We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaitlyn Bathel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaitlyn below.
Kaitlyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I decided to go into the field of education for a few reasons: being passionate about supporting future generations, working in a setting to advocate for change, and having the same holidays off as my children. After 10 years of working as a school psychologist in public schools all over Santa Barbara County, I wanted something different. I loved my work, but wanted to feel like I could make a bigger impact. I previously had thoughts of opening a private therapy and assessment practice serving children and teens, but I had zero business experience. I like to dream big, but what if I failed? I was planning to start making the jump to open a private practice in early 2020 – and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Oh well, I thought, I guess this is not the time. Little did I know that the impact of the pandemic would leave more youth in need of mental health support than ever. As the new school-year started virtually for many students, I realized that there was a huge need in our community. In October 2020, I opened my private practice, providing in-person counseling on the weekends to children (almost no providers were offering in-person services) – we had air filters, doors open, hand sanitizer, masks, temperature checks, but my practice grew. I could see my dream becoming a reality and the silver lining of the pandemic provided me with the opportunity. Soon, I was too busy to take on more clients. I thought, how can I serve more children and families? It was time to think even bigger; I needed more office space and I needed to hire employees; this was thrilling and terrifying. The words of one of my mentors echoed in my head: “Do it scared”. I hired my first amazing employee, and then found a great office space. I realized that if I kept moving forward one step at a time, being smart in my decision making, but also not being afraid to do things I had never done before, I will accomplish my dreams. Now almost 5 years later, I just hired a fourth employee. Together my team is making meaningful differences in the lives of youth – I could not be prouder.
Kaitlyn, 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?
I found myself in my dream job in a serendipitous way. As a teen and young adult, I wanted to make a difference, I wanted to be engaged in my work, I wanted time for my family, and I wanted to do something that I wouldn’t get bored with. Different careers piqued my interest…National Geographic photographer, veterinarian, Kindergarten teacher. I attend my local community college and took classes in psychology, art history, and the sciences. When I needed to declare a major to transfer to a 4-year university, my school counselor advised that I look at Psychology as a major; it looked interesting enough, so I went with it. Once at UCSB I fell in love with psychology mainly a result of the great professors I had. However, being a research university, there was a lot of neuroscience and research, which I loved, but where was the human connection? I found that in my Applied Psychology minor which focused on culture, helping professions, and diversity – and was housed in the Gevirtz School of Education. Walking down the hallway one day, I saw a flyer: Want to learn about being a school psychologist? Free pizza lunch. At the end of the one-hour lunch, I was sold! I could combine my love of psychology and education while helping struggling youth. I joined a research lab working on reading intervention programs in local elementary schools, and started researching graduate programs.
After completing my Master’s degree and then 10 years of working in the public schools in Santa Barbara County, I needed a change. I loved my work, but I wanted something different, but related, that gave me additional flexibility to spend time with my family while also continuing to make an impact on those I worked with. In early 2020 I was preparing to start a small private practice offering assessments and counseling to children and teens. And then the COVID-19 closure happened. Little did I know that it was the perfect time. In the fall of that year, I went back to work not knowing what to expect that school-year. I saw the impact that COVID-19 pandemic was having on our youth’s mental health and socialization. I knew there was an opportunity to help and make a difference for some of these children and their families. So, in October 2020, I took the first step and opened my private practice.
Five years later, I have 4 employees and a growing group therapy and assessment practice; and I still work at a school part-time as a school psychologist. I feel effective in my work every day, I am never bored, and I love the flexibility this career has afforded me. My team aims to be a resource for all people who need help navigating something in their life. If we cannot provide the support that you are looking for, we want to help you find the solution. We work on some complicated cases, and through collaboration and supporting each other, we ultimately help as many children, teens, & families as we can. What I am most proud of is my perseverance and success. Every risk I took in growing my business has made me more competent and confident. I am proud to have a business whose goal is to increase wellbeing in every person we work with.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
The most helpful things for succeeding in my field are genuine connection and commitment. Any job that requires you to interact with other people, whether they are colleagues or customers, you need the foundation of a relationship and trust. In life you will have to deal with people that are difficult, or at least come off that way. People are quick to judge and make assumptions. My perspective has always been to give them the benefit of the doubt; you do not know their story, so cannot judge them. Try to back up and see the larger picture to see where you can meet them in the middle or at least give them the feeling that you are truly hearing them and care about them. There is nothing more powerful than having a genuine connection with someone. Commitment is necessary because there will be hard times, in life, business, and at work. Reminding yourself of why you do this work, and being able to push through difficult situations will only increase your resilience and ability to overcome a hard situation the next time. Working with youth and supporting parents can be exhausting and frustrating. Sometimes you don’t feel like progress is being made and you may question your work. But the work is important, showing up for the other person is important – remind yourself of that.
Any advice for managing a team?
One of my greatest risks in my business is hiring on employees. My non-negotiable that I hold myself to when bringing on a new therapist is that I have to be 110% sure that I want them on my team. They need to right skillset, but there is more than that. I need their personality to fit in with the rest of the team. We need to share common goals and values for our work. I have interviewed many quality candidates who have a specific skill or experience that I like, but I find myself thinking “I think I can make this work.” I know that as soon as I have that thought, I need to reject them as a candidate. My business’ reputation is too important to bring on someone that doesn’t fit into the container that I’ve created. In the beginning I wanted to grow as fast as possible. At this time, I realize that taking it slow and making good hire choices only pays off in the long run – and my current team is amazing!
Once a hire is made, my Employee Handbook really lays the foundation for our workplace culture. We have a shared communication system, regular team meetings and get-togethers to build community. There is a section on appropriate behavior and interactions in the office, which specifically delineates that gossiping of any kind is not tolerated – we do not have any office drama. Everyone who works in the office shares the value of having close and supportive relationships with their colleagues. Within the Handbook, we also share the value of prioritizing our families and self-care; we support each other in having downtime, fun with each other, and taking time away to prioritize our families as needed. Besides our regular team meetings, I also meet for a more formal review with each therapist every 6 months. We not only discuss caseload numbers, retention rates, and job performance, but also job satisfaction, what they need in terms of schedule, workload, and pay. We also set out short-term and long-term goals. I get feedback from them in terms of what support they need from me, other supervisors, and administratively. We are able to have open and honest conversations so that I can ensure that they are happy and getting their needs met. In turn, they feel taken care of and enjoy working for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.psych4success.com
- Instagram: psych4success
- Facebook: Psychological Services for Success
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Leah Valentine