Nonahood News: What is your job?

Susan Dixon: I am a Child Therapist and Registered Clinical Social Work Intern at Lake Nona Behavioral Health Services for children from three to 15 years old, using art, play therapy techniques and other modalities. I work closely with parents and their children to provide a safe, nonjudgmental environment where the child can work through whatever might be bothering them. 

NHN: What does your day-to-day schedule look like?

SD: I have a lot of clients early in the morning, before school starts, and then a lot of clients after school. I have most of my clients on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I usually see all of them in person. 

All my sessions are centered around the child and what they are drawn to play with. They are able to take the lead in our sessions, and it allows me to see into their world a little bit. Children tend to play out whatever they are struggling with, and that allows me to put into words what they may be feeling inside but do not have words yet to express. 

NHN: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

SD: Some children have experienced quite a bit within a short length of time. It can be challenging to hear the hard stories and see how traumatic situations have resulted in challenging behaviors. Kids don’t know what to do with the hard experiences, and they cope as best they can and often in ways adults find unappealing. For me, just being able to sit in that space with them and their parents is hard and it is also a great honor.

NHN: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

SD: What’s really rewarding for me is to help each of the people in a family see what’s going on and be able to adapt to that so their communication can go back to where they wanted it to be. I get a lot of families who are just struggling with their interactions with one another.

NHN: What got you interested in working in Lake Nona?

SD: I live less than five miles from here, so this is where my community is. I love the culture of Lake Nona and being able to pour into people from all walks of life, backgrounds and situations. My kids go to the schools around here, and I think it’s important to be able to invest in your own community.

NHN: Do you have any hobbies or interests?

SD: My family and I go overseas and volunteer frequently with City to Refuge. It is an orphanage that takes in children who have been rescued from human trafficking. Spending time with the kids, playing with them, and helping them with homework. I interact with these kids who have been rescued from human trafficking, and I see how the social workers invest in them. I’ve been doing that for six or seven years in places like Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, South Africa, Ghana and India.

NHN: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

SD: I mean, doing this. I love working with children and their families. I don’t see myself doing anything else. I have raised five children myself, and I wish we would have had a support system to help us. I love being that for families. I plan to be in this community for a long time. I love it, and I don’t see myself moving anywhere anytime soon.

NHN: Where are you originally from? What brought you to Lake Nona?

SD: My family is from Colombia in South America, and I was born in Miami. But I spent most of my life in Orlando, where I grew up. When I had to do an internship while getting my master’s, I wanted to work for Nemours Children’s Hospital. I thought that I wanted to do medical social work at the time. I commuted to work and after eight or nine months I was like, “This is an area that I really feel an affinity to and comfortable with.” Then, my family moved closer to this area, and we really love it.

NHN: What would you say to anyone moving to Lake Nona?

SD: A lot of people say, “Oh my gosh! the traffic is so bad.” I don’t agree. It totally depends on your schedule. And it’s worth it, there are so many options of what you can do here, activities for your kids, and restaurants to eat at. Everything is within 20 minutes. I love that about Lake Nona, a little city within a city.

NHN: How could someone contact you?

SD: Should anyone want to reach out for a free 15-minute consultation, they can call the number 407-808-5773 or use the website https://lnbehavioralhealth.com/.