We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Beth Lewis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Beth , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
I am an avid coffee drinker. And one morning many many moons ago, maybe 17 years ago, when I was a new mother, I remember standing in my kitchen in my then Dallas home, contemporary in style, a recurring theme in my love of design, with a freshly poured cup of joe. As my new baby girl lay deep in her morning nap sleep, I stood in that kitchen, with my freshly poured coffee, realizing profoundly in that moment, that I would spend the rest of my career working for myself. While this thought then and since then has wooed me, excited me, challenged me, it has also often scared the shit out of me. I remember in that deeply contemplative moment feeling a big rush that was not only fueled with vigor, it was equally, if not more, fueled with intense fright. I walked to the front room that was open in concept to the kitchen, and I looked out the window. Across the street was my neighbors antique home in which was a wall that displayed their higher education accolades. I knew this because we visited often. In that moment they happened to be climbing into their respective cars to head off to work. I watched the wife in her business suit and coffee thermos buckle up and drive in the direction of downtown Dallas where I knew she worked for a big corporate entity. It was in that moment that I felt true envy for her paid time off, her health benefits that covered her daughter who was only a couple of years older than my baby girl, her paid vacation that didn’t include all the paid days off she received each holiday. Her ability to clock in and clock out, so to speak, and not have to carry her work home to continue through the midnight hours. While I thought enviously about all the perks I did not have as a self employed family therapist, and as I went back to the kitchen to refill my black coffee, I remember doing something that I would end up doing time and time again in the many years to follow. I quickly shook off the envy and filled my headspace with gratitude for not having a dress code, for making my own schedule, and for not ever having to make money for someone else. I remember diving into the gratitude for my ability to not only build upon original thought, but to be able to truly have a job, a career, a life that honors my rebellious and independent swagger at every turn. Since then I have built a small, but mighty Fort Worth private practice that houses therapists hand selected by me, who also have the swagger. And I don’t have to bring a thermos of coffee to work because I have provided a beautiful coffee spread in our staff lounge. Because, I am still an avid coffee drinker.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Beth Lewis. I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC-S) who also holds licensure to supervise upcoming therapists become excellent therapists while earning their credentials with the state board. I have a small, albeit mighty, private practice currently located in Fort Worth’s Southside. While we are not reinventing the wheel by providing therapy services to our community, we do take pride in our efforts to normalize therapy for our clients. As a therapy group, we gather weekly and monthly (various formats) to discuss cases and to make sure we are each offering our clients top care and skill within each 50 minute session. We work with some of Texas’ finest families and individuals whether in office or via HIPAA compliant Telehealth. We believe that if you have found your way to our sofas, you have a desire for health and emotional growth. We also believe each client can feel the familial energy we nurture within our offices and as a team. You simply won’t find better care anywhere else. For this, we are very proud. And for this, I work diligently hand-selecting staff, keeping our offices beautiful and nurturing, and leading my group to big and healthy successes within our personal lives and within the lives of our clients.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I don’t have a formula or statistics or field studied research to back up my thoughts on what may have helped build my reputation, but I believe it’s because I am transparent and, therefore, relatable with clients and potential clients. I have written and published a blog long before having a blog was a necessary marketing thing. My blog shines a light on MY human condition, MY emotional strengths and weaknesses, MY personal life and all of its beauty and cringiness. I don’t hold back. I don’t stop short. I believe my using such an honest format, not only lets others see ME, it also models for clients how to get really vulnerable themselves. If their therapist can do it, then it must be safe for them to do it, too. While my reputation is not exclusive to my blog, my blog has certainly helped build my reputation.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Doing good work! Good work within each session is, hands down, the most effective strategy for growing my clientele, and for clientele trusting my staff selections. When I do good work within each session, and my staff does good work within each session, our clients tell their friends and family, and their friends and family contact us, and their friends and family contact us…& so on. As a therapy group, we work collectively and individually to offer the very best care to each client within each session. And we hope each client tells others of our good work. Word of mouth is something we take very seriously.

Contact Info:

• Website: BethLewisTherapy.com
• Instagram: @bethlewistherapygroup
• Facebook: @BethLTherapy
• Linkedin: BethLewisTherapy
• Youtube: BethLewisTherapyGroup

Image Credits
Ashli East, LPC Paige Killian