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

Candace, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I have been a therapist for 10 years now. When I first started out as an intern, I worked with children in crisis. I always thought my career path would be working for an agency supporting children and their families during their most trying times. Unfortunately, working with people while they were in crisis triggered a lot of anxiety in me. I had someone once ask me “Why not go into private practice?”; I would always laugh it off because I thought that in order to be a good therapist, I would need to be doing the “hardest” work. In all honesty, I think there was a part of me that didn’t know if I could open my own business; I didn’t know if I was the type of person who could pull it off. Fast forward to 2019 where I was working with children and families in the Department of Social Services. I loved the work but my heart was always heavy. I was pregnant, sitting on bedroom floors of these children who were in foster homes thinking to myself “How am I ever going to do this work once I have a baby?”. I took maternity leave and January of 2019 and had every intention of returning to my full time job. After experiencing a traumatic birth and suffering from Post Partum Depression and Post Partum Anxiety, I found myself dreading going back to work and being away from my baby for 40 hours a week. I cried to my husband telling him I couldn’t do it. He suggested I open my own practice and I remember brushing him off because the risk felt too big. He purchased me a laptop and said “This is for your business, you can do it, Candace, you have never failed at anything in your life.”
I started researching anything and everything I could about starting a therapy private practice. I read books, attended webinars, attended workshops, consulted with other therapists who started their own practice, and eventually decided on a name for my business: Double Heart Therapy. I wanted to support other moms in their perinatal journeys and felt the name represented both the heart of the mom and the heart of the baby. The name is also personal connection to my husband and me. I applied for a business bank account and deposited my personal savings into it. I went down to city hall and applied for my business license with my 4 month old daughter in arm; funny story, she spit up all over the desk as I was signing my business license. It was special having my daughter be a part of this journey because there was never a time she wasn’t with me. She sat on my lap while I did trainings online, she went to Santa Barabara with me while I attended a Maternal Mental Health training, she was with me at the bank when I made me deposit. Once I had my business license in hand, I found a office space to rent. Two weeks after I got the keys to my new office space, I put my notice in at my agency job. I never returned after maternity leave. I created a website, social media pages, went to doctor offices to try and bring client’s through my door. I had my first client in my office on 8/30/2019. I have been in private practice since August of 2019 and have maintained a full practice since January 2020.

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

I never thought I would be a therapist. Growing up, I always saw myself as a teacher, specifically Kindergarten. I went to Fresno State and got my Bachelors of Science in Child Development. During my undergrad, I worked for an after school program at an elementary school grades 3rd-5th. I loved working with children but found myself sitting one-on-one with students who seemed to be having a difficult time/were disengaged/shut-down, etc. It was through my experiences in the after school program that led me to the idea of school counseling. I got into the graduate program at Fresno State for the School Counseling program. I continued to work in the after school program and also worked as a substitute teacher at this time. During my first year of grad school I found myself intrigued by the clinical side of counseling and began speaking with my professors about a career path that would allow me to work with children but in a more clinical setting; this is where I learned about Marriage Family Therapist (MFT). I petitioned to switch counseling programs and was officially accepted into the MFT program. I completed my Masters Degree in MFT in 2013. From there, I worked in a school setting with children who were identified with “Emotional Disturbance”. After 6 months, I moved from Fresno to San Luis Obispo and began working for a mobile crisis team who supported youth in crisis (suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, and self-harm). We provided support 24/7 and would dispatch to peoples homes to conduct risk assessments and determine a treatment plan. I became a clinical supervisor and had a team I supported, but after 2 years, I moved back to Fresno. Doing crisis work was difficult for me I had to learn how to balance the emotional toll of being a therapist and taking care of myself. Lastly, I worked for an agency that provided services for families connected with the Department of Social Services. I continued to grow my specialties in anxiety, play therapy, infant mental health, depression, and so on. Once I got pregnant, I made the move into Private Practice where I became certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C). I currently offer individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, and children therapy. I provide therapy in-person and online via Zoom.

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

As a therapist, we are taught the foundations of how to be a therapist. This includes certain rules of how we should present ourselves. When I went into private practice, I began to notice that people who voluntarily come to therapy are seeking a safe place to work through their difficult feelings. I had to unlearn the rigid rules and expectations of being a therapist which can come off robotic and lacking emotion. I began practicing being myself, laughing with clients, crying with my clients, joking with them, and being more human. I believe this is why people feel so comfortable with me as their therapist and also tell their own friends and families to seek treatment with me.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I had less than 6 months to gather funds to open my business, I had just had a baby, and I was on maternity leave. My husband encouraged me to open my own business and that we would figure it out as we go along. I started putting money aside each month and had less than 2 months worth of savings when I got the keys to my new office. The pressure was on but I maintained a solid budget, and marketed myself as much as possible. My goal was to have 10 clients by 6 months and I met that goal within 3 months. Financially, it was difficult for the first 6 months but things began to even out. I always tell people that when your livelihood is on the line, you find a way to make it work. Most people would not quit a full time, salaried position with wonderful benefits with less than 2 months worth of money in savings and start a business from scratch. For me, it was absolutely worth it and I would do it all over again.

Contact Info:

• Website: doublehearttherapy.com
• Instagram: @doublehearttherapy