We were lucky to catch up with Michela Parisi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michela, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Connected Brain Counseling is a private, group practice that offers both counseling and neurofeedback to clients. We specialize in adult women who have experience trauma, though we see clients age 5 and above and all gender identifications.

For those who are not familiar with neurofeedback, it is a modality that is used to retrain the brain that may be holding on to old, stuck patterns associated with symptoms such as anxiety, PTSD, depression, ADHD, insomnia…and more. Neurofeedback is a medication free option that works with the natural function of the brain. Rather than taking medication, a client may choose to participate in a neurofeedback program in order to “remind” the brain to send energy and electrical activity (passively) to the areas of the brain that are somewhat offline. This results in a more balanced nervous system and decrease in trauma based symptoms.

As a sensitive individual with a passion for mental health, I have always been drawn to natural alternatives to physical and mental health. While completing my Master’s Degree in Counseling from Regis University in Denver, I worked for a large Neurofeedback clinic. Clients would come in to have their brain trained rather than wanting to talk through their problems. This was respected and well within the scope of the business…however, the majority of these clients still leaned on the staff for verbal processing as well. They felt it was important to tell their stories of trauma, loss, depression, head injuries, relationship issues…even if it was subconsciously.

During my experience, I found that the clients who had the best outcome in a Neurofeedback program were those who participated in more serious counseling sessions with me as well. Their brain was getting the work it needed in a safe and consistent way and they were simultaneously able to develop concrete tools for processing emotions in therapy. The combination of the two was special and also provided an experience for me as a clinician to work with clients who were serious about their healing which in turn made me want to work harder to help them as well.

From here, I branched off to start Connected Brain Counseling which incorporates strategic programs involving brain based science to help clients heal from trauma. As a woman who started counseling in her twenties, it felt natural to focus on adult women’s mental health as well. By going into counseling with a therapist who is trained to understand what your brain may need as well as your nervous system, emotions and thoughts…we are able to take a unique approach to the conversation and guide it in a way that compliments your Neurofeedback program. For example, if we are working on an area of the brain associated with trauma, we will encourage clients to process trauma within these sessions. It is never mandatory, but rather psycho educational so clients can take full advantage of their experience no matter what point of healing they are at.

Trauma inevitably robs individuals of structure and control. Physical, emotional and sexual trauma can be subconsciously absorbed with the message “you aren’t enough” or ” you deserved this” which is a heartbreaking way to live with PTSD. Though we take a person centered approach to counseling overall where we actively choose to meet clients where they are at…sometimes structure and guidance are needed to take clients out of this implicit messaging. Trauma survivors can then pull from the guidance of their therapist and the new muscles their brain is flexing to challenge these notions and develop new thought processes that better serve them.

Connected Brain Counseling thrives on the intersection of data and emotion and it’s really what our practice is framed from. Our team has skilled independence to work with clients in a way that most benefits them taking an individualized approach to the next level by understanding how the brain presents in the room as well as the nervous system. Surprisingly, most counseling degrees do not offer any form of neuroscience education so this is a modality that is unique to us.

Michela, 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?

My history was touched on in the previous question, however I would love to expand on the problem we are able to solve for clients.

Most clients do not even know there is another option to medication and counseling to help with mental health symptoms. If they are depressed, or anxious, most individuals seek counseling and/or a diagnosis which then frequently leads to medication. Antidepressant prescriptions have risen 35% in the last 6 years…and most adults don’t even understand that there is no “chemical imbalance” that requires a drug in order to treat depression prior to taking this medication. This was a false narrative pushed years ago around the time that medication for mental health became more easily accessible. Negative side effects, dependence and continual increases in dosage are common for those taking antidepressants. Clients aren’t usually told this in their brief consults with psychiatrists as well. There are, of course, cases where antidepressants are necessary and beneficial. But the rates of prescription for medications are skyrocketing without the education behind it, which is a scary reality for many clients.

It is shocking to me how many clients come into my practice to treat their depression or other symptoms that they are medicated for without considering that if they are reaching out to pay for a Neurofeedback program, it may mean that their medication isn’t actually doing it’s job. There is fear behind challenging the notion of medication and what may be best for an individual. I am not a licensed physician who is able to make medication changes for clients or suggest any medication in general, so I do not ever advise clients one way or another on their medications but rather encourage conversation and education for empowerment. I do my best to educate clients on what is going on in their brain and what their treatment options are, though, and often I am the first person to do so in their mental health journey. I am always happy to work with a client who is taking or not taking medications and Neurofeedback paired with medication is considered quite safe.

To loosely quote Dr Amen, we are treating the brain with medications, counseling, etc without looking at the organ itself. It is counterintuitive. Psychology and psychiatry are the only medical field to not actually look at the organ they are treating prior to diagnosis or prescription. Shouldn’t we look at what parts of the brain are overworking, underworking, how your hormones/activity levels/relationships/diet affect mood and take a more well rounded approach to understand why a client may feel what the feel? The brain and body are incredibly intelligent and complex. Many symptoms can be addressed naturally without risking negative side effects assocaited with medication.

I am most proud of Connected Brain Counseling’s ability to approach mental health with a brain based background and offer clients education that empowers them rather than requires them to be dependent on an external substance or stimuli in order to feel better. It may be easier, quicker and cheaper to take medication but the root of the problem will still exist and tends to rear it’s head down the road. Our team takes a longer term, deliberate approach to healing and it is something we have found clients thrive on during and after our program.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding a business is one of the most daunting tasks when starting from the ground up. And I get it – it’s terrifying to invest your own money into a new idea and bet on yourself.

My funding was self provided and earned the old fashion way. I have had 2-3 jobs at a time since I was 16 and always thrived on a busy schedule and saving funds. I had saved 15k by the time I went to college at 18 and then proceeded to live in cheap, rough around the edges apartments throughout my twenties and worked as frequently as I could to grow my savings. I worked all jobs that peaked my interest…private aviation, mental health, private investigation, I was an assistant, chef, bartender, fitness trainer…the list could go on, all before I was 26. I loved absorbing knowledge from a variety of fields and having a diverse schedule.

I bought my first house in my mid twenties in the Denver market, which I then sold 2 years later for a decent profit. This money became the down payment on a new, smaller house and funded the equipment and startup fees I had to get going with the practice. I was lucky in that the practice took off quickly within the first 6 months and turned a profit well, but it wasn’t without a lot of hard work, continued stress and a need for growth personally and professionally to continue the momentum.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers down around funding and financials just a year in to my business, but what worked for me was a combination of hard work and living under my means even in an expensive city. For those looking to start their own businesses, don’t be above working odd jobs and challenging the conventional notion of a 9-5.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Selfishly, I have found that I cannot operate a business and feel like I am skimping. I get anxiety, stress and guilt when clients are paying high prices for a service that doesn’t feel like the highest quality I can provide. I think clients can feel this level of dedication, and in mental health in our practice and it can go a long way.

We don’t promise to have the answers or the “fix” but we do continually offer a service that is honest and connecting. In this day and age where there is a lot of bullshit to filter through in the mental health market, our practice works with authenticity rather than against it.

Our goal is for clients to feel safe, comfortable and vulnerable in our office while also knowing an entire team is working behind the scenes to make sure they are successful in their program. This is fueled by genuine care.

Giving 100% of yourself can lead to burnout pretty easily and requires a lot of self awareness and balance for team members, but it also demonstrates to clients how to give 100% of yourself to an endeavor while also preserving your self worth and energy. It is a tough balance to strike but one that I feel translates into a growing clientele and referrals. We believe in what we do, we know it can work for those who want to do the hard work of change. We also know it is messy and worthwhile to be in mental health and hold this gently. With this idea in mind, counseling and neurofeedback we take a less robotic approach to neurofeedback and counseling and I think clients feel that authenticity as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.connectedbraincounseling.com
• Instagram: @connectedbraincounseling
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/connectedbraincounseling/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
Eedy Photo