Nicole McCaffery grew up in South Bend, though she spent a lot of time around Mishawaka for school. She graduated from Marian High School and stayed in the state for undergrad; she’s an alumna of Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame. She got her master’s degree from Valparaiso University (VU) and has remained around Northern Indiana since then.
Back in middle school, McCaffery’s peers would come to her for advice, and she would assist them by walking them through their frustrations and difficulties. She appreciated talking about things of all sizes, enjoying opportunities she had to help out. Being brought up by empathetic parents went a long way for her.
“Luckily, I took a psychology course my freshman year at Saint Mary’s, and that was when I really found my calling. I tell people what I have feels like a vocation, not just a career. I felt it was a perfect fit,” she said. “Both my mom and my dad really taught me kindness and love, and I am who I am because of them.”
For the past three years, McCaffery has been working as a mental-health therapist at Trinity Counseling Resources in Crown Point. She sees patients from all sorts of backgrounds. She’s there to support them by listening, guiding, and encouraging. Getting her clients where they need to go is her main priority.
“I work with a lot of couples, kids, teens, and young adults over various issues,” she said. “I’m there to show up for them and help in any way I can. I think of my job as a ship. They’re the captain of the ship and I’m a co-captain. We’re working together to get where they want to go.”
What McCaffery loves most about her job is meeting her clients where they are. She’s able to adapt to their stories, allowing herself to get along with everybody. Nobody’s tale is the same as someone else’s. For McCaffery, work is a matter of compassionately equipping herself with the elements of others’ lives.
“If my clients feel like they’re in the dark, I’m going to sit with them in the dark and help them get to the light, no matter how long that takes. I absolutely love working with people,” she said. “I wear different hats for different clients. Whatever they need me to be, I put that hat on, and I’m there for them in every way.”
Sometimes McCaffery’s work presents challenges. Going from one session to another becomes tiring, especially when the work centers on trauma and the other grief. Internships during graduate school helped to set her up for success in her profession, enabling her to comfortably embrace varying outlooks.
McCaffery prioritizes taking care of herself, too. Over time, she’s gotten a better sense of what a healthy work and life balance looks like.
“It was hard to find those transitions. After working in this field for a while, I’ve been able to separate and go in with a different perspective,” she said. “Self-care has been something I’ve had to practice. If you’re not taking care of yourself, then you’re going to feel it emotionally. I always integrate time with my loved ones. That’s a big focus for me.”
In her free time, McCaffrey deeply appreciates spending time with her family. She lives with her husband in Valparaiso, but they go between there and her hometown regularly to visit the members living in Michiana. She has two nieces whom she adores.
McCaffrey’s in two families: her own and her husband’s. Everybody gets together as often as possible. They make trips to movie theaters, cook collaboratively, and occasionally attempt to make it through escape rooms. Individually, she’ll listen to podcasts and dig into her faith. She cleans from time to time to freshen up the environments around her.
“From the moment I moved here, I fell in love with the small-town feel. I love Valpo’s downtown. I love being able to walk there, go to a coffee shop, and experience what’s around town with my friends. I feel very happy here. I’m blessed to be part of that,” McCaffery said.