Today iNews speaks to Ms. Cathy Alberga who, since 2000, has had her private practice as a psychotherapist in Grand Cayman, after being licensed in 1996.

Ms. Alberga says she made her career choice after she started university, where she took a class called Psychology of Women and fell in love with it.

“After starting university I felt a bit lost, as most people do when they’re 18, and then I took a class called Psychology of Women with a female instructor who was an incredibly fascinating woman and the subject fascinated me tremendously.

“Dr. Judi Jones became a mentor to many of us who hung out in her office and, holding court sessions on her balcony, somehow resulted in me deciding that I was going to try a degree or career in counselling.”

She began practicing in 1999 part-time between Grand Cayman and Miami but, in 2000, she moved back home and her practice became full time.

Cathy says that she does not find gender to be a factor that affects her profession from her
personal experience.

“I don’t find in my experience that gender is an issue in this field. I’m not saying it isn’t at all and I want that to be very clear. Gender issues are profession specific and this is what is called a helping profession and, typically, who have been the helpers, women.

“If you were interviewing a man and asked him if he had experienced in-equality or a difficult time getting into the profession his answer maybe very different to 10 women that you would ask that same question.

“I am fascinated by the human potential and I’m always honoured when people consult with me to find a better way of life for themselves.

“I’m excited by the progress that I see people make and the freedom which it gives them to apply whatever they choose

“I’m also inspired by the wisdom of my colleagues with whom I consult, the courage of my clients and my own passion to be as well informed as I can be for my clients.”

Cathy says she has found herself to be very lucky not to have faced many struggles.

“I think I’ve had a fairly easy transition through my career path. Probably the most challenging issue and it is ongoing, is that I am in private practice.

“When I lived in the states I worked in a group practice so there where people junior to me and senior to me, people with very different areas of specialty.

“I worked side by side with a brilliant therapist and all of those things are very important, I think to any professional, that you have contact and conversation with other people.”

Being a woman in the Cayman Islands, Ms. Alberga says is fortunate as we have a lot of freedom.

“Unlike certain parts of the world where cultural, religious, political and gender issues do exist to a great extent, we are fortunate in the Cayman Islands to have extreme freedom as women.

“I am certain that there have been instances of gender issues in Grand Cayman but, by and large, I feel that women have a great degree of freedom to express and excel in whatever they choose.

Cathy says her empowerment comes from knowing that she’s in a career that she loves.

“I’m doing what I love to do, rolling up my sleeves, understanding problems, joining my clients to find ways they can themselves to also become empowered.”

“I grew up witnessing my mother being involved with community nursing and benevolence and I generally think this is where my desire to be a helper came.

“I think that for my success as a professional, credit has to be given to my family, the tone of my family that was a very good lab for experimenting.

To contact Ms. Cathy Alberga for her services, call 945-6570, 916-5701 or by email at [email protected]