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

Max, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

I think it’s important to first say I grew up valuing being cutthroat at playing cards and getting a head of everyone else in life. I did not have a lot of empathy or compassion. I was also very good at living this way so I had a large amount of arrogance going for me. Well, of course arrogance leads to misstep and I was fortunate enough to get knocked off my high-horse. To be brief- I lost my job and was placed on a license probation.

This was a painful and humiliating time for me and I didn’t think I would be able to keep practicing as a therapist. I knew I had some redemptive work to do and was taking ownership for it. While I was being held accountable, I was taken by surprise from how many people treated me kindly, saw the good in me and helped me through digging myself out of my hole. One was my therapist who gave me a free therapy session the day after I was canned. There have been other larger acts of kindness towards me. But I think this one matters to talk about now more than ever. As a therapist and business owner I am constantly juggling offering quality mental health services to people and making profit. It is a difficult dance that has grown even more complicated as I have expanded and have employees that depend on me having a stable financial base for them. My therapist’s act matters to me because I want my business to be more than a money making machine. There is always room for charity and making people’s lives better. In fact, I believe that by making time for doing that, it leads to greater wealth in the long run. I’m not out of business yet so this principal seems to be working!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Honestly, I started out as a therapist to heal myself and to understand humans. I was raised in the wilds so I knew more about dogs and deer than society. Basically, I was a surly raccoon who wanted to figure out how to relate. Eventually I did have to do my own personal therapy as learning about therapy was not enough. I grew a lot as a therapist over the years, and began to see the pattern of trauma and attachment disruption playing out in many of the symptoms we see present in therapy. Clinically, I am passionate about complex trauma, parts of self that scare us, and working with other therapists.

Based on some past experiences, I have to developed a critical view of mental health administration. So if I want change I would have to learn the system and do it better. I began my business in 2020 and have been learning and expanding since. Empowerment is the pillar of my business model- I see my business as a service to my employees. Connection also matters to me so I am constantly finding ways to increase my impact in the community. A friend once told me that if you focus on measuring the amount of service you provide, instead of the amount of money you make, your business will thrive and the money will come anyways.

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

I believe the most important thing to succeed is building honest, mutually beneficial relationships. I am a rotarian and one of their core guiding questions is “Will it be beneficial to all concerned?” So often we view relationships as means to getting what we want. This is partly true, but is only effective if you reciprocate yourself as a means to making other people’s lives better. My character and my name means a lot to me. When those are good, opportunities have shown themselves. I have also found that people believe in me and what I am doing. I keep that in mind when I present myself and as I make my business decisions.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I worked for a company that had an amazing sales team, and dumped most of their money into that sales team. However, their program was unorganized and poorly managed. They went out of business because their product stank. You can dress a turd up and sell it, but at the end of the day it is still a turd and that will catch up to you. The best way to grow clientele is to always be questioning the limitations of your product and find ways to improve it. Evolution has to happen because if you stagnate you will quickly become irrelevant. Always focus on ways to increase quality, to learn more, be more. The clientele will come. Combine that with building honest, mutually beneficial relationships with people in your community, and your name will get out there. Believe it or not, all you have to do is sell something that ACTUALLY meets a need. If it doesn’t, then why are you selling it?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lifeempoweredtherapyservices.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empoweredtherapyservices/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Life-Empowered-Therapy-Services
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-dahmen