Janette M. Ayd, Psy.D. LP
Dr. Janette Ayd is a licensed psychologist who holds a B.S. in Psychology and Family Social Science and a Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology. She is licensed by the Minnesota Board of Psychology.
Janette has been in the field of mental health since 1989.. In addition to being a prominent individual psychologist and relationship therapist, Dr. Ayd has a great depth and breath of experience in the field of psychology. Her experience includes private practice, inpatient and outpatient mental health, hospice, managed care, community mental health. She has also worked as a clinical director and provided supervision to numerous therapists in training. Dr. Ayd has a down-to-earth, warm approach and is comfortable and confident with herself as a person and a professional psychologist. She has wide-ranging experience dealing with many mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, mood disorders, and stress related disorders. Janette is a positive, cognitive behavioral therapist who incorporates mindfulness and spirituality into therapy sessions. She works out of a comfortable home office in a pleasant atmosphere. With compassion and understanding, she helps people build on their strengths to attain the personal growth they are committed to accomplishing.
Personal Statement:
Working as a psychologist is a privilege. By invitation, I am allowed into the psychological, emotional and spiritual realms of my clients’ lives. It is a trust I take seriously and consider the relationship between a psychologist and client the most important factor of successful therapy.
I began in this field working one-to-one with people experiencing depression, anxiety, severe and persistent mental illness, as well as those facing circumstances that life unexpectedly throws at us sometimes. Working on a secured mental health unit at a major Twin Cities hospital, first as an assistant, then a psychologist, and finally as a clinical director provided me with an abundance of intensive experiences that formed my view of what it means to be a psychologist and a human being. Being with a suicidal father who lost his job, accompanying a suffering person through a psychotic episode, and assisting a woman navigate through a postpartum depression could all happen before lunch time on a typical day. Coming into contact with patients dealing with a wide range of mental illnesses, presented me with an understanding of the fragility, as well as the powerful strength of the human spirit. I loved every minute of dealing with patients who were vulnerable, courageous, but most often intelligent sources of wisdom and humor. I received much more from each of these individuals than I could ever give, and the experience profoundly influenced my beliefs in what makes a good mental health professional.
As the healthcare landscape changed to one of big business and politics, so did my dissatisfaction with the system’s inability to cut through red tape and bureaucracy. The limitations of a strict psychiatric medical model left me feeling empty and frustrated. I needed to get back to the basics of working with patients rather than spending hours in meetings where egos loomed large. The disease model no longer worked. I needed to spread my wings and knew I needed a more eclectic, holistic approach. My identity as a professional psychologist has evolved into what it is today from the successes along the way, but more often from the mistakes I made.
I chose private practice, and after working in a clinic for awhile, decided working out of an office in my home was the perfect environment for me and my clients. I am able to meet with people in a relaxed, comfortable setting. Put simply, I work with people experiencing difficulty and who want to stop suffering. Those who are most successful in their pursuit learn to live in the reality of the present and will do what they can to find peace-of-mind in their lives. I am 60-years-old and have grown to be very comfortable with myself as a person and professional. I am always amazed at the new things I learn on a daily basis considering I have worked with thousands of individuals, couples and families through my private practice, as well as positions in hospitals, clinics, in-home community mental health, hospice, managed care, and schools. Through all those years of education, training and experience I’ve come to understand that knowing behavioral science is important in treating disease and disorders, but love, compassion and forgiveness are what we need to treat each other as human beings.
If my training, experience and philosophy seem to match what you are looking for, I invite you to contact me.