We recently connected with Lavelda Naylor and have shared our conversation below.

Lavelda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

I started my private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate right out of graduate school. While this is permitted by the governing board, it is unusual. In fact, I was the only one in my cohort to do so. What motivated me was 2 fold: First, I had done agency work in my internships and felt hamstrung by organizational oversite (I spent more time doing paperwork than seeing clients). Second, a therapist gave a talk in one of my classes who had started a practice immediately after graduation and had been very successful. When I heard the list of characteristics she thought helped her achieve her goals, I resonated and thought “I can do this” …so I did! The first 6 months were difficult at times since I was charging very little for sessions and had to build a caseload from scratch. The support of my family was a big contribution to my success. Also the network and reputation I had built in graduate school got me some key referrals and contracts that funded me through my first year private practice. It took me about 3 years to finish my Associates hours out on my own, but by that time my private pay practice was thriving and I had a clear brand identity. I absolutely loved the business model I had made successful and remained in solo practice without taking insurance for 10 years, Then the pandemic hit and it changed everything for me. I closed my office and began work remotely, which suited me really well, so well I now practice telehealth exclusively while I travel and live abroad. I have recently expanded my online practice to include supervision for newly licensed MFT associates and rebranded my company under the name Begin Anywhere.org I am happy to influence new therapist and help them grow their wellness practices. My best advice to those considering this pathway is consider your own wellness vital to your ability as a therapist and embody the product you are selling, then your reputation will make you a successful therapist and help build the private practice of your dreams. This means as you grow, your business grows.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Before I trained as a therapist, I was in the retail and service industries. What drew me into those jobs was relating with people, which I seem to be good at. But when I became a mom in my 30’s I knew I wanted more meaning in my work and more financial stability. This led me to higher education and during those early years towards my education goals, I also did my own therapy. The combined effort was life changing for me, my healing journey provided me with new perspective, new potential, and a more solid sense of my own worth. That’s when I knew that I wanted to commit my energy and intellectual abilities to helping other’s grow internally and recover from previous traumas.

Thus the focus of my therapeutic and coaching work is on reaching out to people who have been othered or wounded by society, by family, by relationship, who have been unseen and unheard in their potential, who do not get easily accepted as they are. I specialize in working with partners, LGTBQ+ and Polyamorous persons, neurodivergent folks (specifically gifted and talented adults who feel stuck), and those with religious trauma. My approach is systemic, inclusive, and experiential, which means we work together to examine the impact of your relationship experiences on your internal wellness and practice tools to make the changes you want in your life through our interactions.

Now I am guiding new therapist’s in how to have affirming and inclusive approaches to treatment for a variety of issues. You can find us at BeginAnywhere.org and see what we can offer you in terms of personal growth and relationship wellness.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My approach to success is simple: do good work and have a clear brand. My brand is a reflection of my inclusive person-centered empowerment approach to being a therapist and coach, I have found that being truly engaged and an authentic person with each client as they do the work of growth makes a difference in their level of commitment to the changes they seek.

My first practice (still active at www.laveldanaylor.org) was built almost entirely on word of mouth, which means that my clients and other health workers saw the work we did together as meaningful and productive so they told other people about my services. This approach helped me reach my wealth goals and even expand my practice in unexpected ways.

My current focus is on building my reputation and brand as an MFT supervisor, so I created an online group practice to host up and coming therapists seeking licensure as MFT’s in Texas. BeginAnywhere.org is a cummulative representation of what I have already accomplished and where I want to go in the future.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Some changes in my practice that have opened up new opportunities for me were truly unanticipated. When the pandemic hit it 2022. I decided to close my office to do all my work online. It was a hard decision because I loved my office and how my career was going at the time.

And it was a risk, some people do not like virtual therapy or are not well suited to the modality so I would likely lose some current and potential clients. But simultaneously the pandemic was boosting the demand for mental health services. So after the initial decisions were made, and losing a few clients, I was able to pivot to all online work and maintain a full calendar.

A more recent but related change to my practice is that I now accept some insurances. The demand for mental health services during the pandemic had some positive impacts on the mental health industry and several problems related to billing and panelling with different insurance companies have been solved by ingenious applications. In addition, payputs to therapist are much higher and faster than they once were. By adding insurance I have been able to expand my impact as a therapist to new populations and insure a steady caseload of remote clients seeking virtual services.

So, I now enjoy working remotely full time with no intention of returning to in-person work in the next few years.. My self care has gone up significantly since pivoting to a Virtual Practice- I walk my dog and eat with my partner everyday, I do not have to commute so lose no time getting to and from work, and I have more time to workout and do my hobbies. I ultimately have more energy for my work, which helped me decide to become a supervisor last year.

In addition, now that the pandemic is not as big a threat, I have sold my home and am a digital nomad therapist, supervisor, lifecoach, and business owner. My partner and I travel the world together with our dog, a. Hildhood dream of mine__this is our way to heal from the 18 months we spent in voluntary lockdown while the world around us fell apart. We are not sure what the future holds, and I expect to pivot again, but I look forward to whatever is to come based on what I learned about myself through this experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beginanywhere.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/beginanywhere/
• Facebook: Facebook.com/beginanywherellc/
• Twitter: Twitter.com/begin_anywhere
• Other: Www.laveldanaylor.org

Image Credits
Labelda Naylor