EP2: Get Comfortable with Dr. Nicole Lozano

For episode 2 of Get Comfortable (with Maggie Smith), we heard from Dr. Nicole Lozano, associate professor of Psychology at Angelo State University, who is also a clinician offering telehealth sessions via an agency based in Nebraska. I was fortunate to be a student of Nicole’s while in the MS Counseling Psychology program at Angelo State, so to have this conversation with her to share with a larger audience was a real treat for me. To start, we got an incredible introduction from Dr. Lozano, including some insight into how she found the field of Psychology at a young age and a summary of her path to a PhD and life as a research-loving professor who keeps one foot in clinical work.

Nicole discussed how pop culture has sort of gotten a hold of the term “self-care” and really pulled the focus toward luxurious tasks while omitting recognition of less-than-glamorous self-care tasks (things like making & keeping a budget, having difficult conversations with loved ones, holding boundaries). We learned a little bit about self-care tasks people typically learn over time that we don’t just innately know, such as how to cook, how to navigate insurance and taxes. Those are often things we learn from others, but not everyone grows up in a family or around adults who do the teaching of those life skills and tasks, but they have their place in the realm of self-care.

We addressed self-care tasks within a family unit, specifically among Nicole, her partner & their daughter. We got some insight into what it means for them to teach self-care tasks and skills to their daughter, including teaching and encouraging her to listen to her body and, as Nicole described it, “how to be a good roommate.” [What a great description!] This led us into balancing self-care & life’s responsibilities. Remember: our choices have consequences and even self-care can be done in excess.

Additionally, Nicole shared how she models and encourages self-care for the students in her classes. In her graduate courses, she builds a self-care day into the structure of each course. She prioritizes the humanness of being a clinician with her grad students because we (students and clinicians) are all humans, and mistakes will happen.

 The episode wrapped up with some education about the role of one’s community in self-care, Nicole asking me about my philosophy of self-care, and – my favorite – boundaries. A big take-away is the importance of being in-tune with oneself to know what self-care you need and how you best achieve that. It’s no mistake that we identify self-care as a practice. We’re meant to keep trying without the expectation that we will one day, “have it down,” and perform that task at 100% perfection from that point forward. If you’re struggling with your self-care, maybe it’s time to expand your view of it and try some new techniques.