This week, I was honored to be a guest on Selling the Couch, Melvin Varghese’s #1 podcast for mental health private practitioners. He asked me to talk about balancing my own mental health with the challenges of managing a therapy practice.  

Like so many people I struggle with depression. It has ebbed and flowed throughout my life. Over the years I’ve learned how to manage my depression, but I’ve only recently learned how to keep it from sabotaging my business. 

 In the episode, Depression and Private Practice Building, Melvin and I discuss: 

·      How depression shapes your mindset and how change it. 

·      How to shift from a mindset of scarcity and secrecy to one of abundance. How to learn from and move through uncomfortable emotions like envy and fear.

·      How the pandemic inspired me to start the podcast, A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice

·      How shifting my old beliefs about money helps me show up to serve clients more effectively. 

·      Best advice for building a private practice, pay for the supervision you need and deserve*

*At the end of the interview, Melvin, asked me my number one bit of advice for therapist struggling with depression and building their practice. I said pay for the supervision you need and deserve. I want to explain. I’ve always known that supervision is a very important part of being a therapist, but I never embraced the idea because depression told me I wasn’t worth it, I couldn’t afford it, I didn’t deserve it, etc. I wasn’t fully committing to my practice. Then as my money mindset shifted, as my practice grew it wasn’t a choice anymore. I needed the best supervision I could get to support my clients and keep myself from burning out.  I finally gave myself permission to do it. It was scary to make that financial commitment, but that was the last piece of the puzzle. Since I started working with Joanna Fava in February 2021, my confidence and my business has grown immeasurably and continues to grow.