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by Marty Siederer LC ‘77
When Leeor Gal graduated from the Rutgers School of Communication & Information in 2015, her career goal was to work for a television station, using the talents and passion she found growing up for video creation. While her internships with Siren Public Relations and Guester Technologies provided Gal with an exposure to the world of media prior to graduating, six months later, she came to the conclusion that a career in communications wasn’t for her. However, what she learned from Rutgers helped give her the confidence to transition to another career as a marriage and family therapist who is now known online as “The Therapy Gal,” with over 110,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok.
“One of the life skills I learned at Rutgers was that your career will not necessarily flow in a straight line,” said Gal. “It’s understandable that graduates may feel let down after spending four years earning a degree towards a particular career path and things don’t work out. It’s even more important now to have an open mind in view of the shifting landscape of the media business, and to use the skills and life lessons that you learn in college towards a new career path.”
For Gal, that entailed going back to school to pursue a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling from Thomas Jefferson University. Two months after her 2019 graduation, she began to work with individuals and families needing help. The following year brought a major boost to Gal’s career because of two factors: Covid-19 and the launch of TikTok.
“At the start of the pandemic and throughout, people were looking for counseling to cope with the isolation from family, friends and coworkers,” recalled Gal. “I made a video with a silly song and dance about being a therapist. I got a flood of followers. People related to that video so much. I thought, ‘I have a voice here. I can do something with it.’”
Gal continued to create videos around mental health topics that people could relate to,with a goal of lessening the loneliness during Covid. She fulfilled her dream in 2022 of opening The Therapy Gal, a group practice based in Philadelphia offering services online and in-person in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The birth of a son in 2024 has been an opportunity for Gal to relate to others going through the parenting journey. “Leaving Rutgers was not the end of my education journey,” said Gal. “It was the springboard to a life and career path. Rutgers prepared me for post-college life by teaching me the value of understanding people: their differences and uniqueness. I learned how to listen, how to challenge my own assumptions and how to engage in thoughtful conversations. Academically, Rutgers pushed me to develop strong critical thinking, writing, and research skills. Professionally, it also taught me how to manage my time, advocate for myself, and navigate complex systems: skills that became especially valuable once I entered the ‘real world.’”
Gal’s favorite class at Rutgers? Communication in relationships. “ Looking back now, this class should’ve been a wake-up call for me to pursue clinical work sooner than I had. Interpersonal relationships were so incredibly fascinating to me, which makes sense that I later received my Masters degree in Couple and Family Therapy.”
Her favorite Rutgers memories: The quieter, everyday moments. Studying at Alexander Library, grabbing food between classes, walking across college ave with friends, and meeting my future husband. I loved being part of a campus that always felt alive, where there was constantly something happening and someone new to meet.”