We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Driscoll recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. 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.

When I decided to change my career from teaching to mental health counseling, I knew that I wanted greater autonomy in the workplace. I desired a flexible work schedule, as well as a better work/life balance. So, the thought of starting a private therapy practice was always on my mind. However, having no business background, I wasn’t sure if I was capable to building a successful small business that could provide an income and sustain my family.

When I was nearing the end of my master’s program, I began to seriously consider what it would look like for me to start my own practice right out of grad school. It felt like a huge risk to invest time, money, and energy into a business that I wasn’t sure was going to succeed. However, with some encouragement from my husband and friends, I decided to take the leap and invest full-time into my practice right after graduation.

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what do to or where to start, but I began researching how to establish an LLC, what laws and regulations were pertinent to starting a therapy practice, and what types of support I would need in order to get my business off the ground.

One of the key decisions I made was to hire a business coach and join a business coaching group to receive support and gain greater insight into my marketing strategy. Because I was starting my business from scratch, I didn’t have a wide network of colleagues to rely on for client referrals or a previous job where I could bring some clients with me to my new practice. Therefore, I had to establish my business presence in the community and online to draw in new clients.

For the first several months, I only had one therapy client, so I was very concerned about the prospect of sustaining the business.

I started networking with other therapists in my community to build professional relationships, as well as invest my time and energy into building a social media presence. I wanted to cast a wide net to the entire state because my therapy practice is primarily telehealth. This is where using social media came in very handy.

With the support of my business coach and colleagues, I was able to create a social media strategy that attracted clients that fit my niche population. I specialize in working with BIPOC women and genderqueer people who struggle with unhealthy perfectionism, low self-esteem, anxiety, and multicultural/racial/immigrant identities. Therefore, I began creating content that specifically spoke to this population with the hopes that 1) I was posting helpful content and 2) I was attracting clients would needed support in my specialty areas.

Although showing my face publicly on social media felt uncomfortable, and dare I say… cringe, in the beginning, I slowly started to enjoy sharing helpful tips, educational materials, comic relief, and a little bit about myself with my audience. I made the commitment of showing up every week day on social media for a year as an experiment to see how it would impact my business, and thus far, it has been very beneficial.

I have been able to build a caseload quicker than I imagined and the first six months of my business has given me the confidence that I can build and sustain a successful full-time therapy private practice.

When I look back on the first six month of my business, I am grateful to the guidance and support I received from my network – my husband, friends, colleagues, business coach, etc. If anyone is considering starting a private practice or any type of business, I think its important to establish your goals, values, and boundaries early on.

These three things – a clear goal, value driven approach, and strong boundaries – were crucial in establishing myself as a business owner. A clear goal gave me direction on where I wanted to invest my time, money, and energy, and an awareness of my values helped me approach my goals in a way that felt right for me and my business. And lastly, boundaries were incredibly important in establishing and maintaining a sustainable business for me.

Lisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure, my technical title is Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate; however, I just tell people that I’m a mental health therapist. I started my career as an educator teaching general education and English Language Development for several years before switching to counseling.

During the last few years of teaching, I was working as an English Language Development teacher with first and second generation immigrant students. At the time, I began to notice an unmet need within the immigrant and BIPOC community. I also became aware that mental health services were not created to meet the specific needs of those with diverse backgrounds. Around the same time, I was ready for a career transition, so after teaching through the pandemic, I made the bittersweet decision to leave the classroom and enroll in graduate school for a degree in counseling.

I went back to graduate school for my master’s in Career and Counseling Development with a specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. After two years in the program, I decided to start my own private practice that works with BIPOC women and genderqueer people who struggle with unhealthy perfectionism, low self-esteem, anxiety, and multicultural/racial/immigrant identities.

Most of my clients are BIPOC identifying and about half of those individuals are first or second generation immigrants. As a therapist who specializes in working with this population, I have learned the importance of understanding cultural nuances and the impact of viewing stories from a multicultural lens.

I entered the mental health field because I wanted to create a safe space for individuals to explore, process, and grow without fear of judgement or criticism. BIPOC and immigrant communities are underserved in the mental health field and I believe that my passion to create this intentional space is making a small but meaningful impact in my community.

When clients enter therapy with me, they can expect to receive support, guidance, and encouragement to move towards their goals. I feel that it is a great privilege to be able to sit with people during the most vulnerable and challenging moments of their lives, and I am honored that they have chosen me to walk with them through those difficult times.

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do the work that I love and witness the incredible resilience of my clients each day.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn prior to starting my private practice was that I had to be an expert in running a small business before starting one! Many therapist will tell you that in graduate school, we are trained to provide therapeutic services and support for mental health concerns; however, we are not taught how to run a successful small business. In fact, there is a misconception that it is near impossible to start and run a success private practice right out of graduate school. New therapists are often encouraged to “pay their dues” at a community practice or agency before branching out on their own. However, as I neared the end of my graduate training, I could not shake the desire to be an entrepreneur.

I had to work through my own fears of failure and imposter syndrome of becoming a business owner. I recognized that although I did not have all of the knowledge and experience of starting a new business, I trusted my ability to figure things out and learn as I went.

Working through my own fears and insecurities about becoming a small business owner has allowed me to let go of the idea that I need to be an expert before diving into something new. When we are confronted with the unknown, whether that is an uncertain outcome or the possibility of failure, we have to ask the question, “Do I trust myself to figure it out?” Although self-doubt might plague us in the beginning, we cannot allow those doubts to dictate our decisions, but we can allow challenging emotions to be a factor in the decision making process. So, I chose to start my business despite the fears, insecurities, and doubts, because in the end, I trust myself to be able to figure it out.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

There are many factors that contribute to success in the mental health field. Training and knowledge of mental health issues, as well as the ability to comfort, support, guide, and much more are required to sit with people through challenging times. However, if I had to consider one of the most important factors of success in therapy it would have to be the therapeutic relationship between a client and counselor.

Finding a therapist (and a client) who is a good fit can sometimes be equated to going on multiple dates to find a partner. Like dating, not every therapist is a good fit for the client and vice versa. This can be particularly difficult to accept if a therapist is trying to start their own private practice and they feel the pressure to accept anyone willing to be their client. However, it is crucial to consider compatibility between therapist and client, because a therapeutic relationship is one of the key indicators of success in therapy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.perennial-therapy.com/
• Instagram: @perennial_therapy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-park-driscoll/

Image Credits
Headshots by Ashlee Langholz Office pictures by Alexis Ryan