We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ana Arellano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ana below.

Ana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

A question I often hear is “Can people really change?” The short is answer is “I don’t know.” I believe that character changes can potentially be made with discipline and time. More important than the belief that you can change, is the decision that you will try to change. In the beginning of my career, I led a men’s group five days per week. The men in this group had a fragile sense of reality and in some cases, this led to physical violence.  For this reason, security personnel was always present in the room during group therapy. One of these men had taken the life of his wife during a break with reality. He was sentenced to a lifetime of psychiatric treatment. Every day he told me “Ana, I miss my wife.” I felt by the tone in his voice that he was sincere. One day, during group therapy, after the security guard had left the for a bathroom break, one of the men in group got up from his chair,  walked towards me and then began running towards me from across the room. When he lunged at me, another man grabbed him, and effectively protected me from being attacked. The person who protected me was the man who had taken his wife’s life. In that moment, he played a protective role. I was thankful that he was there, operating from a different role of care and concern for the well-being of another person. In that moment, I could appreciated this person beyond this moment in his past. He also got to see himself, however fleeting, in another role. I do not know if people can change the quality of their character, but I do know that people can make changes in the lives of others to make the world a better place. It is never too late for that sort of change.

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

In graduate school, I wrote a paper for a cultural competency class on exotic dancers. I interviewed a few dancers over a few weeks and realized that there were some similarities: each had experienced some form of trauma and each person was working toward a bigger goal through their career. Their stories stayed with me. During the pandemic, I quit my job as a therapist at a rehab center to start a group practice, Red Apple Therapy, PLLC. I began hiring other therapists. I covered the marketing, billing, credentialing and provided a compliant online platform. My practice was recognized by Onlinetherapy.com as “Best in Austin for Treating Substance Abuse.” I realized that I could use my business model to fund a nonprofit, but I didn’t know where to begin. I knew I wanted to serve the community in a way that I could make a tangible, measurable difference. Around this time, I met a personal trainer and aerial artist who inspired me to become a better version of myself. The answer landed in my lap when I learned that she was struggling to find affordable therapy. This beautiful creative soul provides a service to the world by sharing her art, and here she was struggling to find affordable healthcare. It turned on a lightbulb for me. I started TEN 501(c)(3), a nonprofit to provides free therapy, career consultation, and life coaching to Texas nightlife entertainers. I consulted with my colleagues, and we agreed to make our organization inclusive; we serve exploited nightlife acts/entertainers with our focus on women and LQBTQ entertainers (comedians, drag, exotic, burlesque). There is nothing like our organization outside of Austin, so we applied for regional nonprofit status. What separates us from other organizations is that we are not religiously or politically funded; we are not here to “save” people. We do not condone or condemn. We are here to say “thank you” to artists who hustle to make ends meet because the world needs their talent, their light, and their expression. Today I am still the owner of Red Apple Therapy, PLLC and our nonprofit, TEN, received tax-exempt status. We have six therapists on staff, and we are now offering discounted services to those who qualify. I reflect on how this dream has come full circle: ten years ago I interviewed a few exotic dancers for school and today I work to provide therapeutic care for marginalized groups in their professional community.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have learned several lessons on self-sacrifice, boundaries, and respecting those who came before me. I had to unlearn that self-sacrifice is apart of being a counselor. Being a martyr is not a benefit to anyone and should not be confused with altruism. When women are taught socially or culturally to be selfless, it can lead to burnout and resentment. It also infringes on boundaries, borders on codependency, and, in my profession, can blur the lines between counselor-client and friendship. Counselors must establish professional boundaries. Throughout my career, I also learned why it is so important to respect those who have come before me. It is important to know what has already been tried, tested, and proven. I learned to have a deep respect for empirically researched approaches to mental health, understanding, for instance, that talk therapy alone can be proven ineffective for the treatment of trauma. Research and respect for therapists who came before me have allowed me to be a more effective therapist.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Most of the therapists that worked for Red Apple Therapy in the beginning went on to start a private practice of their own. While I am happy for my colleagues, I realized that I needed to make some changes to my business model to help with sustainability and ensure consistency in the client experience. Today, the therapists that I hire are under contract for at least one year. During this time, I train them to learn what it takes to run their own private practice including marketing, billing, administration, and record keeping. At the end of their contract, they will know how to set up their own PLLC and can leave with all the clients they acquired while working with me. This ensures continuity of care for the clients and has allowed me to attract more experienced therapists to my group practice. It’s been a win-win that took a major pivot, a sense of abundance, and resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.nightlifetherapy.com
• Instagram: Nightlifetherapy
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/anabenitaarellano
• Other: http://www.redappletherapy.com