We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Luzelly Frias a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Luzelly, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
It’s December 2020 and I am working in a hospital as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc through the world. At this time I had already had covid, recovered, and returned to work on a covid unit for 8 months. The weight of the losses and grief began to affect me immensely and by mid month I had decided that my plans to transition into my own business needed to happen sooner than I thought. On a whim I submit my resignation, gave myself a month before the transition to put some things in place and by February first I had my first client as a full time private practice therapist. The risk of leaving a well paying hospital job with benefits was completely absurd to my immigrant family. I spent a lot of time reassuring and justifying that I could do it, not only to them but to myself as well. It’s been two years since this transition and I am still learning about myself, my business, and the mental health space. Tears, frustration, and uncertainty were emotions I needed to become comfortable with as an entrepreneur since my safety net of a hospital job was no longer. I wanted to give myself a chance to explore my abilities, to see if I had it in me to even start a practice with very little knowledge and money. Little did I know that I would be two years in with wonderful clients, several speaking engagements, a 30 under 30 award, and a recent nomination as a Latina Leader in Massachusetts.
Luzelly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a licensed independent clinical social worker who provides remote tele-therapy services, speaking engagements, clinical supervision in the state of Massachusetts and North Carolina. I hold a Master of Social Work from Boston College and my undergraduate degrees from the University of Rhode Island where my interest in social work began. I have experience in working with youth, young adults, and older adults in various settings. After my experience with burnout during the height of the pandemic I decided to open my own practice and begin to see clients for therapy.
I currently work with women and non-binary clients who are coping with difficult life transitions and experiencing relationship or work stress, grief, depression, and anxiety. I am a bilingual afro-latina of Dominican descent who is a warm and empathetic therapist. I work from a trauma informed, anti-oppressive lens. My focus is holistic, using mindfulness, positive self talk, self-care, and self-compassion to achieve emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical balance.
As a first-generation Dominican-American therapist, I am well aware that only 6.3% of therapists are latinx and many are not in the private practice space therefore access to latinx therapists is limited. I strive to use my experiences as a afro-latina to connect and better support my clients who are looking for someone that “gets it” while throwing in some Spanglish to get a point across without shame. My ability to connect through culture has allowed me to quickly create rapport with clients who have not had positive experiences with therapy in the past and have seen growth during their work with me. My relational and non-judgemental approach are the reasons clients feel heard and safe while being their true selves without filters in sessions. My main goal is to remind clients that they are the true expert in their life and I am here to walk alongside them on this journey by helping them slow down, recognize that they matter, and deserve a space that does not require them to wear all the hats their family, friends, colleagues, and world expects them to wear.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Like many board regulated professions we are required as licensed social workers to continue our education through professional development. For a long time I believed that I need to learn more modalities, interventions, and approaches before I ever thought about transitioning into having my own practice. What was underneath it all was that I did not feel like I was good enough and that if I entered that space clients would know I was an imposter. These limiting beliefs held me back from making the transition sooner, it kept me stuck in a loop for a few weeks when I started, and resurfaced several times throughout the last two years. My therapist helped me realize that I had a gift and knowledge that people needed to hear from me, but I was depriving them from it. The confidence and reassurance were always there from my therapist and supports, but I needed to believe in it too. I had to learn that there will always be more to learn, more to read, more to do therefore I would never feel “ready enough” and that my only option was to do it scared. I had to unlearn that my idea of being prepared was just another tactic to hold me back from the things I said I wanted. I know many therapists struggle with this sense of not being good enough or ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship. My message to them is that you will never know ALL of the modalities, interventions, and approaches, and that does not diminish the skills, education, and gifts that you hold.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
In the beginning it was being on well known directories, but as a solo practice I could not keep up with the demand. As I got into the groove of things I realized that the directories did not always provide me with aligned clients so focusing on my website and connections with other therapists were key. Currently my most effective strategy for connecting with clients as been word of mouth and improving my website to reach the aligned client. I often find myself in awe with the various phases and transitions my practice has gone through in just a short two years. I now have clients that have met their goals and “graduated” from therapy informing their colleagues and friends of the value and investment they found in therapy which in turn means an influx of new potential clients showing interest in starting their own journey. At moments it feels worrisome to only depend on word of mouth, colleague referrals, and my website but time and time again I am never without a full schedule of engaged and amazing clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.innergycounseling.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innergy_counseling/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luzelly-frias/
- Other: Business Linkedin page- https://www.linkedin.com/company/innergy-counseling-pllc/
Image Credits
Dreana LeMaitre Photography https://www.instagram.com/shotsxdjl/?hl=en website is under construction