We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristin Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristin below.

Kristin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

It’s very interesting for me to look at where I am in my career today and think about how exactly I got here. When I chose to pursue a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, my initial goal wasn’t to open a private practice. I had every intention of meeting the requirements for school, completing an internship, and hopefully continuing to work at my internship site following my graduation. I realized very early on in my internship experience that my plans would be changing dramatically. After completing my internship at two different group practices, I realized I would not be happy in a group practice setting and I knew I could be successful in private practice.

I don’t have to look back far to think about the “early days” of starting my practice. I have only been in practice for just over 1 year at this point but as I look back at the decision to go into private practice I have no regrets. Immediately after finishing my schooling, I had to learn how to open and run a business. I spent a lot of time researching what type of business license I needed, what type of liability insurance I needed, the best strategies for marketing my business, how to obtain necessary tax information, etc. In addition, I had to develop a plan for the practice. I had to decide whether I wanted the practice to be 100% virtual or have an office to offer in-person sessions, what type of clients I primarily wanted to work with, what my hours of operation would be, etc.

Although operation costs would be much lower if I had a 100% virtual practice, I knew I wanted to have an office and wanted to be able to offer in-person sessions for clients. Some of the biggest challenges I have faced thus far pertain to my office space. Between finding an ideal office space for an affordable price, dealing with an office that didn’t have functioning air conditioning, and being surrounded by other businesses that aren’t always considerate of noise levels, it has been an interesting ride just to have an office and be able to offer in-person sessions.

I have found myself thinking about things I wish I had done differently. I have had thoughts like “I wish I had done more to prepare myself for this while I was in school.” For example, I wish I had done more to network with other therapists earlier on, or I wish I had developed more of a presence on social media earlier on, etc. However, thoughts like that are quickly followed by more reasonable thoughts reminding myself that I didn’t have time for any of this while I was still in school. The last year of school consisted of classes, attending my internship site, studying for my licensure exam, and working a job in an unrelated field to still be able to pay my bills. So although there are times where I think I should have done more sooner, that wasn’t realistic at all. So no, there is nothing I would do differently because I am really happy with what I have accomplished so far.

For anyone who may be considering starting their own practice, if it’s something you are already thinking about, and it’s something you are passionate about, do whatever you need to do to chase that dream. The steps taken to open a private practice will probably look different for everyone. Some people may be able to open their private practice right out of graduate school and for other’s it may be more reasonable to begin working in the field and slowly transitioning to private practice, and that is totally okay! For more concrete advice, I would say to make sure you have a very specific niche, learn how to market your business, and don’t neglect networking with other professionals in the field.

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.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA) in South Carolina, an EMDRIA trained EMDR therapist, and a private practice owner. I specialize in treating trauma and working with the first responder population. Prior to entering the mental health field, I spent 6 years in law enforcement. I absolutely loved my job as a police officer, but I realized it was not going to be sustainable long-term based on the life I saw for myself in the future. I knew it was time for me to get out of law enforcement, but I had no idea what other career I was interested in. After spending A LOT of time trying to decide my next steps, I had the thought “I already feel like a therapist because people typically call the police to help solve their problems, so I should just become a therapist.” It’s interesting to look back and realize that I made the decision to leave law enforcement, and put a lot of time, money, and energy into a graduate degree and a new career after that one silly thought. However, I am so unbelievably happy about where my past decisions have led me.

I chose to go straight into private practice after graduate school. I opened my practice, Waterfall Wellness Center, in August of 2023. I provide both individual and couples counseling to adults throughout South Carolina. I also offer therapy intensives for individuals looking to accelerate their healing journey, and I recently began offering group therapy as a more affordable treatment option for clients. I have a mix of first responders and non first responders on my caseload, but based on my training and experience, the work I do is trauma-informed and the majority of clients reach out to me specifically for trauma treatment. I absolutely love helping clients understand how trauma impacts their life and helping them process that trauma.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

If I could go back, I absolutely would choose the same profession and specialty. I also would have made the same decision to start a career in law enforcement prior to entering the mental health field. I really do consider myself lucky that I feel this way. I am very thankful that I ended up loving this profession after spending so much time, money, and energy on completing my degree and all of the work it took to open a private practice. I am so grateful for my experience as a police officer and all of the life experience I gained as a result of that career choice. My time in law enforcement helped me get to where I am today and be able to specialize in working with first responders in my practice.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

This is probably the most obvious answer, but effective marketing skills is probably one of the most helpful skills for succeeding in private practice. Things like training, knowledge, a desire to help people, good work/life boundaries, etc. are all really helpful as well. However, you don’t have the chance to help clients and use your training and experience if you aren’t able to market yourself and your business well enough in order to get clients in the door.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.waterfallwellnesscenter.com
• Instagram: @waterfallwellnesscenter
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjohnson-thefirstrespondertherapist