We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Kipp-Wright. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

There are many defining moments that I can think of in my professional career but the biggest might be a particular couple I supported early in my career. As a therapist you sometimes experience what they call “imposter syndrome”. Which means at any moment people are going to find out that you are a fraud and have no idea what you are doing. I had first met this couple when I worked with their young daughter to prepare for a serious, life altering surgery that she might not survive. Good news! All went well and she is healthy and thriving. The surgery and possible loss of a child took a toll on the couples marriage and when they first sat on my couch I thought I had met my first couple that would not make it and I would have to support them through a divorce. They could not communicate at all. One could not hear what the other was saying and one heard a hole bunch of stuff that the other wasn’t saying. It was a rough go and I had reached the end of all my tricks. There is a great couple, The Gottman’s, and they developed the Gottman Theory/Technique. They have an assessment that has one of the partners ask the other a question and then the other partner decides what they mean. For example one might ask “What’s for dinner?” and the other would say you mean, a. “What’s for dinner?”, b. “What the hell have you been doing all day, what’s for dinner?”, c. “Looks like you’ve had a really rough day, what can I cook us for dinner?” or d. “You haven’t made breakfast or lunch, what are the odds that you’re making dinner?” These two could not get one question correct. We went through almost every question, the longest I have spent on this exercise and a couple not figuring it out. Finally, we get to a question that I have never even seen before, because again people figure it out and we move on. The question was, “Are you going to take a shower?” and before I had a chance to look at the responses the wife says, “Oh my GOD, he wants to take a shower with me!!!!” The husband and wife begin to laugh as I am looking through the responses and it actually was one of the choices!? Then the husband says, “That’s exactly what I mean!”

We continued to meet and about four sessions later the couple entered my office smiling. They sat next to each other on the couch and he stroked her back. I couldn’t believe my eyes. As they began to speak I wasn’t quite processing the words. She said, “Emily, it’s all your fault.” He said, “We took a shower.” and then together they said, “we are pregnant!” As you can imagine it wasn’t smooth sailing after that, but it did completely change the relationship and they began to understand each other. We continued to work on the marriage and they were superstars! Nine months later a beautiful baby boy was born and they named him KIPPerman, after me of course!

Working with this couple gave me so much confidence. It was soon after that I opened my practice and wellness center and have not stopped learning and growing as a clinician. I am able and willing to accept any challenge that walks through the door.

Emily, 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 49 year-old Mom of four. I have been a Mom for more than half of my life and this is the most important job I have had. I also was a Motherless teen and I think that plays a huge role in how I parent and deciding to get into mental health. My first experience with a therapist was awful and I hope that no one ever has to endure what I did at seventeen. Our Mom had passed and our Dad insisted that we see a therapist. The therapist was male, cold, and very concerned if I was suicidal. His office was very clinical, hard chairs, and he gave me what seemed like a hundred assessments asking me about how sad I was. That was a short lived relationship. Fast forward to my twenties and realizing that losing my Mom did have a huge impact on my life I decided to find a therapist. This time it was a sweet woman whose office was an old house, she made me hot tea, and we sat in comfy chairs with pillows. There was a couch, rug, blankets, lamps instead of harsh lighting, and the office smelled like flowers. I felt safe, heard, and seen.

After my youngest went to preschool I returned to college to complete a degree in Psychology. Why? Well, I decided I didn’t want to be a teacher like I did when I was 18 and I wanted to be someone that others could confide in and support like my therapist did when I was 20 something. I graduated with a major in Psychology and a minor in Art and then went to get my Masters in Counseling. After getting my degree and was fully licensed I opened my practice/wellness center and haven’t stopped building and growing.

Anchored, my Wellness Center, provides counseling for all ages. We also provide coaching, meditation, hypnotherapy, art therapy, yoga, red light and PEMF treatments. We have a sauna, psychiatric nurse practitioner that can prescribe, and are always adding other modalities to our center. Anchored is a place that you can be supported in many ways and not have to travel all over town. Our team is a collaboration of the best in the business and we are a teaching center with interns in school and associates working towards their licenses. We are active in our community and partner with other agencies and professionals. Anchored was awarded Small Business of the Year 2022! This is after only being open for two short years.

My experience is in Psychiatric Hospitals. I felt that if I could work with some of the most mentally ill patients I could help anyone that walked through my door. After I graduated I did honeymoon at a few hospitals for experience and to help pay the bills while I was growing Anchored. After a horrible experience that one of my clients experienced at a facility I referred him to I took on a position at the hospital. I was frustrated with all the red tape and rules that didn’t help the patients. I saw first hand what is wrong with our mental healthcare system. After three months my heart couldn’t take anymore and I resigned. A few weeks later I opened Beacon Behavioral in Georgetown Texas. Beacon is an Outpatient Facility that provides Intensive Outpatient Programs and Partial Hospitalization Programs for those who might need more than a weekly therapy session or that have been discharged from an inpatient facility. Like Anchored we incorporate all the things! DBT is our main therapeutic modality, alongside art, yoga, red light, PEMF, brain tap, music, equine therapy, & more!

Anchored and Beacon are located on the Historic Georgetown Square at the Masonic Lodge on the third floor. You will see seas of blue, comfy couches, and inviting chairs. Smells of peppermint or lavender, coffee, teas, and plenty of space and privacy. We offer a space with no judgements, open minds, compassion, and we hear and see each and every one of our clients and support them the best that we can. We are not one person, we are a collaborative team ready to help others.

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

When I started Anchored I signed a 3 year lease on an old house that had room for six offices. I had gathered subleases from other colleagues to join in on my dream. I signed the lease on March 1, 2020. Well, we all know what happened in March of 2020 and every single one of my colleagues who signed a sublease backed out because they could zoom with clients from home. I decided I was going to beg and plead with the owners to let me move in with my family. At the time it was my husband, three kids in school, our lab, and cat. Surprisingly, they said yes! The kids were in what we called The Cottage, which had three bedrooms and they did virtual school from there. My husband set-up his business in the kitchen. We slept in one of the bedrooms in the main house and my office was in the front of the house. Austin, our lab stayed with the girls in the cottage and Oliver, my cat quickly became a therapy cat. I had a full client load and only a handful asked to go to zoom during COVID. Within two months I had painted every wall in the house some shade of blue, we fixed a few things including pocket doors from the early 1900’s. The owners were kind enough to offset some rent for the upgrades and repairs we did. By June we had to move out because every office was filled with clinicians! This is how Anchored became a Wellness Center. In March I only had counselors on my team, but by June we had therapy, massage, meditation, nutrition, and aesthetics. Anchored was just about the only place you could see people face to face. We had (& still do) clients driving from Belton, College Station, Kyle, everywhere to “see” us. People literally thought I was crazy and didn’t think there was anyway I could make it all work. We were so busy by year two we had to expand and lease more space! We now have everything in one place and have ten offices. Now if that’s not a pivot I don’t know what is!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

When building your clientele it’s all about the pipeline. In the beginning you need to hit the ground running and use all your energy to share your passion with others. Share your story, what makes you different, why should people refer to you or use your services? Talk to strangers! As a therapist I knew I needed to talk to everyone that wasn’t a therapist. I joined a Business Networking International group with other professionals. What’s neat about BNI is they only allow one of each profession in the group. I networked with realtors, doctors, teachers, insurance agents, pet sitters, wine sellers, make-up reps, you name it, I introduced myself. I also joined an all women’s networking group. I spoke at any and every event that I could. I rented a booth at local markets and introduced myself to people. I volunteered in my community and attended Chamber of Commerce events. My business is personal so I feel that human connection is best to build my clientele. People want to support other people, but sometimes they need to get to know you first. I perfected what they call my “elevator pitch” I never sold anything, I just told people what I could do. “Do you ever feel stressed? Headaches, back pain, low energy? Those are all things that I can help with.” or “Do you have a neighbor that always says “they’re fine”? We know that they’re not fine. Those are the people I want to help.” Once you are getting a steady flow of referrals you can’t stop. You must continue to be out in your community and talking to people. If you love what you do, believe in your self, you can share that with others and build a strong clientele and successful business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.becomeanchored.com www.beaconbehavioralgtx.com
• Instagram: @becomeanchored @beaconbehavioralgtx
• Facebook: becomeanchored Emily K Kipp-Wright, MA, LPC
• Linkedin: Emily Kipp-Wright M.A., LPC

Image Credits
Felicia Reed