We were lucky to catch up with Carissa Gustafson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carissa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

As a psychologist who specializes in women’s and maternal mental health, the advice I find myself giving most often is for women to own their anger and use it to advocate for themselves.

Women are often socialized to engage in people pleasing or raised to play the peace keeper in their family system.

These kinds of behaviors often come at a cost to women’s mental health.

My favorite way of thinking about anger is not just that it is protective and arises when our boundaries or rights have been violated, but that it is a form of self-love.

I have worked with countless women who minimize or invalidate their anger due to fear or avoidance, which results in a failure to protect or advocate for themselves in some way.

If I have one message for people, it is that your anger is valid and that you have the right to voice your feelings and needs.

Carissa, 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 am a licensed clinical psychologist and author. I wrote the book Reclaim Your Life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in 7 weeks. I am a huge proponent of acceptance and commitment therapy or ACT, which helps people who are struggling with things like depression and anxiety learn skills, such as mindfulness and compassion, to find freedom from suffering and engage more fully in their life.

Using ACT, an evidence-based therapy, I help clients learn how to become aware of their thoughts without attachment, open to their emotions without judgment, and engaged in their life in a way that reflects their values.

I see clients as a part of Headship Psychological Services at Village Birth.

I work predominantly with high achieving women and mothers. After becoming a mother myself, I sought advanced training and certification in perinatal mental health (PMH-C) from postpartum support international (PSI).

I especially enjoy working with women who are trying to conceive, experiencing reproductive challenges, navigating high-risk pregnancies, have experienced pregnancy loss, birth trauma, and/or a PMAD such as postpartum depression and/or postpartum anxiety.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met Dr. Lauren Cook after being invited to attend the opening of Village Birth’s new location. I was amazed to learn that such a wonderful place existed and so grateful to connect with Dr. Cook. She has been such a pleasure to work with. In addition to our shared interest in perinatal psychology, we also both went to Pepperdine University and are authors!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I think the most effective strategy for growing your clientele is to connect with others who have a shared passion. Becoming a part of the community at Village Birth has helped me connect with the clients I am most passionate about serving.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heartshippsychologicalservices.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.carissagustafson/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcarissagustafson
• Other: https://a.co/d/bByOMj2

Image Credits

Gina Petro