Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Prober.
Hi Paula, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My first job out of college was teaching sixth grade in a middle school. I was one of those teachers who didn’t follow the traditional path of worksheets, textbooks, and lectures that were popular at the time. My classroom was project-based, interdisciplinary, and often noisy with students working together reading and researching from newspapers and library books on current events and personal interests. A couple of colleagues told me that my teaching style would work particularly well with gifted students. That was what started me on the road to teaching gifted children grades 1-8 over about ten years in schools in Pennsylvania and then Oregon.
During that time, I needed to find a way to help teachers understand that these children had some different academic and social-emotional needs. “Gifted” didn’t mean “better than,” just different in certain ways. I developed the metaphor of the rainforest mind. Children are like ecosystems. Some are like meadows, deserts, oceans, or rainforests, for example. All ecosystems are beautiful and necessary. The rainforest is just the most complex. Like these kids. And adults. Intense, highly sensitive, resourceful, multi-layered, intelligent, creative, curious, with potential to have a larger impact on the world, and yet, often misunderstood.
When I was 39, I left education and went back to school for a Master’s degree in counseling. After graduating, I worked in a mental health agency for four years. Then I started a private practice with a focus on clients who were gifted or as I called it, rainforest-minded. I knew they had particular counseling needs that were often overlooked or misdiagnosed. Over time, my practice grew. I wrote articles for parents of gifted children and spoke to parents and teachers about the kids’ academic and social-emotional needs through three Oregon universities. About twelve years ago I started a blog called Your Rainforest Mind: Guidance for the Curious, Creative, Smart, & Sensitive. The blog has been particularly helpful in marketing my work along with social media. After the blog came three books on the topic. Now I consult with rainforest-minded adults around the world and have presented to educators, parents, therapists, and gifted adults at conferences and podcasts based in the US, Brazil, the UK, and the Netherlands.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This path has been surprisingly smooth. Probably the most difficult part was those early years in the schools. The whole field of gifted education was controversial. It still is. People often disagree on the definition of giftedness, whether these children have different academic and social-emotional needs, how best to meet those needs, and whether programs in schools are elitist. And, it has been the case that, in many locations, children of color are still being overlooked and under identified. I am in touch with educators in the field and the controversy continues.
Since I left education, I’ve been able to build my counseling and consulting business in the way I choose and even though the question of who is gifted, particularly with adults, is debated, people with rainforest minds have managed to find me and my work. I continue to get requests to speak to groups of parents, educators, therapists, and gifted adults themselves both in the US and abroad.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about I am a self-employed psychotherapist and consultant?
I’ve always had a preference for autonomy and independence so building a private practice and then expanding into consulting with rainforest-minded adults has been a no-brainer. I am also quite introspective and love being a client in therapy myself. So, becoming a therapist made lots of sense. I enjoy variety and creativity so starting a blog was a way to express myself and also market my work. Thanks to social media and word-of-mouth, I’ve been able to continue to see my blog and books find readers and to have clients find me. I love this work and it has been a real honor to support and guide the rainforest-minded souls who seek me out. To summarize, I offer counseling to Oregonians and consulting worldwide to adults who are seeking greater self-awareness, self-confidence, and support for living fulfilling and meaningful lives as people who are particularly highly curious, creative, smart, and sensitive.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I have used many methods for networking over the years. Early on, before the internet, I wrote for a parenting column in the Eugene Register-Guard and spoke at summer programs for gifted children at UO. I attended conferences and made presentations at local universities. Then, with the internet and social media, it’s become so much easier. I connect with organizations that support the gifted and started blogging about 12 years ago. The blog brought connections with folks around the world and a small press asked me to write a book on rainforest minds. After that first book, I wrote two more and marketed them on my blog and many of the social media sites. Now, more and more people looking for understanding and information are finding me easily. I hear that ChatGPT and Claude have made referrals to me!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rainforestmind.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulaprober/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pprober
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-prober-05588310/
- Other: Substack: https://paulaprober.substack.com
