We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Willecke a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, appreciate you joining us today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a few years since the start of when everything shifted due to COVID, specifically how we access mental health services. The introduction of COVID created fear and uncertainty for many people, making them pause – Is it safe to see my friends and family? How do I do my job now? What do my hobbies look like since I can’t go out like I used to? What’s going to happen in the world? How do I meet with a therapist or my doctor? How do I go to school? Is it going to be okay? Am I going to be okay? Our world experienced a significant increase in anxiety, depression, trauma related symptoms, and so much more over the last few years. With an increase in mental health symptoms, there was a lack of access to support due to therapists and counselors no longer offering in-person services.
Mental health professionals, amongst many other fields, have had to re-imagine how to offer services to clients. In the beginning, it was unclear if therapy could be offered on Telehealth or be effective in this format. In the height of COVID, I was working in a non-profit mental health agency where I was told ‘this is how we do things now’ – however, no one had an instruction manual on exactly how to do therapy online. At times, it’s been a challenge (thanks, slow internet) but I’ve seen the use of Telehealth be so impactful, humbling, and supportive to clients. It offers a way to see clients in the comfort of their home, to incorporate a variety of supports such as animals, blankets, and familiarity into session that they may not get in a therapy office. For clients who work from home, have a busy schedule, have children and are doing the pick up/drop off dance, live in a rural area, or who simply find comfort in meeting in their home, Telehealth has been a game changer. Additionally, there have been a variety of new and innovative technologies, making modalities such as EMDR can be just as effective as being in-person. In my practice, I offer both in-person and Telehealth services in order to meet the needs of all clients.
I truly feel like due to the various benefits of Telehealth, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. It’s a flexible and creative way to meet clients in a way that feels best to them. In hindsight, I’m grateful to have overcome the challenge of learning how to provide quality therapy on Telehealth – it’s expanded my services to be able to reach clients who I may not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Kate, the founder of Bright Connections Counseling. I was born in Florida, but was raised in Colorado since age 2 (that makes me almost a native, right?). I have always been drawn to connecting with other humans and creating strong relationships. At a young age, I knew I wanted to be in a field focused on helping others. This wiring naturally led me to a career in counseling. I bring those same qualities of curiosity, empathy, and warmth to my clients. I strive to create a space where clients feel free to express their innermost thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment- a space where people can show up as their full, beautiful, messy, human, authentic selves- and where I can, too!
I am a wife and mama to two energetic little humans who fill my cup daily. When I’m not therapist-ing, I enjoy spending time with my family, hiking, yoga, painting, being in nature, playing board games, and having living room dance parties.
I firmly believe that relationship is the most important part of the therapy process. Sometimes it’s not about ‘doing’, as much as being in relationship that promotes growth and healing. I prioritize building relationship and authentic connection to help you feel heard, felt, understood, and valued during our time together. I also use an integrated approach that is tailored to your specific treatment needs, which includes a balance of learning how to ‘be with’ the emotions/sensations you experience, teaching tangible coping strategies, and going deeper to healing the root of these difficult feelings.
At Bright Connections Counseling, we believe that in order to move forward, it’s important to start by slowing down. Here, all feelings are welcome. We aim to create a space where you can show up as your full and genuine self, while we do the same. Our goal is empower you to feel connected to your truest self, experience lasting change, and bring more joy into your life. I am a Certified EMDR Therapist and Certified Synergetic Play Therapist (SPT). I work with adults, teens, and children (7+) looking for support with anxiety, depression, trauma recovery, relational or family conflict, and grief and loss.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
This question hits home because immediately, I think of ‘how to be a therapist’. Coming into this field, you are almost given list of qualities and body language you should have when working with clients, what interventions are helpful in treating different diagnoses, and what you can/shouldn’t say in sessions. I found my coursework to be impactful and very helpful in deciding what field of social work I wanted to be in, but I feel like certain opportunities were missed. At times, it felt rigid and like there were clear ‘do’s’ and ‘dont’s’ of this work. While some of that is absolutely true, I feel I didn’t truly know my identity or how I wanted to show up as a therapist. Going through my certification of Synergetic Play Therapy, I quickly realized that there is no right way to be a therapist (aside from legal and ethical standards) – there is only the way that feels the most authentic to you. Once I realized that, it opened the door for me to let my humanness into the therapy room, to share my own playfulness and humor, and to give myself permission to learn and grow and make mistakes. It no longer felt like I needed to reference every therapy book I have to determine the best ‘intervention’ and scripted exercise to improve a client’s diagnosis – I could be myself and trust in my own knowing as a therapist. While I still do incorporate more directive exercises at times, this perspective has allowed me to feel free and excited about my work with clients. I’m learning and growing alongside clients and in doing so, it allows clients to show up authentically and promote deeper healing.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Yes! I worked in a variety of roles prior to being in private practice. Since 2018, I’ve been a Clinical Social Worker in a psychiatric hospital and a school-based therapist / a therapist in a pediatric office through a non-profit mental health agency. I played around with the idea of private practice for a while, but never felt confident enough to take the leap until 2024 after having my second kiddo. I learned a lot from colleagues who were starting their own private practice, I did research, and started learning about how to put on my ‘business hat’, so to speak. I feel like my previous experience working for the hospital and mental health agency were so helpful in gaining the skills and knowledge to be successful in my own business. I’m so grateful I was able to have the last 7 years to be in community with others in a similar role and to learn from therapists more experienced than me before I felt confident in standing on my won two feet (as a therapist and business owner).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brightconnectionscounseling.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightconnectionscounseling/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-willecke-lcsw-4b4aa7a4/
