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

Marie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Hello. Thank you for having me share a little of my story. The question I chose to answer was about taking a risk. I have had many times in my life where I have had the opportunity to take a risk. I took some and declined others. One of the risks that I have been the most blessed by was when I left the mental health practice where I was employed for almost 10 years. I really had a good job, and I worked with great people. I had many great learning experiences while I was there. However, I felt that I could make a bigger contribution to my community by going out on my own. I started by working for both myself and the agency I was with. feeling completely exhausted by the end of each day.

Due to the time and energy it was taking, I knew I had to make a choice. One the one hand, I had a good job with my employer, and I had a great support system that with regard to billing and all the inner workings of running a clinic. If I were to go out on my own, I was completely responsible for every aspect of getting a pay check and supporting my family. That was very scary for me. It took me about 4 months, and I took the plunge with the support of my husband and some close friends that were also very supportive.

When I first went out completely solo, I had many learning curves that I had to figure out, from payroll, to taxes, to using my own EHR. I made several mistakes, but I learned from them, sometimes in a painful manner. It would have been easy to give up and go back to my pervious employer. That was almost 10 years ago, and I am still out on my own. I am grateful each day that I took the risk to open my own clinic. We are 10 therapist strong now, and are in three locations.

Some of the things that make me appreciate the risk of going out on my own include flexibility, along with being able to help clients on a whole new level. When you have to understand a client system from more than a social/mental health view, and take into account all of the barriers that make life difficult (insurance, finances, family obligations, etc), you are able to help find solutions with them. You are able to open doors that you did not know exist when all you really give attention to is what is presented up front. I know that as a therapist I need to be aware of these things from the beginning, but being able to be a more active part of the solution has added benefits for my clients as well as myself. I have enjoyed my job much more, and I love being able to walk in very sacred spaces with my clients as they work through the healing process. Here’s to another 20 years!!

Marie, 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 am the owner of Clear Horizons Clinical Services. We have been open since July of 2013. We are a mental health agency with three locations, Springville, Orem and Providence, Utah. We provide services for individuals, children, and families who have gone through trauma, or just need some help with managing the daily frustrations that frequently occur. We work a lot with post adoption and children/families who are involved in the foster care system, We focus on trauma treatments, including EMDR, Equine Assisted Therapy, Play Therapy, Sand Tray, Expressive Art. We enjoy working with treatment modalities that connect the client with their inner world so they can work through the life events that derail them.

Prior to operating Clear Horizons, I was employed by the community mental health center in my area. I was there for 8 years. It was an amazing experience, and I value that agency very much every day.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

One of the focuses that we have in our clinic is Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI). TBRI uses a philosophy that states there are no bad/naughty children. We need to figure out the need behind the responses and meet those needs where we can. It is a curriculum that intends to set our children and family up for success, and sends a strong message of love and support.

This is the same philosophy we have for our employees. I truly can say that I have the best team out of any practice that I know. They know I know that, and I try to show appreciation and to meet needs they have. We think outside of the box to help accommodate where we can. We do have boundaries and expectations, but every one of them are established in a supportive environment.

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

When I first started out in college, I was a chemistry major. I was working very hard to get through this program in my university, and was doing well. In one chemistry class, I had an epiphany that I did not want to focus on this for the rest of my working life. It was not rewarding. I needed to be able to contribute in a different way.

I started taking some social work electives and found a professor (Norma Gould) who had a drive and compassion for this work. She was contagious. I finished the under grad degree quickly and have never looked back. I do still have an interest in the math and hard science field, but I am grateful for the turn I made so long ago.

Contact Info:

• Website: clearhorizons.org
• Facebook: Clear Horizons