We recently connected with Amber Boyd, LMFT and have shared our conversation below.

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

One of the biggest (and dare I say scariest) things that I’ve done as a Mental Health Therapist is to decide to start my online private practice in 2019 as I was about to transition from California to Texas. I applied and started working at my college alma mater in 2017, and it was the place I thought I would retire from, but it didn’t turn out that way!  I felt honored to do the work because the students I provided mental health support for were incredible, but I still felt unfulfilled!

The position was supporting students who were leaders on campus, and in developing that position, I felt lost in the minutia of the requirements! I was simultaneously running a limited private practice one day per week, which provided me the freedom I was not receiving in other places of employment. As I was feeling at a low point in my job, a colleague asked, “where does your heart call to?” This question felt loaded and scary, AND I knew there were a couple of answers: I want to move out of California, and I want to work for myself, doing the work that I love to do on my terms! With these answers coming up to clearly in my head, I was terrified because I knew I would have to make some challenging decisions!

I initially started looking for positions in Texas, where I planned to move. I recognized that all the spaces I was applying to did not align with where I wanted to go and were similar to what I decided to leave. I knew that if I wanted to make this move, I would have to be all-in vs. misaligned with what other people wanted for me or what I thought I needed to be successful. I declared from there that I would focus on what I needed to do: go all-in with my online private practice where I could work from home, limit my overhead, and have the autonomy and agency to make decisions that felt aligned! Within a week, I was able to come across a business coach that had a similar vibe as me. I knew that if I were going to make this choice, I would need the support to see it through, and I also knew that I needed help with creating the structure for what became: Healing Through Authenticity, PLLC!

Suggestions I would make to a young professional therapist:

-Do it, afraid! Don’t let the negative self-talk convince you that you can’t be successful in the space of your own making!

-Don’t do it in silo! Get the support that you need instead of piece-milling things together. Get a coach, find an accountability partner(s), and reach out to your network!

-You don’t have to know everything right away! There is space for you to grow and even explore your niche; you can take time to niche down to the group of folx you want to support based on your experience.

-There isn’t ONE way to do it! Allow yourself to be flexible in trying new things, limit comparisons to others, and make space to take in suggestions that feel good for you to implement.

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

My name is Amber Boyd, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I am originally from Oakland, CA but moved to Houston, TX in August 2019. That same month, I decided to open a telehealth private practice, Healing Through Authenticity, PLLC. One of the most important reasons I started my practice was to normalize and destigmatize mental health support within communities of color and do so in an authentic manner. I want to support current generations of folx to have tools that were not previously available. I love the work that I do, and I do so with honesty, transparency, and empathy.

I have seen how generational layers of trauma impact how the physical and emotional system struggles to regulate, resulting in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and difficulty with setting boundaries. These are foundational in the work that I do. I have branched into supporting those interested in bariatric (weight loss) surgery with how the surgery’s physical change can also impact one’s emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing.

I am an author and a podcast host. My journal/workbook was created after my own bariatric surgery in June 2021 to support bariatric patients with the ability to have a space to explore essential aspects of what is to come along their journey. “Preparing For Your Bariatric Journey: A Journal/Workbook To Document Your Process” is available on Amazon. My monthly podcast, “Moments of Authenticity,” was created to expound on topics within my therapy sessions with clients, conversations with colleagues, and friends/family. “Moments of Authenticity” is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Anchor.

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

Mental health can be a challenging field to work in because there is a lot to consider from ethics to rapport, etc. and especially doing this work during a pandemic BUT I consistently feel so much gratitude to get to do this work. I feel honored that clients confide in and trust me to hold and co-create a space for them, that I get to respectfully challenge them to grow and evolve and it feels like I get to see their change in real-time! I see how the work that my clients do and how it positively impacts the folx in their lives as they have sought out their own therapy, set boundaries that honor their agency, and sets a precedent on how they want to see their lives take shape feels like such a beautiful experience!

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

The most effective strategy within my practice is being the most authentic version of myself. I show up in my work, being authentic with the hope that it makes space for clients to do the same! I discuss the reason why I started my practice with clients during the free consultation that I hold, I listen to what made them reach out, and I see if it not only feels like a good fit for my practice but I feel like a good fit for the work that they want to do!

Contact Info:

• Website: amberboydtherapy.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/healingthroughauthenticity
• Facebook: facebook.com/healingthroughauthenticity
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-boyd-ma-lmft-cctp-12799065/