We recently connected with Ja’Nay Bankston and have shared our conversation below.

Ja’Nay, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

I can’t remember the exact moment I decided that I would open my own practice, I just felt it was a natural progression to that point. I’ve always been very comfortable in supportive roles and staying “behind the scenes” my entire career so the moment that decision came to me was surprising. I had been working in a group practice for a couple of years now where I was successful, growing as a therapist, and I had little to complain about. I was finally doing clinical social work, I genuinely loved my supervisor and team, I had great life-work balance, and had so much opportunity for growth. My life demands were changing and I developed a bigger appetite for my ambitions and I thought “Hey I can do this!” and that terrified me. Why would I risk giving up stability for something risky and more challenging? As insecure as I was, I just made one tiny step after the other, following the voice that kept saying, “forward.” It started with preparing for and passing my licensing exam, then the hardest thing I had to do was say goodbye to my team, my supervisor who had been with me all along, and saying farewell to some of my clients. I was also saying goodbye to comfort and stability. Laying the foundation of my practice went so fast it was a blur, I recall registering my business with the state, feeling like I had blinked and then scheduling my first session under JB Wellness LLC. Building a caseload was challenging, making sure that I was checking all the boxes was hard, but the most challenging thing was that I was alone in all the decision making. It’s always difficult doing something that you’ve never done before and if I could do it differently with the knowledge I have now, I’m sure I’d be further. My advice to young professionals considering starting their own practice is to be bold and audacious in asking and in learning.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a licensed clinical social worker who owns and operates a 100% virtual mental health practice based out of Cleveland, Ohio. I get to wake up most days doing what I love. Very early on, I knew I wanted to make a career out of serving the public. I may have been a bit misguided in my youth, deciding between several careers ranging from weather forecaster to nurse, but I ultimately found my perfect match in social work. I decided on social work before I even got to campus but establishing a social work career in mental health came after my own experience with mental health. Now being a psychotherapist who also intersects social work and business ownership, I combine my personal experience with my professional experience to bring hope and healing to people who look just like me. Healing looks different across communities, specifically BIPOC communities. My practice prioritizes the BIPOC population by offering culturally relevant care with their racial and ethnic identities in mind. Our communities heal through community, story telling, cuisine, dance, and artistic expression. It was important to me to incorporate these traditions into the foundation of my private practice. In social work, we have a saying, “meet the client where they are at,” I believe that is what sets my work apart. The field of mental health thrives because of diversity, diversity in interventions, therapeutic style, and professional backgrounds. Mental health clinicians from all disciplines get to personalize their therapeutic style which also clients to have a tailored experience. I collaborate with clients to treat anxiety related disorders, depression, and inner turmoil. Together we can work through interpersonal conflict, intimacy disorders, and insecurity. Together we can work towards self-discovery, inner harmony, and clarity.

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

I had to unlearn that acceptance by others isn’t a strong indicator of how successful, worthy, or valuable you are. You will hear plenty of “No’s” before landing the right opportunity, and even then that does no guarantee a “seat at the table.” I still value and believe in the power of community and networking, I wouldn’t be successful without the support. But the devastation I would feel of rejection is definitely a phase I wish I had skipped. I would let a single “no” in a sea of “yes’s” make me question myself. Someone gave me the advice that stuck with me and that was “go where you are celebrated” and I offer that to anyone who needs to hear.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’ve been fortunate to retain a large percentage of my clientele and I’m grateful for that. I know I may not be the best therapist, the most skillful, or experienced. But I do love what I do and I am passionate about the success of my clients. I approach every single session with gratitude, bringing my most authentic self to therapy and encouraging clients to do the same. I believe what has helped my reputation the most is the quality of care of I offer clients from the beginning and end of their process.

Contact Info:

• Website: jbwellness.clientsecure.me
• Instagram: @jbwellnesscle
• Facebook: facebook.com/bewellCLE
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/janaybankston