A winding road led to Crystal Lotus Counseling

Washington — Not many people would call growing up in a dysfunctional family an opportunity, but Crystal Lotus Counseling mental health professional Sandi Ropp does.

As a counselor who specializes in family systems, relationships, relational abuse recovery, and treating anxiety, depression and trauma, Ropp finds that opportunity pointed her toward what she was meant to do, even before she knew it.

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“I feel like this was kind of the plan for me,” Ropp said. “I wouldn’t have said that 10 years ago, but in my story, I had an opportunity to grow up in a dysfunctional family. And I remember from a really early age just being so interested in human behavior.”

“Before I even knew the psychological terms for things I was thinking things like ‘Oh, grandma is causing some of dad’s behavior,” she explained. “It was my thing. I’ve always been so interested in human behavior. It is my passion.”

“Every family has their own dysfunctions, right?” Ropp said. “Somehow I just kind of had this lens of curiosity and I knew that I wanted to learn all I could about myself, my emotions, and how to heal, and just how to change some of the toxic dynamics that were passed down through the generations in my family.”

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While becoming a mental health professional seemed to be written on Ropp’s heart from early on, it was not a direct path to where she is today.

She began her professional career in criminal justice working at the jail in Fairfield. Even in that position she hoped to make a difference in the lives of those people having some of their worst days.

As she worked there, she saw some of the same things she noticed as a small child. She noticed the recidivism and the perpetuation of cycles through families.

“Like one week grandpa would be in,” she said. “Next week the dad would be in …”

This sparked that curious nature in her once again.

“It just kind of opened my eyes to the bigger picture and I didn’t feel like I was quite making the impact that I wanted in the criminal justice system,” she said.

This realization is when things shifted for Ropp and she began her professional clinical journey receiving her master’s in 2016.

Ropp’s path to becoming the counselor she is today, continued to take unconventional routes, but she would say every step taught her something.

“I was a non-traditional student,” Ropp shared. “I was raising kiddos and working on my mater’s all hours of the night and doing day care during the time.”

She ran that day care for approximately seven years and found it closer to meeting her desire to understand and help others.

“That was right up my alley because I got to just connect,” she said. “My thing is just to connect with people. I love people. I love people’s journeys, people’s stories. I love just hearing about people’s lives.”

Now, that is exactly what she does.

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“So, this is the room where the inner healing happens,” Ropp said as she presented a room filled with warm light, soft textures, and calming colors. “My safe space. And the space. I hope that space that I hope to provide for other people as well.”

In her private practice as Crystal Lotus Counseling, Ropp now has words for the things she always knew and works to connect the knowledge she is continuing to expand with clients for their benefit.

“My approach is a mixture of more eastern philosophies of inner healing and inner peace type thing that we think of as well as our westernized approach, which has evidence-based research,” she said. “I think as a clinician just focusing on one is only half the picture.”

Ropp views the eastern approach as more of a connection with body work and the Western approach focuses more on cognitive behavior therapy which does a lot with reframing thoughts.

“I feel like I’m kind of like a very safe space,” she said. “Just that best friend voice. That healthy cheerleader kind of voice. That person that’s going to build you up no matter what. That person that’s going to believe in you while providing evidence-based care because there are real techniques that actually work.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com