Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brenda Stephens. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Brenda, thanks for joining us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

I’ve been a mental health therapist for many years and have had many roles in this industry. I’ve worked in case management, utilization review, addiction, and worked with a population considered to be severely and persistently mentally ill. I learned so much from all of these experiences and have been able to combine this knowledge I’ve gained to start a private practice offering mental health therapy to community members. I started working as a sole provider and really wanted to expand the capacity of my bisiness to help as many people as we could who were requesting therapy so I hired two other therapists to start with. It was quite a learning curve to understand how to bill insurance and do all of the back office things that most people don’t think about when going to therapy or when starting a therapy practice. Our practice grew to include more and more clincians over time and we are still trying to keep up with the demand for people requesting therapy. We are now a practice of 24 clincians and 7 adminstrative staff and we hope to continue to gorw. There are quite a few things that I learned the hard way nd if I had it to do over again, I would have asked for mentorship from those who have private practice therapy offices and would have connected with a lawyer and accountant much sooner. The expense of lawyers and accountants always felt out of my reach, but in the long run, it probably would have saved me money and headaches. For anyone considering starting a practice, I highly recommend you get the support around you legally and financially as most of were not trained in the business side of things when we were studying to be therapists.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I became insterested in psychology when I was about 12 years old and watched an after school special on Autism. When I was 12 (it was a very long time ago) Autism was not known in the way it is now. I was fascinated by the way the brain can behave so differently from one person to another, from then on. My path to becoming a therapist was a winding one as I ran away from home and dropped out of schook when i was 16 years old. Education was always important to me and something I felt no one could ever take away from me so I went back to school to graduate from high school then started taking community college classes. I had children and was a single mother for a long time which made it difficult to complete college. As my kids got older and life got more stable I was finally able to go back to school to finish my bachelors degree then went to graduate school to earn a masters degree in mental health counseling. It took me longer than most people but I am very glad I completed my education and so appreciative that I had the opportunity to do so. At my group practice, we consider our main service to our community to be the conduit to help people heal from trauma and other struggles with emotional health. We also provide therapy to those who have been affected by a raltionship with a narcissist. These relationships leave people feeling out of control and destroyed. We offer a safe place for them to receiv support, help, validation, and healing.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

To build our reputation we have worked diligently to be a safe place for people to take their concerns and worked toward healing. We are a diverse group of clincians from different cultural backgrounds and we speak many languages. This is incredibly important to us because we want access to mental health care for everyone. We conduct business honestly and take insurance because that is another way to make mental health care accessible to all. We pride ourselves on our service and dedication to our clients.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I fully believe that experience and what we can learn from others are the best ways to gain success in our goals. there is no better way to learn than from those who have been on the same path before you. It is through connecting with others who had solo private practices then connecting with group practice owners that I have been able to navigate all of the twists and turns of owning a business. I can’t stress enough how important these connections have been to my being able to create and maintain a business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stephenstherapy.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/stephenstherapyassociates?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NarcissisticAbuseRecoveryCenter
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-stephens-2b9b55b0/

Image Credits
Matt Burd