We recently connected with Amanda Noyes and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you ever experienced a time when your entire field felt like it was taking a U-Turn?

I think the entire world took a bit of a U-turn during the COVID-19 pandemic. For myself and many others in the mental health field, the pandemic changed how therapy is regularly able to be provided. Traditionally, mental health therapy (or psychotherapy) is provided in-person, and the pandemic required much of our field to shift to a virtual setting. Thanks to the nature of therapy, it is very personal. Your therapist often knows more about you than most people and walks with you through the most uncomfortable or heartbreaking moments of your life. Meaning, it can feel even more vulnerable than seeing your medical doctor for a physical. For this reason, prior to the pandemic, many people (myself included) thought that virtual therapy was unable to be as effective as traditional face-to-face sessions. Thankfully, I was wrong.

I still remember vividly when the shutdown orders came, how difficult of a decision it was to flip my practice to virtual. There were a million questions running through my head. “Will my clients be open to changing to virtual? Will insurance pay for the sessions (the answer initially was no, but thankfully that changed)? Will it be as effective? How can I create an environment in my home where I can see clients virtually and ensure their privacy?!” I was particularly worried that the population I worked with (military service members, veterans and first responders) would refuse virtual therapy.

Ultimately, my practice was able to do a U-turn and go completely virtual. To my surprise, not only did all of my clients stay with me, but many others wanting to start therapy reached out. My practice was flooded with individuals experiencing significant increases in stress due to the pandemic, individuals struggling due to being in close quarters with family/spouses, and individuals who became more isolated which effectively amplified the symptoms from traumas experienced in their lives that they had not dealt with.

Ironically, it was this influx of clients that led me to expanding and moving my practice from being a solo provider to becoming a group practice. I brought on additional clinicians with similar passions and focus as myself to assist these individuals who were now very ready to address their traumas and loss.

Today, despite being back in the office and offering in-person sessions, only about a quarter of my clients have chosen to come in person. The rest of my caseload, and that of my clinicians’ caseloads, have chosen to continue virtually. And, I can confidently say (to my surprise), the connection between myself and my virtual clients is just as strong as it was under the traditional method.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and I created the group therapy practice Finding Freedom Therapy. Throughout my career I have spent time on the frontlines working alongside police officers on-scene, supporting doctors and nurses in the ER and ICU departments, counseling heartbroken parents at the moment of perinatal loss, and even working next to the U.S. National Guard when assisting during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Harvey. I was also honored to work at an inpatient psychiatric facility with active-duty military struggling with combat PTSD.

In many of these experiences, I witnessed firsthand the gravity of trauma and grief, and I realized there were not enough opportunities to heal from trauma and loss after the initial crisis. With this knowledge, I formed Finding Freedom Therapy, PLLC, with the vision of providing specialized treatment to those who have endured (or are continuing to endure) horrific traumas and unspeakable losses. We provide this specialized treatment in a safe and down-to-earth environment for individuals to heal without fear of judgment or fear that they will traumatize their therapist. I think many people believe therapy can be beneficial, but when the trauma or loss is ongoing, or feels too unspeakable, some people may believe no one can help them. But that is exactly why Finding Freedom Therapy was created—to provide real healing even after the most dire or heartbreaking moments.

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

Absolutely NOT! I have enjoyed each and every part of my career, but working with trauma and loss has always been the most impactful for me because of hope. Every time I witness my clients progress from a place of utter devastation to being able to live their lives again, I am in total awe. While this type of work can be heart wrenching and difficult to do at times, I am inspired every day by my clients—by their strength and courage, and by their resiliency. And because of my clients, I am moved to continue on this path and to make a difference in this world, even if it is just one life at a time.

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

I believe it is less about growing clientele and more about retaining the clients who have made the first big step by seeking therapy. Sadly, with my specialty, there will likely always be individuals who have experienced some horrific loss or trauma. And, there will also always be those in the helping and protecting fields who experience on-going trauma and need help healing in order to continue working in the field that they love. So growing clientele is less of a priority compared to helping clients stay in therapy until they achieve their goals.

Those who have gone through traumatic events are much more likely to avoid going to therapy or leaving therapy early due to fear they will be more harmed processing through the traumatic event/s. Most people do want to heal, but their brain, in an attempt to protect them, tells them that they will be harmed even more if they process their traumas. However, the reality is, we do not need to relive our traumas in order to process them. Our field has come a long way with multiple options to process trauma in ways that feel safe. Moreover, it is not the event that traumatizes us, it is our thoughts surrounding the event. It is how our past impacts our current circumstances, thoughts and reactions. Humans are actually more resilient than we give ourselves credit. We can endure many horrific things and still move forward with purposeful lives. When we address the thoughts surrounding the trauma, then we can find our understanding, acceptance and allow for grief.

Thus, our job as clinicians at Finding Freedom Therapy is to first connect and educate our clients about the process so they feel safe and in control, and are therefore confident in themselves and the process as we move forward with helping them heal after the traumatic event.

When we do our jobs well and truly facilitate connection and healing, well, that’s the best marketing strategy I know.

Contact Info:

• Website: FindingFreedomTherapy.com
• Instagram: @FindingFreedomTherapyPLLC
• Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/FindingFreedomTherapy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/finding-freedom-therapy-pllc
• Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/mark-w-chapman-dallas-tx/945025 https://therapist.com/clinician/carisa-bustillosgivens-90391/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/amanda-noyes-dallas-tx/222929

Image Credits
Lauren Bethany Photography Amanda Noyes, LCSW