We were lucky to catch up with Jenna Newton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jenna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I sat on the idea of opening my private practice for quite a while. I knew I had outgrown who I was working for and needed to make a change but the dive into establishing a practice came with so many doubts and unknowns. While my Fiance was encouraging and supportive of me starting my private practice, it was something I needed to decide on my own timeline in order for me to fully commit. This is actually very similar to my work with clients and recognizing the importance of allowing them to come up with answers and changes for themselves!
Some of the key challenges were learning all of the steps that went into legally opening a business, deciding whether or not to take insurance, taxes and deductibles and recognizing where I could and needed to outsource. It felt challenging and overwhelming at times, in addition to the unknown of how successful I would be at obtaining and retaining clients, specifically my ideal client.
Knowing what I know now, I am so happy and proud I took the plunge. If you’re interested in establishing a practice of your own, I advise you to create a check-list ahead of time and budget for associated expenses. I’d recommend connecting with a person, group or community who has done it before and who would be willing to offer their knowledge, resources and support. Depending on your financial needs, it can be extremely helpful to begin seeing clients part-time on the side of your full-time work. This can allow you to get a feel for your business and begin building your caseload with less concerns about financial stability.
And finally, I think it’s so important to be yourself. One of the most beautiful things about private practice, in my experience, is the freedom of time and getting to work with your ideal population. Being your authentic self instead of trying to replicate what has been done and what you think people want to see is crucial to feeling fulfilled in your work.
Jenna, 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?
Hello! My name is Jenna and I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. I work via Telehealth with clients providing individual therapy using various evidenced based practices, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Most recently I have begun incorporating Internal Family Systems and Somatic Therapy techniques to further help my clients, especially those that have experienced trauma. My specialties include anxiety, perfectionism, self-worth, depression, stress, relationships and life transitions and areas I am actively learning, applying and growing in include trauma and how nutrition impacts our mental health.
I got into this field after my own struggles with mental health. I didn’t have a great experience in therapy the first go-around and looking back, I can recognize it was in large part because I felt uncomfortable, unseen and unheard. Through psychology courses in high school, I found a passion to learn about mental health and what makes us who we are and that continued throughout undergrad, graduate school and to this day. I think my history of struggles helps me relate to and understand clients on a deeper level, despite each of us having our own unique stories. I understand beyond the surface level feelings of anxiety, depression and worthlessness and strategies that may be unhelpful in the long-term.
I have worked in a variety of therapy settings including inpatient, outpatient, intensive outpatient and EAP before pursuing Calm Solutions Therapy, LLC as my private practice. My practice is based on empathy, collaboration and problem-solving. I consider myself down to earth and enjoy using humor in sessions, when appropriate of course. I hope therapy is a transformative experience for you and one that you’ll look forward to each week. I firmly believe I do not have all the answers, nor am I supposed to. I believe my work is to help guide my clients to discover the answers for themselves through creating an open, safe space to been seen, heard and understood.
I am proud of the work I’ve done on myself which has allowed me to be where I am. More than anything, I am proud of the clients I have had the opportunity to work with and feel extremely grateful when my experience, knowledge and personality meshes with a client, and for their choosing me.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Other than training/knowledge (which is never-ending!) I think having a network and support system is crucial for succeeding in this field. This is a very unique career and it’s invaluable to have friends and/or colleagues who can relate, give advice and support. For example, I’m currently partaking in a trauma course with a fellow colleague and friend where we have weekly calls to discuss the material and any cases we may be needing support around. Working with a supervisor and/or supervision group has been a very important part of my growth through hearing other perspectives, techniques and sometimes even just getting validation of how difficult this work can be at times, especially in the beginning stages of your career.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
As a recovering perfectionist, one of the lessons I’ve had to unlearn is that striving for perfection is both unrealistic and more of a set-back than anything. Perfectionism would often lead me to feel paralyzed and avoid taking action. If I didn’t know the full scope of what had to be done, it would be hard to get started due to fear of not being good enough and difficulties dealing with that uncertainty. In my mind, perfectionism was protection. In my own work and the work I’ve done with clients, I’ve recognized that of course none of us are perfect, but also the imperfections we do have can often be the most lovable parts about ourselves if we allow ourselves to be fully seen by safe people. I think of the type of people I’m attracted to in friendships, relationships, clientele and mentors and those are people who have stumbled along the way, admit to mistakes, show vulnerability and keep on going.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.calmsolutionstherapy.com/
- Instagram: calmsolutionstherapy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-newton/
Image Credits
Charan Bashir