want to get a higher education… and I did.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not in the least. I returned to college as a non-traditional student and attained my bachelor’s, masters and doctorate degrees. During graduate school, I did a lot of research, and in doing so, I focused on my thoughts and emotions and sought counseling. During the sessions, I re-lived the cruel part of my childhood and was surprised to find that I could remember everything that everyone had ever said or did to me. To this day, I can put a name and a face to every push, every kick, every hurtful word, every punch, every ugly look, every time my hair was pulled, every blatant avoidance, every time someone hid my things. I can remember it all. But it doesn’t hurt anymore.
Later, I thought to myself, “now that I remember all of this cruelty and abuse, what do I do with it?” It was then that I felt the functioning to help others with internal pain and emotional debris. However, while helping others, I knew I needed to be transparent in order for healing to take place in my clients. So, I asked God to show me myself, and He showed me myself in every area of my life as if I was looking at myself on a big screen. Each and every encounter in my life was meant to show me myself. Then I asked God why everyone was so bitter and angry? And the answer came to me in a dream, that every character in my life was me, every angry person, every cold, and every bitter person was me.
In denial, I asked God how that could be. Because I had developed a hard shell, I thought it wasn’t there. Because I didn’t go around turning over tables, punching walls, and beating up people, I thought I had gotten over it. You see, that hard shell that I’d developed was God shielding me from the pain. He was being good to me even when it should’ve hurt me, but He allowed the memories to remain so that I could relate to hurting people. So then I asked God to remove the emotional debris because I didn’t want to fulfill my purpose as an unforgiving, damaged person. I went on to complete my mission of counseling others who have emotional pain and emotional debris. As I began my spiritual journey, God showed me how to use what he had allowed me to overcome, to help others. Viewing life experiences in a psycho-spiritual way, I was able to release the hurt, forgive those who hurt me and was healed. This is why I call it “A New Healing.” God knew years ago that I would need spiritual awareness, and education in psychotherapy, and to be able to relate to those who are hurting, in order to fulfill my purpose.
Please tell us about Champions Behavioral Health.
Now that I’ve finished strong, here I am using my pain of being bullied in a way that helps benefit the world. At Champions Behavioral Health, I offer “A New Healing” as a therapeutic intervention to those who are dealing with such issues as abuse, trauma, abandonment, domestic violence, marital issues, and mental illnesses by integrating spirituality and psychotherapy. During the session, I take a psycho-spiritual approach by showing clients how to weave spirituality and psychotherapy into their everyday lives. A lot of focus is placed on the complexities of the mind, belief structures, somatic events and spiritual messages while guiding the individual through the healing process–hence the name, “A New Healing”. In the pursuit of a deeper understanding of one’s problems, the individual will access higher consciousness by using such tools as meditation, guided imagery, creative arts, visualization, intuition, inner attunement, and awareness, all while recognizing their powerful potential.
Contact Info:
- Address: 11152 Westheimer Rd.
Suite #774
Houston, TX 77042 - Website: www.championsbh.org
- Phone: (832) 819-1099
- Email: Drwest@championsbh.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Champions-Behavioral-Health
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
