We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Danesha Deloatch. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Danesha below.
Danesha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?
Training to become a mental health professional is an extensive journey! I am an alumna of Valdosta State University. To be a therapist, first, you acquire your bachelor’s degree and then your master’s degree. Before graduation, you need a minimum of 500 direct clinical hours to graduate. This is completed at student training called practicum and internships. I had the valuable experience I went to a university that had its own fully operating clinic that we trained in, called FamilyWorks. Once you graduate you pay to take the national exam to get your associate license (also depending on the state you plan to get your license in, an additional oral and/or ethics exam), then you continue to gain hours to obtain your full independent license which can be another 2500 hours (or more depending on the states). So that is about 2-3 years post-graduation of required supervised clinical work. Our post-graduate clinical work supervision is also not free, so we pay between $50-200 an hour depending on: our supervisor, specialty, and the type of supervision – per week. I would like to point out that our internships and training are not paid, unlike other professions that are paid for their residences. I bring this up because it is an investment to enter the field, and it is not inexpensive. Once licensed you must pay yearly CEUs (continuing education units) to renew and maintain licensure on top of a license renewal fee. Also, each specialty you have is additional supervised training and possible exams/credentials. There is a heap of things therapists must pay for out of pocket to be able to enter and stay in the field. This does not get enough recognition in my opinion the dues we as providers pay to simply enter the field, and stay in the field. It can be a barrier for some, but the process results in highly skilled professionals. That is what training generally details.
Specifically, in my graduate experience, one thing I admire about my training was we had a cohort model and my graduate program is the strong support and alumni network. Ever since I graduated, I stay connected to my cohort and graduate professors. I remember I went to a national conference, and we had our little meet-up spot if we were not in session we would meet there and network and grab food which was nice because other programs did not have that connection. Another anecdote of my program was having our own student clinic we had we called a reflection team. We had a two-way mirror in which we were able to be uniquely trained. We were able to conduct sessions and have our supervisors (with consent of course) watch our sessions live and give us feedback. We recorded our sessions this way and had our classmates role-play and watch us. There is so much value in being able to receive live feedback when being trained. The training is in-depth but outside of the academic portion during the process, you learn a tremendous amount about yourself. One of my favorite things was conducting and presenting research was fun and a great way to network. I conducted research with veterans on PTSD and hypnosis and patterns of post-deployment reintegration. This led me to start a support group for veterans which started my military work. One of my favorite things was conducting and presenting research was fun and a great way to network. I conducted research with veterans on PTSD and hypnosis and patterns of post-deployment reintegration. This led me to start a support group for veterans which started my military work.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Absolutely, I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and I am licensed to practice in Georgia and the State of Washington. I was born in New York at a military base, but I was raised and lived in Georgia. I have always had a high admiration for those in the armed forces and their family and wanted to be able to support those who protect us. I am the daughter, (great) niece, cousin, and friend of a veteran. I am a federal worker delivering mental health services to active-duty personnel and it is such an honor. As far as being an entrepreneur, I own my private practice, Breaking Barriers Therapeutic Services, PLLC. I provide virtual therapy for individuals, couples, and families. I am trained in pre-marital counseling and perinatal/post-partum mental health care and military families. To be candid, owning a mental health practice was something I did not want to do initially. The risk of not having health benefits, not having a consistent income, and the uncertainty of stability was a risk I did not have the desire to take on. My talents and career took me to many places and as I moved around, I noticed many people say they have not met or known a Black Therapist. Being from Atlanta, it is diverse, there is a handful of us, so – it was rather shocking. As I moved around for work for – almost a year – when people found out what I did; they suggested I open a practice. The demand was high for people seeking a therapist who looked like them and to whom they could relate to. Many people from my community do not seek mental health so the fact people were asking for services and seeking a provider, I did not take that lightly at all. Historically, my community is strong, and resilient and does not seek help. In the south, we are taught just pray about it, keep our personal business in-house, and be strong Black Men and Women, those notations are harming us and can create barriers for people seeking help. Subsequently, the pandemic hit, and we already know the disparities in the black community with healthcare and the lack of trust in the system followed by all the racial turmoil. With all these occurrences it was no longer a question if the risk of running a business was worth it or if it was a need that I was capable of filling it was no question in my call to fill that need. I am honored to have a practice I can serve clients who in the past could not seek services due to biases and disparities in a field we were not represented in before. To me, that is not only Breaking Barriers in my community but within a field where there are not many of us. The stigma around mental health in my community, is slowly, changing and I am proud that my passion to help others intersects with a need of the world and I am a part of that change. I can fill a need bigger than myself; and if that is not an honor, I am not sure what is. Being a vessel for people to be heard, seen, understood, and to heal is an honor. I am also passionate about people entering the field and love meeting with students and mentoring them. I have spoken at universities and given supervision to those on their journey. I have a passion for working with underserved populations and the military and mental health care is often stigmatized or misunderstood, I am fortunate to not have a job, but a career that is bigger than myself.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
Something I read that stuck with me is our purpose is at the intersection of where our greatest joys also fill a greater need in the world. When we have the ability or gift to fill a need, we have a purpose. I think about the needs of my community. The stigma around mental health in my community, is slowly, changing and I am proud that my passion to help others intersections with a need in the world of healing. I am not sure what other area that intersection would cross. I always knew I wanted to work in healthcare because the part of my family that was not military were all healthcare providers. Now, there was a stent where I wanted to be an aerospace engineer myself and my dad went off on a road trip, he drove me to NASA to tour spaceships and enrolled me at engineering Summer Camp at Georgia Tech; just for me to learn, I do not like math. As much as I love aviation and aircraft, I often think about the statement I made earlier. While aviation is exciting does it intersect a great world need, I have gifts to carry out. My math homework suggested, no. Where I have the privilege that my passion intersects with a need it is hard for me to picture doing something outside of the health field unless it’s program management and research to improve the field of mental health.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Four Things: self-care, boundaries, support, and curiosity are intersectional for success.
When I first started obtaining my supervision hours, I thought my first day we would be going over modalities or licensure exam prep, but no, we did self-care. I was perplexed. my supervisor was telling me after sessions, she would have a nail appointment, or a facial, or just something to pour into her and I was like okay, so what about this exam – spa days sound nice or whatever. My supervisor was a woman I looked up to and respected and she was successful in the field so I went with it. I was required to complete and self-care plan and tracker. I also had to report each month something I did for self-care and to keep track I made and list on my phone. It became a habit and to this day I have a set schedule self-care routine. People underestimate the emotional toll it takes to be a mental health provider; as with anyone in a caregiving career. It changed my life to have a set day each pay period that is MINE. Your biggest commitment must always be yourself; you cannot be present for anyone or run a business burned out. My standing self-care time is a nonnegotiable which leads to my next point of support.
Secondly, people forget, therapists are human first and therapist is a title. It is not who we are, but what we do. People tend to think therapists do not need support or have it all together. Being a therapist is a heavy emotional workload, we spend hours sitting with clients and making space for their most intimate moments. We need support, understanding and to be asked how we’re doing like everyone else. Therapists need support groups, consult groups, and their own therapists! Therapists are natural healers and caretakers and to be successful we must be mindful of our thresholds. Which leads to the point of having good boundaries. Boundaries are needed to be an entrepreneur. All opportunities are not good opportunities for me, so I carefully consider what I place on my plate and if it aligns with my missions and values. Often, I see other therapists burning out because they are taking on everything and those things may not be their assignment. I truly believe the people I am meant to heal and the projects that are my assignment, will always be for me and always cross my path when it is time for that assignment. Therapists to prevent burn out need robust boundaries. Often time I see therapists straying from their fee, and contract or just squeezing in just one more appointment which comes with a cost.
We see it a lot in our field see where providers will be requested to negotiate their prices. No one walks into Target or their primary care and asked for a discount or free services but that is a common concept for therapists and many therapists will do it out of compassion and caregiving. We as a profession have to stand by our boundaries.
Lastly, curiosity – a lot of people think the “work” of a provider is the 45-60 minutes we are with the client. But it’s not, each client includes the notes, the consulting, treatment planning, the continuing learning of new modalities, and the documentation. Time before and after a session is given to clients. This matters because we are constantly learning to be effective business practices of ethical and new clinical practices. I am naturally an inquisitive person and working with behaviors and the mind is an analytic process. This process is built on one of my biggest values, education. As therapists, we are always learning and obtaining new knowledge, about ourselves, our clients, and the world around us. We work with people from all walks of life and the more we open our minds up to differences and experiences the more we can relate to others. The more we relate the more we can build a bond and the better the bonds the more we can work and health our clients. I love to travel (self-care) because I am learning about different cultures and ways of living and redefining that subjective norm. That helps me practice. I know a ton of random information on a plethora of topics because I like researching and it always amazes me when I can relate to someone just because I randomly learned about stuff. Never stop learning, the day a person thinks they know it all or have experienced it, they can easily become complacent. Once we stop learning, we stop growing, we become complacent. To be a therapist is to be constantly learning about ourselves, and everyone we encounter, and a never-ending process for transformation for both.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ddbreakingbarriers.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breakingbarrierstherapeutic/
Image Credits
Jamal Deloatch, Peach City Photography