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For decades, career reinvention was often associated with younger workers searching for direction. Increasingly, research suggests that later-life transitions can become opportunities for renewed purpose, entrepreneurship and personal fulfillment. One study found that moving from traditional employment into entrepreneurship was associated with improvements in quality of life among older adults, highlighting the role that experience and accumulated knowledge can play in shaping a new professional chapter.
Thomas Bergvik’s journey reflects that shift. At 61, an age when many professionals begin considering retirement, he founded Bergvik Counseling Services, LLC, beginning a new chapter as a therapist after decades spent working in health care and community services. Today, at 76, he sees his career path as evidence that personal and professional reinvention can happen at any stage of life.
“I came to this work later than most,” Bergvik says. “But I also came to it with a lifetime of listening, observing and trying to understand people.”
His path toward counseling was shaped long before he earned his graduate degree. In fact, his formal entry into the profession came after decades of experiences that influenced how he understood human behavior, resilience and personal struggles.
Bergvik’s early career did not follow a direct route into mental health. He initially studied accounting before moving into health care, where he worked as a nursing home administrator and, later, as a case manager. Those roles exposed him to people navigating illness, family challenges, aging and difficult transitions.
During his time in health care settings, he discovered that the most meaningful part of his work often happened outside his official responsibilities. While working with older adults, he made time to speak with patients and learn about their lives, even when those conversations were not required.
“I was told I didn’t need to spend time talking with patients,” he says. “But that was the part that mattered most to me. That’s where you learn who someone really is.”
Those interactions became an informal education in empathy. Years before he entered the counseling profession, Bergvik was developing an approach centered on listening without judgment and understanding people within the context of their experiences.
His perspective was also shaped by his upbringing. Bergvik recalls growing up with a father who struggled with alcoholism and who had served as a World War II merchant marine veteran, surviving multiple ship sinkings. That experience influenced the way he viewed people’s challenges and the factors that shape behavior.
“You learn very quickly that people are more than their behavior,” Bergvik says. “That stayed with me.”
That belief became central to his counseling philosophy. Rather than approaching clients through assumptions about their circumstances, Bergvik emphasizes understanding the experiences behind their struggles.
“People are often dealing with things they can’t easily explain or stop,” he says. “If you start from a place of judgment, you lose them before the conversation even begins.”
After decades away from formal education, Bergvik returned to school and earned his graduate degree at 57, roughly three decades after completing his bachelor’s degree. For him, the decision represented a continuation of a long-standing interest rather than a sudden change in direction.
“I didn’t feel late,” he says. “I felt ready.”
His transition into therapy also coincided with a period of professional uncertainty. At 60, despite extensive experience and qualifications, he found himself repeatedly overlooked during job searches. Instead of continuing to pursue traditional employment opportunities, he decided to create his own path.
That decision led to the founding of his private practice at 61.
Bergvik’s approach today is influenced by his previous work in inpatient psychiatric settings and community case management, where he supported individuals facing complex challenges. He says those experiences exposed him to a broad range of human experiences.
“That kind of exposure changes you,” he says. “You see so many different forms of struggle that very little surprises you anymore. And when nothing surprises you, it becomes easier to meet people where they are.”
Research in psychotherapy has consistently highlighted the importance of the therapeutic alliance, with studies identifying trust, collaboration, empathy and the relationship between therapist and client as important elements associated with positive treatment outcomes. Bergvik believes his own life experience helps him establish that connection with people from many different backgrounds.
For Bergvik, sharing his story is ultimately about challenging the idea that personal reinvention has a fixed timeline. His career change, education journey and decision to start a practice later in life reflect his belief that meaningful transitions can happen at any stage.
“There’s value in being real with clients,” he says. “You don’t share everything, but you share enough that they know you understand. That connection matters.”
In couples counseling, Bergvik focuses on helping both partners understand each other’s perspectives.
“In couples therapy, both people need to feel heard,” he says. “You can’t move forward if one voice dominates the conversation.”
At a time when many people are reconsidering traditional definitions of career success, Bergvik’s story reflects a broader shift toward longer, more flexible professional journeys. Research on aging and purpose has increasingly explored how meaningful engagement and continued contribution can influence well-being later in life.
For Bergvik, continuing to work is not simply about extending a career. It is about using decades of experience to support others while continuing his own growth.
He calls himself a “late bloomer,” a phrase he embraces because it reflects a career built on patience rather than a predetermined timeline.
“It’s never too late to become who you’re meant to be,” he says.
His message is aimed at those who believe certain opportunities have passed or that change belongs to an earlier stage of life.
“People think there’s a deadline for change,” Bergvik says. “There isn’t. You can start where you are.”
Through a career shaped by unexpected turns, personal challenges, and continued learning, Bergvik’s journey illustrates a changing understanding of professional identity. A meaningful career, he suggests, does not always arrive on schedule. Sometimes it develops through the experiences gathered along the way.
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