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If you’ve ever been lucky enough to cross paths with Yuzhu Lu, then you know that she is perfect for her job as a therapist. From Tangshan, to Moorhead, to Bloomington, Yuzhu has traveled far to pursue her dream to help others. Whether it was her decision to study abroad on a whim, her acceptance into the only college she applied to in the United States or her choosing to pursue her master’s degree at the college in the same town as CCB, it was fate for Yuzhu to find her way here.

Yuzhu’s Journey
Yuzhu’s journey to CCB is nothing short of inspiring. She spent her childhood years in Tangshan City in the Heibei Province of China with her parents and her cat, Pinecone. Yuzhu found a love for the English language and originally wanted to become a translator and translate written literature work to Chinese. Because of this love for the English language, her parents recommended studying abroad.

Yuzhu described her decision to study abroad as accidental. Through a family friend, she learned about Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Luckily, Yuzhu found and contacted the only Chinese speaking professor there to discuss her plans to come to the United States. Although she had a love for the English language and had the childhood dream of becoming a translator, she was inspired by her father’s work as a police officer and changed her mind. However, she didn’t want to become a police officer. As the daughter of one, she was exposed to people with trauma and mental health issues. She knew she could help these types of people through mental health counseling. After taking the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Test, applying for scholarships and choosing her major, Yuzhu left Tangshan at the young age of 19 to study at the only university she had applied to.

Yuzhu arrived in Minnesota in 2014 where she went to school to major in psychology and minor in music. Although she didn’t enjoy the snow there, she loved the people and how willing they were to help each other. Between laughs, she told me a story about one of the times her two-wheel drive car got stuck in the snow. While one kind stranger was helping her get her car out, others stopped to cheer them on. These kind acts and helpfulness continued in the classroom. Among her many helpful college professors, she told me about one that became like a father figure to her which she cherished as her parents were thousands of miles away. The people of Moorhead truly made her transition to the US easier as she navigated her new home.

“There were a lot of people in college who cared about and mentored me. They became family,” she said.

Home Away From Home: CCB
After graduating from Concordia College, Yuzhu ventured to Bloomington to continue her education at Indiana University where she got her M.S.Ed in mental health counseling and counselor education. For her required practicum, she applied to five internships and ultimately chose Catholic Charities. She began her internship in May of 2020. Nearly two years later, she joined the CCB family full-time as a therapist.

Yuzhu enjoys working with both adults and children, but for separate reasons. When she works with adults, she admires that they already have a story. She is fascinated by how different her clients' stories are from each other and how different events shaped them into who they are. She appreciates how her clients trust her to listen to their stories and provide them with the help they need.  “It is a privilege for someone to trust me with their story,” she said.

As an international student, Yuzhu explained that she occasionally comes across language barriers when she is speaking to people. However, there aren’t any with children. “Children are a special population,” she said, “They are in their formative years. They can’t see grammar errors.” By working with children, she doesn’t have the pressure of speaking perfect English and can open up more with them. With children, she only has to focus on what she calls “the language of play.”

Yuzhu’s favorite part about CCB is the culture. “The people there really feel like family,” she said. She enjoys working with people who are emotionally open with each other and genuinely care about their colleagues, which she said are important traits to have in the counseling field. She described CCB as a place where she is truly accepted, and her personal growth is celebrated.

Having a second family is vital for international students as they go years without seeing their family members. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Yuzhu hasn’t been able to visit Tangshan since 2017. Her visits with her parents have been limited to video calls, where she always requests to speak to her beloved cat, Pinecone.

What Makes Yuzhu, Yuzhu
Some traits that I personally find admirable about Yuzhu, and I’m sure her colleagues can agree, is her positive attitude and self-awareness. When I asked her how she grew to be such a positive person, she explained to me that it was a process.

A major step in this process was self-acceptance. Yuzhu said that it took her a long time to get to know who she is. When she discovered that she was really in-touch with her emotions, she initially saw it as a weakness. “Everyone has different personalities,” she said, “And that’s okay.”

Something else that helped her was becoming Christian after being baptized in her third year of college. Yuzhu heard a quote that guided her to value God’s opinion more than her own. This quote is something that she uses for motivation to this day.

Finally, she learned how to interpret mistakes as a learning experience. Although she has been in the United States for eight years, there is still so much more to learn about its culture and language. Yuzhu joked that she picked one of the most verbal careers that uses her second language. She recalled advice she received from her former colleague O’Connell, “She told me that every problem is an opportunity,” she said, “The more mistakes I make, the more things I will learn, which is exciting to me.”

Words of Wisdom
“Laugh it out.”

Yuzhu often watches cheesy videos to boost her mood when she is feeling low. She also works on jigsaw puzzles which she finds similar to being a therapist. “You’re putting things together to see the bigger picture,” she said. 
 

by Morgan Bruns, CCB Communication intern

When you think of a therapist, you think of a person who dedicates their careers to helping others. When it comes to a therapist like David Lasuertmer, his passion for helping others started before he chose his profession. David extends this passion outside of the office and into the community. It’d be an understatement to say that David suits this job well. To make up for my loss for words, I can just explain it to you with his own: “I know a lot of people say they like their job, but I legitimately just really love the agency. I’m super excited about my time there,” he said, “It’s all really joyful.”

David’s Journey

David described his position as a therapist at Catholic Charities Bloomington as a combination of a lot of the things he’s done in his life. His journey began where a lot of ours do, at home. His dad was a United Methodist Pastor, and his mom was a teacher. His parents’ empathetic professions created a caring community for David to grow up in. This community exposed him to many different types of people from all walks of life which are now the same type of people he works with every day as a therapist.

“Being around a lot of people was beneficial to me,” he said.

A Lafayette native, David went to Purdue to pursue a degree in sociology. He then continued his education at the University of Chicago to earn his master’s degree in social work. Meanwhile, his girlfriend at the time (and now wife!) Laura was inspired to move to an intentional community in Bloomington that their high school friend started. After getting married, the two moved to the Bloomington Catholic Worker.

The Bloomington Catholic Worker is an intentional community that David and Laura lived in for eight years. There, they lived with three other families and eventually started their own. They had two children, Leo and Alice. One of the things they tried to do in this community was help people with their immediate needs as well as address the systemic issues that create poverty. During this time, he was also working as a youth director at First United Methodist Church.

“I had a good rapport with the kids,” he said, “But I felt like there were deeper issues I could help more with if I spent more time in a therapist role.”

The next destination in David’s journey was the Bloomington Meadow Psychiatric Hospital, where he found the role he was seeking. As a group therapist, he learned the ropes of what it is to be a therapist. 

This combination of things, spending time around teenagers, being playful and getting to know them, and addressing the deeper issues that they’re dealing with, is everything that David found at Catholic Charities Bloomington. In addition to finding all of these things, he also found a strong sense of community among the staff.

“CCB has a dual focus on training staff really well. They make sure we're up to date on cutting-edge research and ideas about therapy, as well as taking clients from all walks of life.” According to David, this dual focus is a rare combination in the social work world, and it excites him.

When I asked David what the most rewarding aspect of this job was, I wasn’t surprised that it had to do with his patients. Healing is an important part of his practice. Through his relationships with his patient’s, he helps them find their own strengths and gifts, then encourages clients to come up with ways to use those to heal themselves. “I feel like I’m helping them unlock areas of themselves that are resistant to change,” he said. 

Therapist Meets Father

An important part of his practice is learning. A personal goal of his is to expand the number of things he can do and deepen the knowledge of what he already knows how to do. He can do this by learning from the other therapists at CCB. With the variation in expertise, he can expand his knowledge in couples therapy, play therapy, and EMDR, to name a few. Since every therapist has a different approach, David feels the more he can learn about different approaches and techniques, the better able he is to help the diversity of people.

This longing for learning reaches outside the therapists at CCB as well. “Certainly, I feel like I learn things from the people I meet with. I similarly learn about life from my family. Both things are in a conversation with each other,” he said.

Because David is also a father, he has become a more playful person. Similarly, in his office, he uses drawing, music, and other games and other techniques of play therapy. Using a playful approach can help children be comfortable with him, and reveal what David is searching for as a therapist.

With this connection between being a father and therapist in mind, David hopes that his children can learn that it’s always a good idea to ask for help. “One of the things I have to do as a therapist is trust my instincts,” he said, “I want them to be able to trust their own instincts. There are always people they can turn to if they’re experiencing difficulty in life.”


Outside of CCB

Three years ago, After David and his family left the Bloomington Catholic Worker, they started their own intentional community in a rural area outside of town. Because of their shared love for nature, plants, and animals, it was only right to have these in their 10-acre community. In total, there are six adults and three kids that live there. The people in the community share income and meals, as well as provide a space for people experiencing homelessness. They also do small skill farming together and tend to their many gardens.

Everything about this community is what makes David feel whole. Whether it’s spending time outdoors, playing soccer with his children, or taking care of plants and animals, it makes him feel connected and grounded.

Feeling whole is important to David as it helps him do his best work as a therapist. When he feels whole and healthy, he can have sincere enthusiasm and interest in the people he is meeting.

“I wouldn’t be good at faking it,” he said.

While it is challenging to find the time and energy that heals him, David always makes sure to find the time for him, his family, and other relationships. If he’s neglecting these, he won’t be nearly as helpful to other people. To maintain this wholeness, he likes to play soccer, write music, play the guitar, garden, and cook.


Words of Wisdom

David’s advice for parents and patients:

“Even when your situation feels desperate and really bad, there’s always room for hope. It can be really helpful to have someone who is there to point out the patterns in your own life that you might be missing because you’re too overwhelmed or stressed out. Just because things seem dire and hopeless, that’s not the truth.”