Twenty Years of Practice: Expansion & Growth

You are reading the third installment of my blog series on celebrating twenty years of practice as a professional counselor. In my third act, I begin the process of starting my private practice. By May 2014, I had opened up my practice after seeing the need to make more money, primarily due to being in a long-term committed relationship and becoming a stepparent. I wanted to ensure I could financially provide, and I saw my earning potential as a trauma therapist. I also began to explore other interventions for trauma after getting stuck again with some clients who had complex trauma linked back to early developmental years. 

In this exploration for more professional experience in treating developmental trauma, I had also undergone a miscarriage. This experience led me back to therapy to process the loss. It also allowed me to start taking steps to heal my physical health after the miscarriage diagnosed polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) as the cause. During this round of therapy, I was the recipient of neurofeedback to help with some of my trauma symptoms. Neurofeedback seemed to have great potential to help people reduce symptoms of PTSD and help regulate the nervous system. I decided to add neurofeedback to my new private practice, which allowed for more referrals and clients. 

After neurofeedback, I became curious about adding more tools to offer clients in my practice. I was also becoming more open to making my practice online and offering personal and professional coaching. A colleague invited me to a women's entrepreneur Facebook group, many of whom were trained therapists looking to add coaching or other online services. Many of them became successful, inspiring me to hire my first business coach and see a certified hypnotist. My curiosity around hypnosis came from seeing how many of my clients seemed stuck in therapy due to their defenses that seemed out of their control to change. I wondered if offering hypnosis would help clients overcome resistance and be open to more healing and wholeness. After being a hypnosis client, I began seeing how my thinking was holding me back from success and happiness. I became a certified hypnotist to learn how to encourage clients to relax and free themselves from the mental chains that were preventing their healing. 

Amid business coaching and hypnosis, I began to see my curiosity about spirituality broaden. Many of the women I encountered in my business coaching programs were spiritual, and I was open to exploring all different forms of expression. With my exposure to how changing thinking can become a spiritual practice in hypnosis, I attended some retreats led by my business coach. These experiences helped me have more positive experiences with women in a receptive and supportive setting. Professionally, I took another leap of faith and began training to become a remote energy worker with ThetaHealing. This empowering method was another example of how women modeled a positive experience around healing and recovery.

These experiences built more foundations to become a remote therapist and coach. The professional tools I accumulated also allowed me to attract my ideal clients more efficiently and effectively. As my practice grew, I was able to let go of many of the insurance companies that were paying far below the national average. I was healing my physical and mental health by learning more about how our bodies carry the burden of chronic stress and trauma. But with all my privilege and help, I felt blocked in my ability to receive and give love. It was time to level up again. Next time, I will embark on my final chapter that is still being written.

Twenty Years of Practice: Building & Specializing

My last blog post began a series on twenty years as a professional counselor. In the first four years, I was working in substance abuse facilities, getting my independent license, and realizing that a traditional full-time counseling job was burning me out. I began to exit my full-time job and build a bridge to full-time private practice. By the summer of 2008, I found a part-time counseling job at a DUI center, which could help build my job bridge. I also joined a private practice group to develop my caseload while learning how to do insurance credentialing for the practice. My third part-time job was at the local school district as a coordinator for the district-wide mentoring program. In my free time, I was also a dog sitter. By the fall, I had quit my full-time job. These part-time jobs were my bridge to a better professional future. I was running around from one job to the next, and this feeling of freedom and mobility encouraged and energized me to keep focusing on building my skills for private practice. Despite my varying work schedule, I enjoyed the variety of experiences I had.

After a semester at the school district, I let the job go due to ongoing scheduling conflicts. I picked up weekend work at the local psychiatric hospital as an admissions counselor, another growth edge in learning to use my skills for people in crisis. This season was about building a foundation for more professional freedom. I was connecting with other therapists doing private practice on the side and discovered a colleague who wanted to branch out and start a group practice. My growing skill set in insurance credentialing helped me feel empowered to join my colleague in their group practice, and another colleague joined us from the psychiatric hospital.

Starting a private practice takes lots of work and collaboration. By the summer of 2009, we had secured office space and began seeing clients. We were excited about the new endeavor and pooled our professional connections to market our practice in the old-fashioned way. While social media existed, we weren't using them for marketing purposes. In the previous two years, I had also undergone some personal transitions that had changed my associations with my family and spiritual beliefs. I was already living with my boyfriend and attending Al-Anon meetings for ongoing support and to establish a new community outside Christianity.

By this time, I had been feeling stuck with several clients in private practice. I could see how their struggles with chronic anxiety, depression, or substance abuse affected their lives. While I would be empathetic, validate, and provide coping skills, my efforts felt futile in the face of chronic distress and disease. Even traditional cognitive behavioral therapy didn't make a dent in relieving clients' symptoms.

I attended a seminar in the first group practice held by a colleague specializing in trauma. They were talking about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and its effectiveness in relieving trauma, chronic anxiety, depression, and even substance abuse. The talk made me curious about this modality, and I quickly referred one of my clients to this therapist. My colleague was gracious to allow me to observe the EMDR session they did with my client, and from that point on, I knew trauma was to be my area of specialty.

I quickly started researching EMDR training and found one in the fall of 2009 while building my caseload at the new group practice. The two-part EMDR training involves practicing the experiential modality on each other in triads. The training was my first exposure to the power of this modality to clear trauma from the mind and body. I distinctly remember my back being damp with sweat after I processed a trauma during the training. I was physically and emotionally tired, but I also felt unburdened and more hopeful. I was ready to help facilitate this healing feeling with my clients in private practice.

In this season of building more freedom professionally, I was experiencing more freedom personally by discovering trauma therapy for myself. I had already returned to therapy since graduate school, mainly to help understand my chronic depression, and trauma helped to explain much of my symptoms that were cyclical. After building up my client schedule in the group practice for most of 2010 while also receiving more relief from my traumas, I let go of part-time jobs and felt more equipped as a professional and a person to continue in my career. Private practice gave me the freedom to take care of myself more often, and I was ready to keep growing and learning.

Next time, I will share how I reached another growth edge as a therapist, entrepreneur, and person as I specialized and branched out into my private practice while also becoming a stepparent.

Gender-Affirming & Neurodiverse Mental Healthcare: an update

Last year, I wrote about inclusivity during Pride month, and also came out! This year, the timing of this post coincides with the national conversation around gender-affirming care. This access has been threatened for many people, including those in my state of Florida.

Since I identify as a neurodiverse queer person who is still learning how to present as an inclusive psychotherapist, I wanted to take some time to share a bit about how I am working on providing ongoing affirming care for my diverse clients.

First, a few disclaimers. I am a Caucasian female (she/they) who innately has privilege based on these two facts. I do not experience blatant discrimination based on my gender identification, sexual orientation, or race. Due to my economic privilege, I have found independent practitioners who provide gender and neurodiverse healthcare.

During our intake process, I will ask if you prefer any electronic forms to communicate any needs related to your mental health care. I usually gather this information in a conversational style so that you can disclose or withhold any information at your pace. However, some neurodiverse people prefer to communicate in writing, and you will have this option throughout our treatment.

In this ongoing relationship, I will be asking for any neurodiverse, cultural, gender, sexuality, or other considerations you would want me to know. Again, this information will also be available in written form. As we progress, I approach all therapeutic relationships with a sense of curiosity and a beginner’s mind. You are ultimately the expert on yourself, and if I don’t understand something, my neurodiverse brain will seek to understand by remaining open to you and your lived experience.

As your advocate, I have worked with clients with comorbid physical health issues that are often chronic and ongoing. I work hard to help my clients find local doctors, dentists, and bodyworkers who are considerate of chronic conditions. In this search, I am also looking for healthcare providers who listen and consider my clients neurodiverse and gender orientations as part of their ongoing care.

Despite my efforts to educate myself and remain curious and compassionate, I still make mistakes. Moving through the world as a queer or trans person often feels dangerous. I understand that paranoia is a natural byproduct of hate and discrimination. I also know that I may miss things, despite working on my blind spots and my innate privilege. I hope we work together with ongoing collaboration, curiosity, and grace.

Being proud of who we are is an innate right we all have as human beings. I am proud of my neurodiverse brain, my androgynous orientation to sexuality and gender, and my growing capacity for love in all forms. If you are interested in working with me, please fill out my application here or email me here.

Integration Services: For Psychedelic Therapies and Beyond

In the past year, I have been in a nine-month training program for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP). I have previously written on the topic of psychedelic therapy here, and have been offering integration services for clients since early 2020.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with what integration therapy is, here is a brief description: when a person knows ahead of time they will be undergoing ketamine-assisted therapy (the only legal form of medicine-assisted therapy available), it is recommended they connect with a therapist to help prepare them for the sessions. These preparation sessions can help to process the goals of seeking KAP or other forms of plant medicine therapy. While I can help a client to set their intentions and plan for aftercare, I can not recommend clients seek to use illegal substances. Since I practice a harm-reduction model to substance abuse, clients are encouraged to discuss their plans while not expecting me to give direct feedback to use of illegal substances.

There are other indications for potential clients to utilize integration services. I have had several clients who either knowingly or unknowingly injested a psychedelic substance, and had a very challenging experience with ongoing symptoms long after the substance has exited their system. Integration services can help a client process these challenging experiences, much like in trauma therapy. Other instances where integration work can be helpful are: after any type of psychotic episode, prolonged depersonalization or derealization, or deep existential crisis.

Very often, KAP is done in a series of sessions for the most effective, symptom reducing treatment possible. It is recommended that clients have regular integration sessions after their KAP sessions in order to process and make sense of what they have experienced into their every day life. Clients often find these sessions to be very useful, especially when they experience great relief in symptoms, but don’t always remember what to work on. Most types of psychedelic sessions, if done well, provide an opening in a client’s life to make more significant, long-lasting changes in therapy they might have previously struggled to implement.

To demonstrate this point, behavior change is one of the hardest things to consistently implement for clients. After several of my plant medicine experiences, I received clarity in the areas where I wanted and needed to make changes. Most of these changes come in the way of lifestyle medicine, otherwise known as biohacking. The simplest example of implementing lifestyle medicine is with consistent nutrition and exercise that will support my ongoing healing process. One of my main areas of lifestyle medicine is using nature: the sun, water, ground, and fire sources to help balance my body and mind.

This morning I wasn’t feeling well. In order to aide in my bodies immune response, I drove to my nearby freshwater spring. I have made lifestyle changes to live in an area where I can access natural elements year round. Taking a morning plunge in the 68 degree water, swimming around, and then sunning off, was medicine for my body, mind and spirit.

If you are curious about ketamine-assisted therapy—which I don’t provide directly—integration services for previous or upcoming plant medicine journeys, or want to know more about working with me, please fill out my online application here, see my provider listing in psychedelic support here, and read more about my personal experience with plant medicine here. I wish you well in your journeys!

After a morning soak in the freshwater springs.

Nervous System Health: For Ourselves, Our Families, and Our World

A few months ago, I had the privilege of presenting a webinar on nervous system health to a group of employees at Self Esteem Brands.

Being a wellness company, their mission is to have learning that supports their vision of helping their employees navigate the transitions we are all experiencing in today’s world.

Jessica Schneider, who spearheads the organization of this learning series, did an amazing job of moderating, and provided structure to the formatting for the topic to engage the participants.

In this recording, you will learn the basics of:

• The autonomic nervous system, along with the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches that help regulate our feelings of safety or danger,

• How Polyvagal Theory is a framework that helps us understand our nervous systems three-tiered response to stress,

• What is the vagus nerve, and how does it affect our gut and our overall nervous system health

• What is trauma, acute stress disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder in relation to nervous system health

• How to use cueing such as self-attunement to help regulate your own nervous system and teach your kids to do the same

• What other tools are available for us to stay regulated in a time where resources and movement can be limited.

If this webinar inspires you, please share it with your family and friends. If you have feedback or questions for me, I’d love to hear about it! Send me an email or contact me via my online application if you’re interested in working with me.

Video Credit: Self Esteem Brands, Inc.
Presentation: All images and theories are given credit

For more info: Send me a message or contact me via my online application!

Acute and Chronic Stress during COVID-19: An Interview

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to Christa Rymal, founder of The Point Retreats in northern Minnesota. Christa’s background in nursing and healthcare administration immediately sprung into action with starting a “Facts and Feedback from Frontline Healthcare Professionals.”

My interview focuses on the signs and symptoms of acute and chronic stress during our global pandemic, along with discussing how we can help each other together through this unusual time. Please watch, listen, and share with your loved ones. Enjoy!

We asked Chronic Stress expert and Trauma|PTSD Therapist Amy Pico, for help understanding the unhealthy feelings popping up as we're social distancing, how t...