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

Elyce, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.

When I was working for Child Welfare Services, also known as Child Protective Services, I had the MOST amazing and supportive boss. The job in and of itself was incredibly hard but this boss really made my time working for that agency a better experience. I was new into the social work field and this particular boss really saw the best in me and helped to maximize my strengths. He was my biggest cheerleader and always had my back. He was an excellent example of holding me accountable while also supporting me. Truly, so much of my growth as a professional in this field is because of the positive impact he had on me and his ability to see my leadership qualities.

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?

How I got into the field:

I am a social worker and licensed therapist. I always had an interest in going into the “helping field” but was not certain what that would look like following college. Then one day I was sitting in a psychology class my junior year of undergrad when somebody from CPS (child protective services) came to speak to our class. I was immediately inspired and interested in learning more about working with their agency. I shortly after began to volunteer with them, which led to a decision to get my masters in social work.

For over a decade now I’ve been professionally working as a social worker, but to be honest, my unofficial “therapizing career” began way before that with my Barbies, friends, and family. In many ways, as cliche’ as it sounds, the mental health field found me. When I was 10, my mom died by suicide. Losing her to suicide has driven me towards this career and the loss has continued to shape who I am as a professional and as a person.

I worked for Child Protective Services for 5 years, primarily doing investigative work. Then, went into school social work for 5 years at a high school. Then, in the last year I have gone full time into private practice and own my private practice therapy business, The Therapy Co. I primarily work with high-achieving women who struggle with challenges related to: anxiety, mild to moderate depression, life transitions, loss of someone by suicide, and trauma. In addition to therapy, I also train people (both people in the field and not) on suicide in a way that people have found to be really helpful and practical. I also have a merchandise brand, “big empathy energy®” that spreads positive messaging around empathy. The message on the back of the sweatshirts reads, “Empathy connects us. It’s what helps me to understand you, & you to understand me. Let’s cultivate a world where empathy is embraced & compassion isn’t compromised. Empathy looks good on all of us.” You can see this on my shop website www.thetherapyco.shop. I also recently began hosting therapist meet-up events to bring community together and connect those of us in this field.

I am a therapist, yes, but I am also just another human being who also struggles with her own sh!t too. I’m also a wife, mom, daughter, friend. Outside of sessions I am probably drinking a London fog tea latte, spending time with my family, or taking a million photos. I love pilates, watching reality TV (judge all you want), browsing the Target dollar section for things I don’t need, and listening to all kinds of music (definitely some Bruce Springsteen & Taylor Swift). I have probably 20 started, but unfinished journals, a stack of unread books sitting on my desk, and am excellent at productively procrastinating. I’m big on creating memories and cultivating nostalgia (hence the millions of photos I am taking) and I save everything I find meaningful.

My mission is to shake things up and redefine what it means to go to therapy. What I want people to know about me is the relatability factor. It’s why so many of my clients come to me. They find me on social media and feel that I will be a real human sitting in front of them — not just another “blank slate” therapist who nods a lot and says things like, “And how does that make you feel?”. I got into this field because of how much I care about people and I value and prioritize the relationship with my clients very much.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first got into the field in 2013 (when I graduated with my MSW), I really thought CPS would be my career for a long time and potentially forever. At the time, I had no interest in ever changing careers and definitely not in ever going into private practice or owning my own business.

The challenges I experienced working in the public sector (Child Protective Services and education) hold a lot of “both/and” truths. They were both challenging AND also, were both what helped me to grow and push me to open my business. I learned and grew SO much as a person and professionally from my 10 years of experience in the public sector. Because of the challenges I experienced during each of those jobs, I was driven to pivot to something else. Each pivot has come with its own set of challenges, but also has allowed me to live a life that I WANT to live. I had to take risks in order to pivot, but I am so grateful that I did.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I don’t always subscribe to sayings like, “everything happens for a reason”, but I do believe in finding meaning in our experiences and radically accepting them for what they are. And while we aren’t often responsible for the hard things we go through, we do have a responsibility in our own healing journey. This is the mindset I have when it comes to trauma for others and for myself. While losing my mom to suicide as a kid was absolutely the most devastating and challenging thing I have ever experienced, I also have developed more resiliency as a result.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thetherapyco.org/ and https://thetherapyco.shop/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetherapyco_/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyce-mandich-msw-lcsw-ppsc-c-dbt-6960301b3/

Image Credits

Alysha Miller