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

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I began my career as a therapist working with children and adolescents and became known as a great therapist working with middle school and high school-aged clients. The work was enjoyable and yet I found myself seeking out opportunities to work with couples. There was this itch within me to experience working with this population even though it was not what I was trained in. Instead of ignoring the itch, I scratched it and began consuming couples therapy training modalities to understand what was needed to work with this population. I eventually made the decision to start my own therapy practice focusing on working with couples and started my practice one-month postpartum. I filled quickly and began to expand and moved from being known as an adolescent therapist to a couples therapist. When I first began thinking about changing directions and specialties, I had a lot of self-doubt about risking a reputation I had already built. I am so grateful I did because I love the work and opportunity I have to help couples build stronger relationships.

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

My name is Rachel Elder and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor serving Couples in Washington and Florida State. I have my own couples counseling which is currently expanding into a group practice focused on serving couples. I and my team provide virtual therapy services focused on helping couples learn how to grow old and grey together by teaching relationship skills. As a couples therapist, I feel honored to help couples with a variety of challenges they encounter such as affair recovery, life transitions, communication and conflict challenges, as well as long-term vision planning for their relationship.

I pursued a degree and business in psychology because I knew I wanted to work with people in some way and my dad thought I would make a good therapist. I am glad I didn’t let my teenage rebellious mind ignore him as it has been a blessing and honor to walk with clients through many life challenges over the last 6 years. I have also been a big believer in love and fighting for my own as well as clients’ love stories. Relationships are beautiful and challenging and I am passionate about helping couples learn how to grow together for a lifetime that is filled with connection and passion.

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

The most effective strategy for growing my business and case-load of clients has been networking. In the beginning, I spent many hours each week connected with other therapists in the community to learn from them and share about my practice. Over time the amount of time I spend each week in this area has dwindled, but I still focus a handful of hours each month on connecting and networking with others to keep my name visible.

My second most effective strategy was investing in business coaching. Through the various business coaches I have worked with, I learned many marketing strategies as well as mindset strategies that I continuously use today to help myself grow individually and as a business.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Most days are a “yes” but there are a handful of days I think “no.” I think no matter what I would have found myself in an entrepreneurial role that was people-oriented. The rules, regulations, and codes of ethics Therapists abide by can feel exhausting and overwhelming some days even though they are created with good intentions. I sometimes wonder what life may be like even if I didn’t have to uphold those requirements of the profession. Most days I feel so honored and lucky to have found a career that serves others provides flexibility for my family and embraces my personal desire to continue to learn always.

I imagine if I wasn’t a therapist, I would probably own a coffee shop or some small restaurant/bakery setting so that I could continue to work with people each day. I like to joke that my dream career is being able to sit in a coffee shop every day being paid to connect and talk with people about whatever they’d like to talk about. If only that jobs existed!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.connectedcouplescounseling.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectedcouplescounseling/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/racheleldercoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-elder-b023a844

Image Credits
Addison Blaise Photography