We were lucky to catch up with Julia Harper recently and have shared our conversation below.
Julia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The focus of my work is changing brains and minds using the science of neuroplasticity. What I know for sure is that no change happens unless the brain and mind are prompted to do so through the mechanism of discomfort. And, what’s more uncomfortable than taking a risk? So, to ‘walk my talk’, I often find myself living on the edges of things, taking risk, whether it’s with my personal style, with new experiences and MOST especially in my professional life.
One of my most memorable risk-taking moments was when I decided to change how I approached therapy. I was unsatisfied and frankly uncomfortable with the traditional therapy model of working on symptoms and seeing clients on average 2 times a week for 1 hour. I didn’t think it was effective and I had no interest in continuing to be a part of it. When I decided to change to a brain-based intensive model, focusing on changing the brain using a model of specificity and intensity, there were few if any others doing so and it was beyond risky to abandon the known, safe, traditional route to go towards what I knew both what the science and my heart was saying. EVERYONE advised against it. I was told I would lose my business and that ‘no one would pay me to do intensives’.
Today, that risk has paid off! Our center is world renown, attracting clients from every corner and continent. We are in the only stand-alone private multi-disciplinary practice that meets the needs of children, adults and families struggling with Processing Disorders. This only happened because of the willingness to take the chance to change. To change what I knew needed changing. I took the risk of following the science, following my truth and ignoring the nay-sayers because I know no change happens unless we are willing to put ourselves out there and take a chance.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
ABOUT ME
I like to challenge myself to live to my highest potential; to move my life beyond limitations- perceived or real. Whether it’s pushing myself to complete my first triathlon or building my businesses, I’ve always wanted to be the best that I could be. My path first led me to study the brain. I hold a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy. For over 20 years, my work has been to use the science of neuroplasticity to create interventions that would tap into the brain’s ability to change once stimulated accurately and precisely. Creating the H.O.P.E. Method is one of my greatest accomplishments. The H.O.P.E. Method delivers life-changing gains in the brains of children and adults around the world. It also pushes the boundaries of my profession in terms of how services are delivered.
Not one to ‘rest on my laurels,’ I next challenged myself to obtain my Ph.D. in Psychology. I have since supplemented this degree with multiple Master Coaching Certifications. The goal was to deeply study the mind and develop tools to use the science of neuroplasticity to train minds to move beyond limiting behavior patterns. To accomplish this goal, I created the W.A.Y. Method. The W.A.Y. Method is an evidence-based method that we have successfully integrated with the H.O.P.E Method to change both the brains and minds of our clients. Every day I face challenges, yet I am confident that I can overcome them, and I push my clients to see themselves and live the same way. The brain and mind are powerful tools, and when tapped into properly to be maximized, living a BIG, BOLD life is possible.
THERAPIST
Over 20 years ago, I began helping children with developmental disabilities as an Occupational Therapist. My interest in neuroplasticity led me to create a program called the H.O.P.E. Method. The H.O.P.E. Method is a neurodevelopmental approach to therapy based on the principles of brain development. This method provides professionals a framework upon which to build clinical reasoning to treat clients. It gives parent and their families a clear path to positive therapy outcomes. The incredible results we saw with the children led us to expand. Adults would ask, ‘can this help me too? I used to have the same issues as a child, and I’m still struggling, can H.O.P.E. work for me? Is it too late?’ Because neuroplasticity is available throughout the lifespan, the answer is YES.
I worked with my first adult client 15 years ago, and to this day, she sends me an annual update to thank me and to let me know how her work with me is still changing her life. Since then, countless others have experienced the benefit of the brain rewiring effects of the H.O.P.E. Method. Working with adults, I learned that limitations might not only exist in the brain that needs to be rewired, but they can also come from the mind that needs to re-trained. To address both aspects, we created our sister method, the W.A.Y. (What About You) Method. Together both methods have been integrated as a brain-building and mind training system that uses neuroplasticity to make lasting changes in the brains and minds of our clients; allowing them to break away from limitations in skills and behavior that impedes their ability to function at their best in any and all areas of their lives.
COACH
Re-training the mind to work FOR us, that’s important! Identifying how to move away from limiting behavior patterns to maximize function, that’s what this is about. I wanted to find a WAY to do that, so I did! I am a Certified Coach and Master Coach in a wide range of life and executive coaching programs. Joining the science of neuroplasticity to the language of the mind was my next challenge. I wanted to know how to use brain science to help enhance awareness so that we could retrain healthy minds and behavior. The W.A.Y. Method and program is a culmination of this work and years of scientific research. The result is a powerful combination of tools that uses a systematic and practical approach to build self-awareness, mindfulness, and clarity in the face of challenges and limitations in what I call the 4 P’s: Professional Life, Personal Life, Partnering Life, and Parenting Life.
SPEAKER
I’ve been speaking at venues throughout the world for over twenty years. With my direct, powerful, and compelling tools, attendees always leave inspired and able to take steps to retrain their brain, break habits, and DO something different.
Whether talking to a group of clinicians, providing a parenting workshop, or inspiring a group of executives, I will speak the truth kindly, and hearing the truth always liberates and inspires. I also like to have fun while I do it! So if you are attending one of my events soon, get ready to laugh, I know I will. I’ve been described as bold, funny, exciting, and dynamic! Most important, I’m practical. EVERY talk provides PRACTICAL information that gives you action steps. My audiences always leave with a good dose of home-grown wisdom (e.g., “my grandmother always said…”). That home-grown wisdom is mixed with science, backed up by evidence from the current research, and with a nice helping of my professional and personal life experiences.
My intention to empower and change, EVERY TIME!
BUSINESS
As the founder and owner of multiple companies, including TheraPeeds Family Center, a globally recognized entity that employs over 65 people. I’m constantly looking for ways to improve and enhance our service offerings. A lot of hard work went into creating this multi-national business, and our companies are committed to providing the highest quality of brain-building and mind training services. Our companies and services are ever-evolving to match the demands of our clients. Whether through direct services at our 30, 000 square foot, state-of-the-art flagship headquarters in Davie, Florida OR through consultations, live training, online classes and webinars, our services are connected by one focus; to provide our clients (groups or individuals), practical tools that use science to build brains and train minds.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?
My business began with me alone in a room financing myself. There was no bank involved, no investor, no father that left me money. When my mother immigrated to the United States, we lived on food stamps, in a roach infested apartment with gun shots swirling around outside our door. I was able to go to school with some government grants and struggled to put myself through school, while working two jobs and sustaining a full-time course load. I have always financed myself. When it came to creating and growing my business, I figured I would either go for broke or go back to traditional therapy. I come from very humble beginnings and every part of my business was me trusting, believing and investing in myself, my dream and my life. When we sought to expand in 2008 when the market was crashing, and at that time absolutely no one was lending money and once again it came down to – go for it and hope for the best.
A quick snapshot of my company’s growth rate:
– Started with me alone in a therapy room
– In 2008, with 13 employees, we expanded to 26 and we moved from 3,000 sq ft room to 6,000 sq ft
– By 2018 we were over 50 employees in a 15,000 sq ft space
– In 2019 we were able to attract financing to build our new 30,000 sq ft headquarter building
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
For me, resilience is about standing up in the face of difficulty. One of the greatest difficulties I faced in my professional journey was that what I was attempting to do something that was new and unknown. My colleagues told me that the new therapy model I wanted to introduce, was crazy. I was told many times that it wouldn’t work. This new model broke the mold, and it was not the way that therapy was done. I was introducing a cash-based practice, that required more time from clients, more money and energy, which was different than a traditional much easier and less effective model. This model was bucking the system. I also refused to take insurance (making it cash based) to do this crazy thing. I didn’t want the restrictions, I wanted the freedom to create and explore so that I could continue to devise the best approaches to intervention for my clients. Every step of the way there was resistance externally, while I was fighting with my own internal self-doubt. Although I wanted to introduce my vision, that I knew would make a difference in people’s lives, I was scared, Fear and self-doubt were my biggest enemies. The naysayers in the outside world made the voice in the inside even louder.
A lot of times I almost believed what they told me. I thought, I must be crazy, that I would fail and that this didn’t make sense. My biggest demon was the voice inside me that said, “You’re this little immigrant from Trinidad & Tobago, you’re not from here – you think you can show up and change their system? That’s not what we do.” Immigrants are the new back of the bus people. We are told to get in line and get in your place. The external forces were always there to remind me, to question me about who I was and tell me that I don’t get to change the world or be innovative.
And then there were internal voices that also said I couldn’t. Those internal voices, which were created by the external environment, told me I should just be grateful to be here and have a job. They taunted me. My resilience showed up when I didn’t listen. I’m stubborn as hell. I’m a preemie (was born at 28 weeks) that was sent home by doctors in a shoebox to die because they didn’t have the infrastructure to care for such a premature child at that time. I always believed I survived back then, to make a difference. In spite of the level of resistance I faced both inside and out, I did know that I was called to do something great. No matter what other people told me, I absolutely knew that I wanted to change the world, and nothing was going to stop me. My resilient nature rose up to inform my decision to not stop and to face every challenge and here we are as a company, not just surviving but growing and thriving.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.therapeeds.com and www.juliaharperinc.com
- Instagram: juliaharper_phd
- Facebook: JuliaHarper_phd
- Linkedin: Julia Harper, PhD, MS, OTR/L