We recently connected with Dr. Irene Yaymadjian and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Dr. Irene thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I started my practice in 2017 with $100 in my pocket and about $1500 in my bank account. Truth be told I had no idea what I was doing, but the one thing I did have was faith in my heart. I knew I wanted to help people, but I didn’t know how to get the word out so that I was a trusted source for people to come to.. I never took a business class, and I was always told that I’m not very business minded by others. I decided to step aside from all the criticism that I heard to take a risk and allow myself to jump into something that I truly believed, in who else but myself. I still remember going to IKEA and thinking to myself, “gosh everything is so expensive. “Scratching my head trying to figure out how on earth I would get my office to look the way I dreamt of like on my Pinterest board. I decided to take it one step at a time, one furniture piece at a time, and budget my way through every single month. Every month I added something new to my practice, and by the end of the year my office with set up exactly the way I want it to be. The aesthetics of a psychotherapy office is essential to the therapy that is done in person. Regardless of what people tell you a patient needs to get a certain feeling when they walk into your office, this includes colors, textures, and smells. Everything in my office was very thought out because I wanted to make sure that my patients felt comfortable. I would have other therapists walk into my office and tell me that I’m “over doing things “but I would laugh it off and move forward. Not until about four years past did people stop criticizing what they thought my business mind was. I guess when people look at me, the last thing they think of is “business woman.” But to be quite frank, I don’t look at my practice as a business. I look at it as a healing spot, not only for my patients, but for myself. And this is why I believe that I am successful at what I do because I don’t do it for the money I do it because I absolutely love the work that I do with my patients, each and everyone of them. When you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life… I remember this quote, but I can’t recall said wrote it. Honestly, there isn’t really anything that I wish I knew back then, I think everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to, my insecurities, my motivation, and even my mistakes, every single thing that happened was for a reason and that is why I am where I am today. A piece of advice for a young professional, who might be, considering starting their own practice, do only what you love. But don’t forget who you are at the end of the day, don’t lose yourself in the work that you do, don’t become the work you do. Allow yourself to blossom and bloom, in all the different parts of your life, and always remember to step outside of the work that you do and remind yourself of who you are, where you came from, and be proud of where you are today.
Dr. Irene , 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?
I have a doctorate in clinical psychology, and I specialize in marriage and family therapy. So basically I was in school for about 100 years lol. I run a group practice in Calabasas where I also train and supervise six other interns, who are working towards their own licensure. We specialize working with trauma, postpartum depression and addiction. I chose Calabasas because I love the area and it’s close to the beach, anyone who knows me knows that my heart belongs to the ocean. My biggest endeavor that I’ve ever embarked on, was creating my nonprofit wellness center in Sherman Oaks, HILLSIDE WELLNESS CENTER. I wanted to create a space for individuals to be able to obtain affordable therapy, regardless of the amount of money they made. At Hillside , I created several programs, including a psychotherapy program, nutrition program, psychiatric program, and group program. It is a training site with about 25 to 30 trainees every year that we supervise and train. One of my biggest passions is teaching, and this is why I created HILLSIDE WELLNESS CENTER to give the opportunity for new therapists to obtain prestigious, training and supervision in the field of psychology to allow themselves to bloom into the best therapist that they could be. Twice a year I also teach at Pepperdine University, being in school so long made me miss it so much after I graduated and what best way to satisfy my craving of school, then to give back by teaching new students in psychology. What sets my practice apart from other practices… I don’t see other practices as being competition. I utilize other practices as referral sources if we have a patient that we cannot treat. My goal was to create a team of people that I trust to treat patients that are in need of therapy. I am so proud of HILLSIDE WELLNESS CENTER. The work that we do there is truly unbelievable, and our training program is top-tier. One of the best things at Hillside is that we incorporate psychotherapy, nutrition, and psychiatry, and we take on a mind, body, soul approach rather than just psyche.
Have you ever had to pivot?
There was a time where I had to pivot in my personal life. This was probably one of the darkest times in my life, which wasn’t too long ago, actually. However, I am grateful even for the hard times that I’ve had to endure because God has always had a plan for me. I think the most important thing that a human could hold in their heart is faith in God. And knowing that we don’t have control over our life, at all. God opens doors and we have choices but we don’t have control over what happens after those choices are made. I am grateful for the detour that my life has taken, because it has allowed me to meet people in my life that I would’ve never had a chance to meet if it wasn’t for the so-called “pivot.” One thing I have learned is to be true to myself, I’m constantly checking in with myself asking myself if I’m acting as my authentic self. I was that person that got lost in the work that I do and I forgot the purpose of my life. Every single day of my life now has some sort of purpose that I place. And I am so grateful for the handful of people that I have around me, and when I say handful, I truly mean about 4 people that are around me that I truly respect and hold very close to my heart. I am learning how to love again, I am learning how to connect again, and I’m also learning how to allow myself to be vulnerable. There is nothing more that I could ask for from the experience that I had in the past year. It has allowed me to find myself again, and become the woman that I want to be. I actually discuss much more of my life situations in my podcast two blonde shrinks, which I actually started with one of my really close friends after this pivot in my life.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
There’s much more to becoming a psychotherapist, then your training and education. Granted, training and education are essential components of becoming a clinician, but becoming a successful clinician takes more than just training and education. As a psychotherapist, you are a healer, your patients look up to you, and they hope that you can grant them access to their inner, darkest deepest selves to allow them to break through their demons and see the light from the depression and anxiety, or any other psychiatric struggles that they are going through. I don’t believe you make a therapist, I believe certain people are born to be therapists. I work with children, and I at times can see little kids who innately have this calming therapeutic persona that they hold and yes, some might say trauma has created this within them, or their difficulties in their life, But I believe this is the most beautiful thing that trauma can create is a healer.
Anyone can go to school, get straight, A’s, write, the best essays, do all the research in the world, but it takes a special individual to become a true healer. Therapy comes not only from your heart, but it comes from your soul. The passion for the work that a therapist does, and the compassion and empathy that they provide to each patient is where the magic happens.
We are leading people to the light through the darkest times in their life and you cannot do that if you have not been broken yourself. So I encourage individuals who are becoming Therapists who feel broken inside to allow themselves to put themselves back together and see past those cracks the beauty in the world we live in.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hillsidewellnesscenter.org
- Instagram: Drireneyay
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/WTtROaMqLws
- Yelp: Hillside Wellness Center