This is Psychology: Valley psychologist enjoys making a difference in children’s lives

Ever since she was young, Dr. Tara Szuszkiewicz knew she wanted a career focused on helping others.

But it wasn’t until she worked on the inpatient mental health unit at the Montreal Children’s Hospital that her future career path became clear.  

“I was just fascinated by the children and youth who were there,” she says. “So that was really what made me think ‘well, maybe psychology is the way to go’, because I really wanted to figure out how best to help these kids and teens.”

Tara pursued a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Windsor, and then moved to Nova Scotia to complete her residency at IWK Health. It was then that she was hired as a child and youth psychologist at Nova Scotia Health, where she has been for her entire 27-year career.

Today, she is a leader on the autism assessment team, working primarily out of Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Middleton, and also works as a clinical practice lead for the Mental Health and Addictions Program’s team in the Annapolis Valley.

There was never any question of her working with children and youth.  

“I have always known that I would work with kids in whatever job I did. I find kids are so much more entertaining to work with. When you’re working with a child there’s so much more that you have to do in terms of engagement. It’s a very different type of interaction than with adults,” she says.

“I also like that I get to make a difference early on – I love being a part of earlier intervention for children and youth.”

Over the course of her career, she has seen a difference in the type of issues children present with today as opposed to when she first started.  

“We’re seeing kids who have multiple complex mental health issues, as well as challenges with various levels of social determinants of health,” she says. “Frontline work is much more difficult now than when I first started, and even though I’ve got a few more years under my belt and more experience, I think it’s still trickier.”

But what hasn’t changed is how resilient children are, something she says is one of the most rewarding aspects of her job.

“And that’s the other beauty of working with kids. Kids do bounce back, you can make a huge difference with a child, their brains are still flexible, their behaviours aren’t as entrenched.”

She has honed her leadership skills over the years, with her commitment to her team and clients earning her a Making Waves Award for leadership excellence earlier this year.

She has had time to process receiving the award but still gets emotional when she thinks about it.  

“I was really shocked, but it was really an honour,” she says.

“I’d like to think that part of it is my informal leadership within my team. My team at Soldiers Memorial is very small, but we work very hard to maintain that cohesion and really support each other, and I feel that I’m someone who really values that.”

Working in the public system helped make her into the psychologist she is today, and Tara encourages any young graduate to consider a career working in the system.

“There are so many professional development opportunities and roles available within the public system that I think really helps to build a strong foundation as a psychologist.”  

Photo of Dr. Tara Szuszkiewicz