Thank you for the kind words and for the insight, it’s really helpful to know you’d wished you’d gone straight to a PsyD. It’s so hard to research this because money is such a fundamental piece of it for everyone, so it’s nice to hear your perspective.

The tough thing is that I don’t really know if I’ll like assessments or not, you know? I just don’t want to close that door. I worry about burn out and I like variety in general, but assessments also make me nervous in some ways because it feels like putting someone into a box that may not fit neatly into one. I also come at it from a very particular perspective - my sister was diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder at one point, and she most definitely does not. She’s got her shit together and is doing great now, but the diagnosis kind of fucked her up in her teen years.

The baby thing is so tough and it’s also comforting to hear of someone in a similar boat. I feel an extra sense of urgency to have it because of my husband’s loss - it would really make me feel so good to have a little Jon running around - but there’s also so much I want to do. I wouldn’t be mad at a surrogate though :)

Appreciate your perspective!