Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leah Hoffman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Leah, 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?
Ever since I started working in outpatient mental health, I’ve wanted to establish my own private practice, where I could have a space that represents my personal and professional values. I am an out-of-the-box thinker, and working under someone else’s brand and rules was challenging, as I found myself finding strategic and creative solutions to best meet my clients’ needs.
While I love getting caught in a daydream about my next project or business, I’m also a grounded, logical thinker. I built the business slowly, with focused attention on nights and weekends, while conducting business as usual during the rest of the week. While this slower approach can be frustrating, it is the hallmark of sustainable growth. I would recommend all young professionals carefully consider ways to build their dream business while maintaining a steady income.
Leah, 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’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (mental health therapist) and owner of Growing Together Counseling & Healing LLC. Throughout my life, I have enjoyed working with people one-on-one, learning their stories, and understanding their dreams of forging deep and meaningful connections with others. I used to say I “fell” into the world of therapy, but reflecting back (and with the guidance of my own therapists and teachers), I can now see that what led me to becoming a therapist was no coincidence. Like many in a helping profession, I was seeking a deeper understanding of myself, my relationships, and how to navigate my world with a greater sense of safety. My own healing journey built the foundation of compassion and care I hold for every client that steps into my office.
Early in my career, I worked with a variety of populations (children in residential treatment, incarcerated adults, and in-home family therapy) and modalities (family systems, trauma treatment, couples therapy). I left these experiences having learned how to create safety and rapport with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, treat PTSD symptoms, and understand how family systems influence our individual lives and mental health. I now specialize in supporting highly-motivated adults and couples who want to improve their connection to self and others and feel a sense of internal safety and support as they navigate their world. My work with individuals focuses on understanding how their life experiences have impacted their present, helping them heal childhood trauma and wounds, and teaching them to learn and love their most authentic selves. Couples in my office learn how to increase their connection, build vulnerability safely, feel confident communicating effectively, and heal unresolved emotional hurts and betrayals. I highly value a holistic approach to healing, as I believe recovery happens through strengthening the mind, body, and soul connection.
The holistic approach I instill into my practice provides clients a safe, nurturing space to explore life’s ups and downs. Relationships are a priority at our office; we believe the client/therapist relationship is a strong factor in client success. To that end, we treat all Growing Together clients as the experts in their own lives. While we support clients with their mental health, we don’t see them as a diagnosis; instead, we assist them using a trauma and attachment-informed lens to explore what in their past and present may be contributing to current challenges or distress. Using this trauma-informed lens, we support clients in safely uprooting their trauma experiences to assist the brain in reprocessing and reorganizing where traumatic memories are stored. Knowing our clients don’t have to live with the suffering trauma can cause, we use evidenced-based approaches to support them in reducing or eliminating PTSD symptoms. Our service offerings take a boutique approach—we believe many paths can lead to healing. For instance, along with mental health therapy, we support our clients through coaching, business and professional consulting, clinical supervision, Reiki, and Breathwork.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
One of the most helpful tools for being a successful therapist and business owner is not just preaching, balance, but practicing it. All therapists should be dedicated to their own trauma work, healing, and personal growth. Taking care of both clients and self requires balance; we must ensure that the world of psychology doesn’t take up all our brain capacity and that we leave ourselves plenty of space for fun and play. We must weigh and prioritize how much time we dedicate to clients, employees, growing the practice, and our personal needs. The therapy industry experiences high levels of burnout, so running the business side of a practice while taking care of clients’ needs and managing a personal life is a balancing act that needs to be handled with care. For me, achieving a sense of balance combines self-reflection with a good understanding of my personal and business needs and strong boundaries.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
My favorite way to find new clients, and the one I find most effective, is word-of-mouth referrals from past or current clients with whom I’ve worked. No one is better qualified to provide a recommendation than someone who has already experienced working with me. I highly value my relationships with clients, and I believe this is one of the most important factors in making therapeutic progress. In my work with clients, I strive to provide nurturance and care while pushing for change and growth. Clients appreciate my transparent, direct feedback, but we still share an abundance of laughs throughout our sessions. I can think of no higher compliment than getting calls and emails from potential new clients who were referred by satisfied past or current clients.
As my business continues to expand, I am excited to bring on therapists who embrace the same high level of quality care for clients. When my schedule does not allow for new clients, having a trusted team of clinicians to whom I can refer them is a relief. I would trust any therapist on my team to treat my own friends and family. Continuing to build a team of highly-trained therapists is one of my top priorities, as I believe it’s one of the best ways to serve my community. I enjoy working with graduate-level interns and unlicensed clinicians to provide the level of supervision and training they need to develop into capable, compassionate, and confident therapists.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://growingtogetherllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growingtogethercounseling