Post authored by: Amulya Tirumala (Limitless Foundation Marketing Manager)
Originally Published: August 6, 2025
For many people, choosing a career is about following a stable path. For Mary Grace Cebrat it was about finding a profession that aligned with her values, strengths, and the kind of life she wanted to build. In this interview, she shares what led her to social work and how she finds balance in the emotionally demanding work of therapy.
What kind of social work do you specialize in? (e.g., medical, school, child welfare, mental health, etc.)
I specialize in clinical mental health. I work as a therapist in private practice serving individuals and families across the lifespan.
What inspired you to become a social worker?
I wanted to be a therapist because it is important to me that my job feels meaningful and aligned with my values, as well as suited to my strengths and interests. The core values of the social work profession— service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence— are core personal values for me as well. Curiosity, candor, connection, and humor are more of my personal values that I get to live out each day in this career. Some of my natural strengths include emotional intelligence, empathy, learning and remembering information, and asking difficult and insightful questions, and I get to use these skills often. Work-life balance is also important to me, so I wanted a career I can scale back to part-time or up to full-time depending on the demands of family life.
I was pretty sure I wanted to be a therapist, but there are many educational paths to that career, like marriage and family therapy and counseling programs. I chose social work over another path because it is so versatile, and I wanted to keep the door open to other careers like school social work, policymaking, or nonprofit leadership in case I didn’t like being a therapist or I wanted a change of pace down the road. It’s hard to know for sure if you want to be a therapist until you actually are one! You can’t really job shadow like other professions due to confidentiality. So the MSW gave me a built-in backup plan of doing other things in the social work world.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your role?
I am inspired by a Simone Weil quote, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” I try my best to give my full, undivided attention to the client in front of me—setting aside the running to-do list in my head to be fully present. That can be challenging, especially by the fifth or sixth client of the day when fatigue sets in.
It is also emotionally challenging when I have to make difficult calls, like reporting child abuse to DCFS or letting a parent know that their child is suicidal and needs to be hospitalized. Luckily, there are clear ethical boundaries that govern such decisions, and I’ve had great and supportive supervisors who coach me through it, but those cases are definitely the worst part of the job.
How do you handle emotionally difficult cases?
In cases involving trauma, I try to remember it isn’t my job to fix the client’s problem (aside from mandatory reporting); it’s to be present to them and witness their pain. The therapy room is a safe container to hold their pain so it doesn’t have to burden them so much. My job is then to validate their emotions, help them find empathy and care for themselves, then look for threads of resilience to craft a more empowering narrative that allows them to get unstuck and move forward.
What strategies do you use to prevent burnout in such a demanding job?
Social work is a widely varied field, and recent grads are often funneled into the most demanding jobs with huge caseloads, minimal support, and low pay. I was selective about where I wanted to work, applying to jobs with reasonable caseloads, supportive workplace culture, and fair wages:
There is still burnout in private practice though, so I also set boundaries personally. I am intentional about physical separation between work and personal life; I generally go into my office even for administrative work and telehealth sessions. I have a ritual at the end of each day of work: I complete my progress notes for the day, processing each session and brain-dumping out the details of each day, which helps me to compartmentalize. I usually lay on my therapy couch in silence for a few minutes before going out to reengage with the outside world. Although my job requires me to work a few evenings a week, I always plan a shorter day in the middle of the week to go to yoga in the evening and release some tension. I have learned that it helps me to have a break in the middle of a day of sessions to eat a snack and decompress, so I work that into my schedule.
I have also been intentional about practicing what I preach in terms of healthy habits—nourishing my body well, exercising regularly, getting outdoors, taking breaks, getting consistently good sleep, limiting phone time before bed, having rituals of connection with important people in my life, etc. etc. etc.— because I know from research and experience that these things work. I am honestly mentally and physically healthier than I’ve ever been in my life because of it.
Can you share a particularly memorable or impactful case you worked on?
My very first client who completed her course of therapy with me was a 9 year old girl. During our last session, to help give a sense of closure to the therapeutic relationship, we did an art project making cards for each other, and she wrote, “I got more powerful because of you.” I had another client, an autistic teen boy, spontaneously blurt out while curled up on the couch, “I just feel so cared for right now.” I treasure these messages because they represent exactly how I want clients to feel in therapy with me: empowered and cared for.
How do you approach building trust with the individuals and families you support?
The client is the boss. They set the goals, and I’m here to help them meet those goals. I work with a lot of adolescents, and an important part of building trust with them is when their parents walk out the door and we’re one on one. I tell them, “Okay, we’ve heard what they have to say, but what I’m really interested in is what YOU think about all of that.” I make sure they know that therapy is their safe place, and I won’t tell their parents anything they don’t want me to unless it is a safety issue. And even when that happens, I still give them agency over how we have that conversation. I always take kids and teens seriously— their goals, their stories, what they want to talk about— and once they trust that I care about them, respect them, and am not going to judge or preach to them, they tend to love therapy and having a safe adult to bounce ideas off of. I also love to build trust and rapport by matching a client’s style of language, learning and incorporating new Gen Alpha slang terms, using profanity if that’s the client’s style, incorporating autistic clients’ special interests, etc.
What resources or programs do you often recommend to the people you help?
It really depends on the client and their goals. I have found that nearly everyone’s mental health improves when they sleep more, spend less time on screens, feed their bodies with care, and find exercise they enjoy that doesn’t feel like a punishment. Having low-stakes hobbies, like knitting or reading, is also really good for your mental health. For people who struggle with taking care of themselves, the Finch mental health app gamifies care tasks, which is kind of fun. I also have a ton of books I’m always recommending to people. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, What Happened to You? by Bruce Perry and Oprah, and No-Drama Discipline by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson are some of my most frequently recommended books.
How do you measure the success of your work with a client?
I love celebrating all the small victories along the way, especially when clients come in beaming with pride and saying, “You’d be so proud of me; I did X thing we talked about.” But ultimately the measure of success is when I work myself out of a job with that client! Usually the conversations start to slow down and they tell me they’re feeling ready to come every other week instead of weekly, and then monthly, and then they’re ready for a break. This usually means that they’re able to incorporate the cognitive strategies and coping skills on their own, which is the goal. It’s bittersweet because the therapeutic relationship is a real relationship, so I miss them when they don’t come anymore, but it’s ultimately what I want for them!
What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a social worker?
Your career is a long game, and you don’t want to burn out. Be intentional about prioritizing your work-life balance and cultivating a healthy and sustainable relationship with your work.
What keeps you motivated to continue in this feild despite its challenges?
It is a really interesting job! I get to hear people’s stories all day and get insight into so many different ways of thinking and seeing the world. I learn so much from my clients and their perspectives. They keep me engaged, curious, and frequently laughing. I get to play with kids, gossip with teens, facilitate conversations between partners— I love that each hour of my day can be very different. I sit with people in their grief and trauma, celebrate their growth, and hear some really juicy stories!
What do you find most rewarding about being a social worker?
It’s a gift to be trusted by people to share really vulnerable, intimate details of their lives. I have learned that everything makes sense from the perspective of the person doing it and in the context of their life story, and it’s hard to dislike people once you know them well. I worried this job would burn me out on people, but so far, it’s made me like people more.
If you’re considering a career in social work or facing mental health challenges, you don’t have to navigate the journey alone. Here are some resources to help you get started.
– National Association of Social Workers
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