We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marchele Lee, LPC-S a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marchele, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

Sometimes you take the scenic route to get to what really fits for you. After being laid off, I sat with myself to decide what I wanted to do career wise. I thought about what comes to me naturally and I asked others what I am good at. The answer: being a confidante and a voice of reason for others. I researched paths that would allow me to use this skill set and found that being a psychotherapist would embody all the things that I gravitate towards in my relationships: being there for others, listening, offering advice and holding space for people to just be themselves.

While completing my Masters in Mental Health Counseling and the hours for my license, I also took time to learn about how to start a private practice. Having had prior experience in setting up a business (I had a dessert business before) I was able to get established quickly and even met a colleague who shared her office space with me. This was 2017. I maintained my full time job with a major insurance company while I built my caseload up. My business was growing and I felt like I was in my element. When COVID came and the shutdown started, I had the opportunity to pivot into doing therapy online which was awesome and allow me to see clients from all over Texas. It felt amazing to be able to help others and know that providing a safe space to just be themselves was something I was getting paid for! I would tell clients in the beginning “I am casual, but I am intentional” and that is how I present today.

Of course there were challenges. My full time job required a lot and made it challenging to do a full day of work out in the field, then come home or to the office for another 3-4 hours to see clients. I also dealt with a lot of admin tasks that required time, patience and sometimes money. What I knew was that I had joy when I was working in my private practice. It’s funny, that I realized recently that working for myself is the longest job I have ever had. In 2021, I made a huge decision… I bet on myself and that joy I felt and I left that full time job to be a full time private practice therapist. I have not looked back.

Since I was not looking back, I looked forward. As much as I loved working with my clients, there is that itch to do something else. I wanted to be proactive and have other avenues in this field… I love options! I became a supervisor in 2023 in order to support new clinicians in their journey and create a program that would help them with their confidence and preparedness to do great things in this field. I also wanted to hire clinicians to work with me to provide that safe space that my clients really appreciate. In 2024, I worked with a business coach to help me prepare for this step. My first hire came onboard in October 2024 and my first supervisee (now also on the team) began working with me in September 2024. I was building my team, learning my role as a manager and supervisor while also seeing clients. It was a busy time!

Now I have 3 supervisees, 3 employees and 1 intern. I am forming my clinical supervision program and seeking community partners that Accedence Counseling can work with to make mental health and wellness services more available. I have excitement for what’s to come and my team is amazing. The challenges of figuring out how to get here and doing things while scared were the biggest hurdles to overcome. I still don’t look back.

For new professionals looking to start their own practice or business, I say go for it. Rely on colleagues, use free resources, don’t reinvent something and use what’s available, take baby steps consistently because it adds up, know that the feeling of fear is not really in the way of you doing something. Time is going to continue to pass and it’s okay to find out what works and what doesn’t. Failing is not a bad word and probably uncovers more options that you thought you had. Always be willing to learn. It’s okay to not know everything before you make a move.

On my desk I have a note that says “What is scary? Do that!” I lean into the idea that what seems scary is probably what I need to do in order to grow and at the very least, get informed about what to do next. Things still scare me and I remind myself to try it anyway in order to find out. What’s more scary to me: the thought of looking back a year from now wishing that I had done that “scary” thing.

Marchele, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! I’m Marchele Lee and I am a License Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas. I own Accedence Counseling, a mental health group practice based in Dallas that works with clients all over Texas.

My mission is to be a resource for life’s challenges, changes and choices. My team and I provide a safe space to process life and build tailored options to cope with and manage difficult things. While we work with many mental health diagnoses and client demographics, our focus is beyond the diagnosis. We like to focus on the person who is seeking support and we collaborate with clients to help them create a plan for how to manage their concerns.

We offer virtual mental health counseling for children, adults, couples, friends and families. Other services include in-person and virtual educational presentations on various topics such as people pleasing, setting boundaries and taming your anxiety. Coming soon we will offer groups for different topics that clients may want to process with others in similar situations.

I provide supervision for those who are graduating from their Masters or are looking to switch. The supervisions program is a mix of individual and group sessions that feature skills training and speakers. My goal is to help create confident clinicians. There are also opportunities for part time work with the practice.

I am amazed at I have the opportunity to help others through their most challenging episodes. It has been very surreal to move forward as a supervisor helping others in this profession. I hope that those who are considering therapy reach out for a consult call to get an idea of how we do therapy here. For associates, please contact us to learn more about the structure of the program and how we can support your career in counseling. For community organizations and businesses, we hope to partner with you to make therapy services accessible for those you work with.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I believe you need the confidence to be authentic and to be clear about who you are and what you want to accomplish.

The authenticity is what people respond to when they see me in session or meet me out at an event. My confidence allows me to show that authenticity fully and comfortably.

Knowing who you are and what you want to accomplish creates consistency. You can remain flexible and learn new ways to do things and still have awareness of the direction you want to go in. Goals can be easier to set and you can give attention to what will accomplishing them.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

If I could go back with what I know now… Yes, I would choose this profession and pursue the task of building my practice sooner.

I get to spend time helping people while being completely myself. In other work experiences, I never felt like I was operating in my best. Like, I was cosplaying as an employee. Becoming a therapist was like giving me a role customized to how I work best.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.AccedenceCounseling.com
• Instagram: @AccedenceCounseling
• Facebook: Accedence Counseling
• Linkedin: Accedence Counseling
• Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/258196