We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marcia Blane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marcia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

As I think about defining moments in my life, I can narrow it down to a few instances. My mother gave birth to me under the distress of domestic violence and I entered the world with fight and resilience. A second defining moment was during my senior year of high school when my Guidance Counselor told me “I don’t think you have what it takes to go to college” and that challenged me to push hard and to go further than she imagined. During my Doctoral Program at a well-known University, I completed all of my course work ending the journey with a 3.82 GPA, and writing my dissertation was the remaining process for completion. My topic was Counselor and Supervisor’s Cultural Competence and its Impact on educating counseling students. The subject was met with professors stating “This was not a timely topic” to my mentor challenging my lived experience as an African American woman seeking to become a part of the 3% of Ph.D. in the Counseling and Education Field. Ultimately, a decision was made for the mentor to be terminated from her role at the University and for me to be released from the program after so much work was completed. I chose not to be angry at the process because I recognized that what is purposed can’t be denied but delayed. A major defining moment in my life was believing in myself. Every step of my life there have been obstacles that attempted to distract and redirect me from my purpose however, I was graced with the gifts of wisdom, resilience, and natural abilities that changed how I allowed past situations to dictate my present life. My constant affirmation is there is nothing new under the sun and all that I am, that I am purposed to be, and that all that I become is based on the gifts within. Define your moments based on your ability, not the thoughts or persuasions of others.

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?

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist (CHt), an Author, Motivator, Life Coach, and the Podcast Host of Authentically Peculiar with Marcia. I believe that we are vibrations of energy who live physically on this planet and because of that, we have to learn to balance our lives with authentic living. As an LPC, I assist clients with overcoming the impact of trauma, increasing self-awareness, and learning to live authentically. As a CHt, I utilize clinical hypnotherapy to assist clients with tapping into their subconscious to break free from the past and live in the present.

I am the owner of Peculiar One Counseling located in Jonesboro, GA. Clients are able to enjoy sound therapy and hypnotherapy sessions along with individual and couple counseling. As an existentialist, I assist clients with living in the NOW and appreciating the value they bring to life. In therapy, clients are provided individual treatment plans that include identifying their diagnosis, suggestions to begin their healing, and a plan to follow for best results. Therapy isn’t about just talking but it is the combination of talking and taking action for their healing to come to fruition.

Annually, I host an Empowerment Conference, that encourages attendees to reclaim their power with a focused theme. Attendees boast of feeling free after the conference and using the tools and engagement during the conference to redirect their thoughts to positive outlooks, affirmations, and actions.

As an author, you can visit my website marciablane.com, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble to purchase; Peculiar One Guided Journal or the book Making Progress in the Process to Fulfill Your Purpose. Enjoy daily 5-minute meditations on YouTube under the handle of Authentically Peculiar with Marcia.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Building clientele continues to evolve, however, I have been able to maintain a completely booked practice first by word of mouth. When clients feel they can be vulnerable and trust you to be honest, understanding, and present they will send those who ask about their observed change to you for assistance.

My honest truth is I have spent more time and money on promoting books, podcasts, and conferences than I have to keep my practice thriving. Since beginning my practice in 2020, I have not experienced a decrease in clients. Typically, most therapists discuss the difficulty of maintaining a thriving practice during the summer or the holidays and I am fortunate that I have not experienced that. I believe that it is important to have a vision, mission, purpose, and goals, and speak affirmations over your life and business daily. There is nothing in my business that didn’t begin without me utilizing the spoken word. Use the power of your mouth and thoughts. Identify a mentor that is actually concerned about your growth as much as they are concerned about their own earning potential. Be cautious of those who offer quick fixes and make promises of “a six-figure plan” without the fruit being seen.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I began my journey into private practice, I am grateful for being able to co-share an office with other therapists. I had to honor the vision for my life and move to a location that allowed me to expand my practice to have a space to provide hypnotherapy, and sound therapy, and I will add Reiki soon. Sharing office space with others helped me build financial sustainability. When you begin a practice in an office where your income is the only income there are risks. I built a practice that afforded the expansion from a 400 sq ft space to 1500 sq ft and the ability to provide all of the services I desired to offer. I have been able to offer individual and couples therapy, monthly sound therapy group therapy sessions, and hypnotherapy. In October 2023, the annual conference will be hosted at my location. You have to believe in your vision and remain diligent. You have to accept that some people may not support you and those that began with you may not continue with you. Don’t give up on your goals, dreams, and vision because of what you see in the natural. You have to apply the universal super to your natural ability to achieve your goals and walk in your authentic purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marciablane.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authenticallypeculiarmarciab/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peculiaronemhc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-blane-lpc-ncc-clinical-hypnotherapist-7259b782/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/authenticallypeculiarmarciab
• Other: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/4alagWTlCD8fWyeuhJJGmf…