We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Lindsay recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Lindsay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

COVID presented some unique challenges to me as a clinician, as it did for so many. I wanted to continue to treat people but also needed flexibility for my clients as well as my family. This led to the decision to open my own online practice. I had been working as a psychologist for the past 15 years prior to this point, and opening my own practice made me feel like a newbie all over again.
I realized quickly that to have a successful practice you have to successfully market yourself and be well versed in sales, something I had never had to do before, nor had been trained to do. I had worked directly with clients and had never had to worry about where they were coming from. I thought I could create an Instagram and people would fill my slots without a lot of work. Not only was that not the case, I was also navigating insurance in a way I never had to before.

I know those of us who go into the mental health field want to help, but a practice, at the end of the day, is a business, and it wasn’t until I started treating it like a business and running it as such, that things started to “work”. The only way I could help people was if I marketed successfully and helped new people to find my page. I took some courses to learn new skills, but ultimately I had to put myself out there in a way I never thought to do as the “blank-slate psychologist”.

Additionally, I realized that insurance really confined me to certain restrictions that I felt were not longer serving me or my clients. I made the decision to work in a different way (I use an app for regular communication instead of traditional therapy) and I became 100% cash pay. My practice is as far from a traditional practice you could get.

In the end, I’m happier than I have ever been. I love running my own practice and the flexibility it provides. I love the challenges it creates for me to think outside the box and be the best clinician I can be. I love the additional tools I have gained and how it has pushed me WAY outside of my comfort zone. I love being my own boss and being able to make decisions that work best for me and my clients.

My advice to any new and upcoming clinicians would be to learn basic business principals. Even if you don’t end up using them, I think they would have come in handy, even earlier in my career. Knowing that you have the tools to use them whenever you need is so invaluable.

Dr. Lindsay, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Dr. Lindsay Cavanagh. I am a psychologist and marriage expert who specializes in helping busy parents have stronger marriages. I’ve worked in a variety of specialities over the years (health, clinical, PTSD, child psych, substance abuse), and at the end of the day, it was always the quality of relationships that mattered the most. This was then confirmed with an 80 year longitudinal study from Harvard that found marriage/primary relationships to be the top predictor of happiness and health. I like to give my clients the best results possible in the fastest way possible, and marriage happiness is always the best way to do that.

Choosing to work with parents came from my own struggles in my marriage after having children and the lack of personal knowledge in how to battle the systemic stress that is placed on marriages after having kids. Parenting can be a challenge and I want to make it has wonderful for people as possible while giving the next generation of children wonderful role models for what healthy relationships look like.

I work with my clients in a unique way. Instead of traditional therapy, I use an app that allows for unlimited voice or text message and I respond with 24 hours during the week. Marriage doesn’t happen once ever two weeks on an appointment so I want to be able to work with my clients more regularly to actually bring change. I also have separate conversations with each partner so we aren’t unintentionally damaging each other by having conversations before being ready to have them. This method has led to much faster results. I work with my clients using 3 month packages, again with unlimited communication with me during that time.

Ultimately, I want to help my clients have a stronger marriage that feels more like a partnership. I want to help my clients develop systems for how they manage the mental load in a way that feels equitable and supportive. My clients feel more validated, seen, and appreciated.

You can find my online practice Married After Kids at www.marriedafterkids.com or on Instagram @marriedafterkids and I have a podcast called Married After Kids that releases weekly episodes with practical tips for how to have a stronger marriage. I seek to eliminate as many barriers to getting results as possible. I also offer a free Married After Kids Intervention Call that has us meeting on Zoom for 30 minutes and leaving knowing the exact ways I would intervene to have a stronger marriage. I’m always happy to hear from new or existing clients!

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

The main lesson that I had to unlearn was that I should be a blank slate. Working as a psychologist, it was drilled in early on that I am the blank slate and I create the environment from which clients can have a corrective emotional experience. The problem with this for me is research also shows that the relationship the clinician has with the client is also one of the most pivotal aspects in terms of seeing results from therapy. The only way that I can truly and authentically form that relationship is if I am myself.

This doesn’t mean that I tell clients what to do or insert my beliefs on them, but it does mean that I get to be a good psychologist and HAVE BELIEFS. I get to be a full human with opinions and flaws and everything in between.

It is very hard to market yourself as a blank slate. I find that I am a better business owner and better clinician when I am true to myself, despite what was drilled in me for years during graduate school.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was fresh out of graduate school, I was big into health psychology. I loved working in doctor’s offices and hospitals and introducing people to mental health for the first time in a non-threatening way. I also inadvertently fell in love with someone in the military and found myself moving every 2.5 years.

It is hard to build a career and establish something great when you are starting over every 2.5 years. Traditional therapy and traditional jobs didn’t work for me. I had to find something that fit with our lifestyle instead of the other way around. Starting my online practice was the answer to that.

I love that I found something that allows me to do what I love while also fitting with my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marriedafterkids.com
• Instagram: @marriedafterkids