Hayden Rosato, LPC

It feels next to impossible to imagine my life leading me down any other career path but therapy. From fourteen, when I started with a therapist who would become one of the most influential people in my young adult life, to my unashamed eavesdropping of the first date happening beside me at dinner, I have always had an intense desire to understand myself and others. What I didn’t expect was how this path would challenge every understanding I had about myself and about how healing works. I would be humbled by what I thought I knew and marvel, sometimes in horror but mostly in awe, at all the complexities, contradictions, and depth that make up human life. This is what keeps me growing, striving, and fascinated by what I do.

A friend once told me that I don’t necessarily have high confidence (ouch), but I do have a high willingness. I’ll ask the hard question, sit through the uncomfortable conflict, or initiate the plans. I believe that this is what has propelled me towards a career where gently, safely opening up doors that were previously locked is the loving and healing thing to do. Of course, that has meant opening my own doors I’d rather leave closed, and perhaps the hardest challenge of all, letting go of trying to have the right answers and trying to have it all figured out. Instead, I’ve been learning how to feel, get into my body, and “be” (as I wondered what the hell that meant). I never thought the process of becoming a therapist would also require an equal amount of unwinding everything I thought I “should” be. We, therapists, ask clients to be so authentic. I found that to do this work well, I needed to strive to be the same.

As a person, I try to practice what I preach; I follow where I’m called, even when that means a trip around the world (no, really); I do things that scare me; and I aim to live in alignment with my values, even when it’s hard. I don’t do this because I am naturally courageous. I do it because years of therapy and self-reflection have shown me that this is what makes my life feel meaningful. To feel integrated, safe, and supported enough — to have enough self-trust and self compassion — to build a life that feels aligned is a gift. I hope that whoever I get the opportunity to work with feels more deeply connected to themselves and empowered to live from that place wholeheartedly.

And if you’re curious, I love tea, especially floral ones; I was born and raised in Austin, and I will watch any game show or documentary that I can find on TV. I don’t have any living animals, but I do have a few cuddly, stuffed ones. Whenever I get the chance, I love to travel, but I am lucky enough to love coming home, too. If you want to know more about my professional resume, feel free to reach out.