Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dereka Feiler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dereka, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

I earned my BSW and decided that I wanted to pursue a higher education in the field of social work. I went on to obtain my MSW and was not entirely sure what part of the field I wanted to work in, but knew I wanted to have more opportunities by having my Master’s before starting my family. While attending grad school back in 2016, I decided that I wanted to own my own practice one day and never looked back. I knew that I would have to work a few years in the field (a minimum of 2) while I worked towards my hours to pursue my clinical licensure. I worked almost 5 years at Child Protective Services and absorbed as much information in the field that I could. I gained immeasurable experience while there. There is so much that people don’t know about the difficult and meaningful work that CPS does with families. While there, I really got to learn about children and families, their dynamics, trauma, substance abuse, mental health, adoption, foster care, abuse, neglect and domestic violence. One of the biggest takeaways was that while working with families was that they really needed a strong therapist to help them through their major life changes and someone they could trust and feel safe with sharing. Another thing I learned was that attending therapy seemed like a far-fetched idea to the average person. Most people don’t realize that they can attend therapy with their insurance. This became a foundation of my future practice-that we would be accessible to help those in need by accepting insurances.

I didn’t know anyone who had done this before, but I did know that I was up for the challenge. Upon passing my LISW-S on Jan 19, 2021, received my official LISW-S on Feb 2, 2021 and looked at spaces on Feb 7, 2021 securing an office space and signing a lease in March of 2021 and keys on April 1, 2021! I moved quick! I stayed at my state job another year and left in 2022 and have never looked back. Since then, I’ve hired 4 other therapists, have continued to grow, learn, expand the spaces and enjoy my practice while helping others heal and nurture their heart, body and mind.

My best advice if you want to start your own practice or business, just do it. Immerse yourself in the process, ask questions, and seek help when you need it. You will find the answers along the way. Things will fall into place as they should. You will learn as you go and look back and wonder how you did it, all while being proud that you did! You know what you’re capable of. Wink at the challenge. You’ve got this!

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

I’ve always been interested in people, topics, solving problems, creating solutions, being goal oriented and helping other’s achieve success. I love getting to know people, get to hear their stories, their background, what made them who they are and help them connect the dots of their life. I believe we all need a strong foundation at the bottom of it all because when life knocks us down, if we have a strong foundation then we can rebuild our structure. If you don’t have a strong foundation, then we start at the ground level and do all of the necessary digging to create our safe structure. I help individuals navigate numerous topics, workplace challenges, conflicts, how to have difficult conversations, create healthy boundaries and maintain their interpersonal relationships. I’ve helped individuals navigate grief, loss, medical diagnoses, infertility, anxiety, depression, family conflict, and severe trauma through individual, family and couple’s therapy. I think the thing that I would be the proudest of is what a privilege it is for me that my clients choose to share their experiences with me. I get to learn about them as individuals, and that they allow me to walk alongside them during some of their most difficult times. I will never take for granted how lucky I am and how fulfilling it is to be a part of their lives each day. I look forward to seeing the growth that they make during our time working together.

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

Yes, a million times over. The only thing I would have changed is that I would have done it sooner.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have utilized my experiences of loss to recreate my future. The losses transformed the trajectory of my life. I went back to school to be in the helping field following that. I don’t think that I’ve ever stopped thinking about all of the intricacies of life and why each little experience is so important since losing two pillars of my life. By being a therapist and helping others, I can reflect on the importance of those important relationships daily in a way that is inspiring to me. To me, being resilient is to recover from difficulties and have the ability to pick yourself up and move forward, not on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://recoupandreliefcounseling.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recouprelief/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Recoup-Relief-Counseling-Therapeutic-Services/100076355947969/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recoup-relief-counseling-therapeutic-services

Image Credits
Amanda Marie Photo