Identity Development

Identity development is the process of defining your lifestyle, beliefs and sense of self. A sense of identity helps to determine values for your life and relationships. It helps to determine how you live and show up in the world, what you value and prioritize. Identity can change and develop at any point during one's life, and for many, our ideas of who we are and what we believe is constantly evolving.

While identity development can be fulfilling and exciting, it can also be a source of confusion, discomfort or even pain, especially when our identity development conflicts with current or changing beliefs. It is not easy to question who we are and what we believe, especially when our answers might go against social, cultural, religious, or family norms. Identity concerns can become urgent or persistent, and can lead to mental health symptoms and interfere with day-to-day life.

  • "Identity development" refers to the process of defining your own beliefs, lifestyle, and sense of self. Identity consists of many different parts, including emotions, relationships, sexuality, spirituality, to professional/career life, academic life, and social development.

  • Spiritual identity is a connection to something greater than ourselves. While it can be, spiritual identity does not have to be a connection to a religion. For those seeking recovery from religious harm, reclaiming your spiritual identity is a fundamental part of healing.

  • Sexual identity is how individuals think of themselves in terms of romantic and/or sexual attraction. It can also refer to sexual orientation. Everyone has a sexual identity, and unfortunately, many have been in spaces where it was not safe or did not feel comfortable in acknowledging their sexual identities.

  • Seeing as we tend to spend a significant part of our lives at our jobs, professional/ career identity is a big part of identity development. It can be confusing to decide on, or even to change a career. Revitalize Wellness Counseling works with clients who are struggling in their professional identity.

In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.

-Erik Erikson

Revitalize Wellness Counseling helps clients seeking to work through identity concerns, recognizing that your identity development, including spiritual identity and/or sexual identity may have been severely impacted by religious trauma or spiritual abuse. Here your clinician can work with you to define and discover your personally held beliefs. If you have existed in high demand groups, identity may have been suppressed or defined by your group(s). Revitalize Wellness Counseling seeks to help clients find who they are beyond the religious, spiritual, or other practices that caused harm or resulted in a loss of sense of self. The goal here is to help clients discover their authentic self.

*Revitalize Wellness Counseling is a safe space and LGBTQIA+ affirming.

If you’re ready to make therapy a commitment, I invite you to request a free consultation.

I look forward to supporting your journey in empowering confidence and discovering your authentic self.