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

Hi Stacey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

I’ve actually opened three practices in three different states, so I’ve learned a lot along the way!

One thing I wish I had done from the start was get some solid business coaching. I think I could have benefitted from the expertise of others while trying to forge my path. Similarly, I have a tendency to want to manage everything myself, and while that might work early on, it’s not sustainable and certainly doesn’t work if you want to scale. So, over the years, I’ve really tried to focus on what I like/what I excel in on the business end (for me, writing, planning/strategy) and what I dislike/struggle with (for me, answering our calls, attending to details), and I’ve tried to outsource the latter.

If you’re just starting out, rely on the experience and wisdom of others who have come before you. Get coaching/consulting. If you have the resources to pay for it, great. If not, there are lots of online groups where you can pick other people’s brains for free. Be patient and hopeful. I find that many of the same skills (we’re a DBT speciality practice) that we teach our clients (acceptance, problem-solving, coping with distress) can actually be applied here. There’s a lot of stress and uncertainty that comes with starting a practice, and relying on skills is an effective strategy to manage the ups and downs.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a psychologist specializing in eating disorders, substance use disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, trauma, and infertility. I’m also a certified eating disorders specialist, a certified Body Trust(R) provider, a certified group psychotherapist, and I’m intensively trained in DBT, a skills-based therapy designed to help people increase mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

We’re bombarded with messaging about what we “should” and “shouldn’t” eat and how we “should” look, and this can really take a toll on us. This is especially true in Miami, NYC, and other cities where I’ve lived and worked. My goal is to help people heal their relationships with food, their bodies, and themselves. I also help parents help their kids develop healthy relationships with food and their bodies from the get-go, so that we can break some of these intergenerational patterns. I’m interested in body acceptance, respect, and liberation.

In the DBT realm, I teach skills that help people cope with difficult situations and manage their emotions and interactions more effectively. I love leading our DBT groups. There’s so much energy, learning, and camaraderie that takes place. And I’m excited to start a DBT course for parents, because we all know that parenting can be rewarding but also really stressful and demanding. I’m hoping to teach parents how to manage their emotions more effectively – for themselves and to improve their interactions with their kids and model emotion regulation for them.

In general, my goal is to help my clients develop resilience, build hope, and become more authentically themselves.

We’re bombarded with messaging about what we “should” and “shouldn’t” eat and how we “should” look, and this can really take a toll on us. This is especially true in Miami, NYC, and other cities where I’ve lived and worked. My goal is to help people heal their relationships with food, their bodies, and themselves. I also help parents help their kids develop healthy relationships with food and their bodies from the get-go, so that we can break some of these intergenerational patterns.

In the DBT realm, I teach skills that help people cope with difficult situations and manage their emotions and interactions more effectively. I love leading our DBT groups. There’s so much energy, learning, and camaraderie that takes place. And I’m excited to start a DBT group for parents, because we all know that parenting can be rewarding but also really stressful and demanding. I’m hoping to teach parents how to manage their emotions more effectively – for themselves and to model this for their kids.

In general, my goal is to help my clients become more resilient, to build hope, and to become more authentically themselves.

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

All the training and expertise in the world isn’t going to compensate for a lack of humanity. I think what makes our practice successful is that we’re humans who are present, empathic, and real. And our clients know that. During our DBT skills groups, I sometimes share personal anecdotes, when they’re clinically relevant. It’s important to demonstrate that therapists are human and fallible too. That we struggle with some of the same concerns as our clients. That there’s a universality in many types of human experience. We believe that the therapeutic relationship is balanced (we view the client as the expert on their experience), and we acknowledge that we are continually learning and growing. We are committed to being non-judgmental, to examining our privileges, and to creating a trauma-informed space. I think the way we show up helps us stand out as authentic, accepting, and relatable professionals.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Honestly, I think the best marketing is word of mouth. It’s really rewarding when current or prior clients refer people they know to our practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gatewelltherapycenter.com
• Instagram: @gatewelltherapy
• Facebook: @gatewelltherapycenter