Josh Wei

What led you to become a therapist?

Hi, my name is Josh Wei and I’m a therapist here at Optimum Joy. I used to work as an engineer and in my time at that job I realized something was really lacking. In my transition from engineering to therapy I went through a process that I like to call my quarter-life crisis. I had no idea where I was going. I had no idea what I wanted to do. It was really difficult. I questioned a lot of things. I really wanted to find a purpose but didn’t know how to get there and it was in the process of my own therapy and personal reflection where I really had to step back and kind of unpack how I valued things, how I saw things, and where I wanted to go from there.

I think what I came down to was I really valued the personal connection. I really found importance in being there with people and meeting their needs and helping them figure out what they need in whatever capacity that is and in that kind of space I started to think about what I wanted to do and what I wanted to pursue and that kind of led me to the field of counseling and therapy. In a moment I quit my job, started school and pursued this career and haven’t looked back. Since then it’s just been a great process of learning and growing and finding a lot of joy in what I’m doing.

What brings you joy in your personal life?

Something that brings me joy is lots of food. I enjoy all different kinds of food and just being able to share those meals with people I care and love. I think those moments are really special especially with people I don’t get to see often. So anytime I get to grab a meal with a friend or family is always something I look forward to. When I’m outside the office and it’s nice outside, I really like taking walks on Lake Shore Drive or just exploring the city. I also enjoy just finding a new coffee shop to sit down in and chill at. I also love playing tennis and enjoying the sun and the nice summers.

What is your favorite part of being a therapist?

One of my favorite things about being a therapist is when one of my clients just comes to a moment of clarity and something clicks and for them—whether it’s a feeling of hope or a feeling of self-awareness or just relief and seeing some parts of themselves make sense. It’s a lot of fun and it’s really encouraging to see that and I think that’s kind of what I want all my clients to find and experience in the space that we have.

Which communities or areas of focus are you passionate about?

While all my clients come from different backgrounds, different experiences, something that I see a lot of my clients bring to me and want to see me for are experiences of being in marginalized communities or people of color wanting to process their experiences. And I really enjoy working with these groups of people because I think it’s important to make space for these voices and make space for these experiences to be shared and connected with. I think in these moments there’s a lot of value in finding healing and finding meaning and I want to help people who are looking for purpose or identity to find something that they can own and embrace for themselves.

What should someone expect from the therapeutic process?

Therapy can be hard and it can be uncomfortable at times too but I think it’s all part of the process of learning how to express ourselves and put to words our emotions and our thoughts. I think it’s like part of learning a new language of how we want to describe parts of ourselves, describe parts of our past, and I think in those moments we learn a lot about ourselves and learn a lot about who we are and how we interpret the world around us.

I believe part of therapy is experiencing a lot of healing and I think a lot of that is from a holistic perspective from how I see it. Whether it’s the mental, emotional, physical side of things.

I think therapy is a place where you can find healing and discovery in all those different aspects. And even if we don’t get to that ideal stage of recovery in one moment or in one session, I think that’s okay. The little steps that add up of finding parts of yourself to discover or unpacking past experiences that feel difficult or feel mysterious—all that together is part of the journey that we experience when we come to therapy.