Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jacqueline Leavitt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jacqueline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?
My entire career was beautifully shaped and powerfully influenced by my last internship in physical therapy school. During my final six-week internship at a women’s health and pediatric facility in Fort Worth, Texas, my clinical supervisor asked me to put my hands on a 16-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. I explained that I felt a gentle rocking motion toward his head and then toward his feet. Surprised and impressed, she said that I had a gift and encouraged me to continue learning CranioSacral Therapy (CST). My first class out of graduate school was a craniosacral class. In the class I recall someone asking, “how do you know if you are feeling the craniosacral rhythm?” I was turned off at the time by the teacher’s answer, “you just have to trust your hands”. My left-sided brain had a challenging time accepting this vague response. But I went into the clinic where I was working and practiced my new techniques with every single client. Blown away with the results, they would say their back pain had gone away or other symptoms like headaches had resolved. Several young women who hadn’t been getting their periods had their menstrual cycles return or improve. I thought, “there must be something to this.”
These experiences eventually led me to study more advanced classes in CST (including SomatoEmotional Release) to dive deeper into the areas where we hold trauma, and to delve extensively into Visceral Manipulation. I have assisted countless classes in both CST and all levels of the Visceral Manipulation program. I feel blessed to have had the most amazingly skilled, kind, loving, and wise mentors who helped me believe in me even before I believed in me.
This has been a tremendous journey of personal growth and healing, which I believe has enabled me to be more clear, available, and present with every client that shows up. I would highly recommend taking on internships, apprenticeships, or classes in something you’re passionate about, finding mentors, and really getting to know yourself. Doing your own work and healing will positively impact you professionally, as well as personally. Do things to support yourself emotionally, physically, and spiritually to help you become the best version of yourself and truly be of service.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As a licensed physical therapist and healer with almost 25 years in the field, I find and release energetic, emotional, and/or physical blockages to create more freedom and adaptability in my clients’ bodies. I practice holistically to discover the root of my clients’ concerns and help them connect more deeply to the messages of their bodies. The body has an incredible innate wisdom and naturally wants to be in equilibrium. I love that together, we can create emotional, physical, and often even spiritual shifts. My primary modalities are CranioSacral Therapy, a non-invasive, subtle touch to balance the nervous system, and Visceral Manipulation, finding connective tissue restrictions around organs that may be contributing to a musculoskeletal issue. The body stores emotional, physical and/or environmental trauma, starting as early as in utero. Releasing these restrictions can have astounding results. Some incredible outcomes include: a client canceling knee surgery; significantly shifting the behavior of a four-year-old boy diagnosed with sensory seeking autism; enabling newborn colicky babies to latch and breastfeed properly; resolving decades-long, severe musculoskeletal and neurological pain; balancing women’s menstrual cycles; and helping women to conceive. In supporting numerous people with what some would call “miracles”, I have the deep honor of witnessing and holding the space for these transformations daily.
I most often see my clients for one hour at my home loft space in Santa Monica, and I also provide a house call if necessary. I have a bicoastal practice and travel to NYC a few times a year. Remote sessions are an option in some cases for those living outside of Los Angeles.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Without a doubt, my most effective strategy in growing my clientele has been through personal recommendations and word-of-mouth. By developing an expertise in my field, sharing my passion for what I do with others, and creating a strong referral network, I’ve been able to grow my business without advertising. I didn’t even have a website for 18 years!
My mentor in NYC many years ago once said to me, “You will never need to advertise. You can get clients wherever you go, even on the subway!” I love to share what I do with people who are interested – at dinner parties, at coffee shops, even clothes shopping. I walk through the world with a strong sense that I can help people with their healing. I share what I have to offer, but I also listen to their needs. I am never attached to whether someone decides to see me. I make the offering and let it go.
Due to my unconventional approach to healing, I didn’t think most western medical doctors would often refer to me. I had to find a different way of drawing in clients. In the beginning of my career, I exchanged many sessions with yoga therapists, massage therapists, Pilates instructors, psychotherapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, personal trainers, mediation teachers, and others. We all need a team of support in our healing journeys, and I knew I needed to connect with other health professionals to create a referral network. Everyone in my network wanted to be of service. It is not just about acquiring clients; it’s about helping my clients to feel fully supported. Creating a network of trusted practitioners further deepens my clients’ trust in me and further supports their healing.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2002, a year after 9/11, I had this brave idea to move from Los Angeles, where I had grown up, to New York City, a city I had only visited maybe two or three times. Not too long after moving there, and only a year out of physical therapy school, I got the perfect job – my dream job! Only a ten-minute walk from my five-floor walk-up in SoHo, I was hired at a small orthopedic physical therapy (PT) practice, where I had free reign to incorporate my women’s health, CranioSacral Therapy, and Visceral Manipulation techniques to basically treat however I wanted. I felt so blessed. But after a year, I was let go. My boss said he couldn’t afford to pay me anymore. Devastated, I applied to several other PT practices and got hired for a few hours here and there, but nothing was available full time. Feeling discouraged, my mentor in NYC suggested I start my own practice. I quickly fought him on it, “I am only a year out of PT school and I don’t know how to start a business. How can I be responsible for my clients? I don’t know enough.” Every single insecurity I had about being a solo practitioner and starting “my own thing” got activated. But I gave it a shot and started seeing a few people in my tiny apartment, charging them very little. I took a little time for myself to figure out how I could really take on what felt like the scariest and biggest undertaking of my life. I found a friend to help me create a business plan and found an affordable treatment room very close by to rent. I quickly took more continuing education classes and had a study group with my mentor to give me extra support. Completely transparent with my part-time jobs about having a private practice, I was able to maintain them as an independent contractor. After about a year, I had a thriving business. A few years after that, I met my financial goals (which had felt impossible just a few years prior). I never looked back. After five and a half years in private practice in NYC, I moved back to Los Angeles and built up my business here. Quite honestly, it took me longer to rebuild in LA. The number of clients ebbs and flows, just as it did in New York, and I use the slower times to take extra care of myself and trust the divinity of it all. I believe in the phrase “everything happens for us not to us”. Getting let go from my job in NYC was absolutely a blessing in disguise.
Contact Info:
- Website: Jacquelineleavitt.com
- Instagram: Lovetoleavittate
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackie.leavitt.56?mibextid=9R9pXO
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-leavitt?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Image Credits
Ethan Woldenberg