We recently connected with Naomi Clark Babcock and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Naomi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?
I began practicing psychotherapy in 1999 in Cleveland Ohio and worked with underprivileged youth in an inpatient setting. One young man had lost both of his parents and he and his sisters were separated and in foster care. He would often struggle with angry outbursts and at one point even destroyed my office by ripping down all of the paintings when I left for maternity leave to give birth to my oldest daughter (age 22 now). I knew that this just meant I was an important, safe person in his life. Fast forward, 25 years, this client is now a father and remembered how important our relationship had been during the turbulent times in his life. He wrote me a beautiful heartfelt note expressing his sentiments and I realized that even when we feel we only make a small impact on the young people we work with its often much greater to them.
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 came into developing my own private practice in psychotherapy in 2007 when my husband was transferred to work in Scottsdale AZ and we had two young children. With my experience working with youth in Cleveland and seeing the impact of trauma, I became fascinated with and began taking trainings in somatic based therapies to help clients process traumatic memories and I proceeded to open an individual practice seeing primarily children and adolescents who experienced trauma and related psychological disorders. In 2014, I moved once again to Huntington Beach, CA when my husband took yet another promotion to work in Newport Beach. I realized that in California, there was more openness to the integration of eastern practice and as a half-Japanese American, I have always been interested in exploring the integration of eastern philosophies with mindfulness practice and somatic processing. I continued training in alternative healing modalities addressing the chakra system and prana and how to help clients move energy from stored trauma out of their bodies after a particularly difficult or painful EMDR or Brainspotting session through methods in Energy Psychotherapy. This would be an additional resource to tap into their own ability to heal their bodies from chronic stress and anxiety. This became particularly useful during the rise of the pandemic in 2020 where we all experienced trauma and loss of life and connection with other humans. I had begun working with first responders online in the Los Angeles area who were beyond stressed and overwhelmed and it became obvious that my group, Inner Wisdom Psychotherapy Associates INC would need to expand to fit the growing crisis in mental health. My practice grew from 3 clinicians to 8 clinicians in a matter of months and I hired other likeminded clinicians who were willing to train under me in these somatic based therapies and seek their own training in both EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)and Brainspotting. We learned that we could reach far and wide as I was able to keep my license in Arizona we were able to service not only Californians, but even those who struggled across state lines. This was not even a possibility when I began as a therapist in 1999! These surely were unprecedented times! I continued my training in 2021 to include an attachment-based couples modality known as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) which is yet another modality to tap into the attachment frame of a relationship and tap into underlying emotions that hide behind dysfunctional behavior patterns. I have also begun sending my associate therapists to these body based trainings both with individuals and couples so we can really get to the root of their experiences and hopefully impact their healing.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
What I have learned to truly value as an owner of a small group practice is the importance of avoiding burnout. I have spent so much time recently researching what contributes toward resiliency and how to keep new therapists afloat when hearing difficult stories day after day and often being the sounding board for someone’s very traumatic experiences. With my mom being of Okinawa Heritage (a blue zone) known for their centurions, I’ve learned the value of community. One thing I remember about starting in private practice was how isolating the work was and how I couldn’t even share much with my husband as it involved keeping my clients most confidential information private. I realized how vital it is to have peers who share similar experiences and how team building experiences aren’t just for big companies. Each week we meet together as a group, share mindfulness, breathwork, and meditations we found helpful and come together with old fashioned potlucks and get togethers while sharing our personal lives through games and camaraderie. We encourage being in the client seat anytime it is needed and experiencing the types of therapies we offer as a way to continue to grow in the parallel process we experience with our clients in learning and growing.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
Interestingly, when I started my undergraduate program I thought for sure I would’ve been a musician. In fact, I started playing Suzuki Piano in my hometown in Oberlin OH (home of the famous Oberlin Conservatory of Music) with a live in Japanese piano teacher trained by Suzuki himself. At the age of 5, I woke up every day and practiced and hour before and after school and continued to add instruments to my repertoire including the Viola at age 10. I was certain music would be my life calling! However, this all changed when I got to college and realized I had stage fright! My anxiety was so debilitating that I went to see a local therapist at my University to see if she could help! This is where I encountered something I knew would change my life and bring me to my first experience with psychotherapy! And it worked! I could slowly begin to perform more and come out of my shell. It also made me realize that therapy was powerful and maybe I could also begin helping people the way my student therapist had helped me! It seemed like magic. To this day, I don’t regret making a pivot from music to Psychology because now I can use my old passion for music as a coping mechanism after a long day of seeing clients or providing supervision! I would choose therapy over and over again, because now I realize we have left a mark in the soul of hundreds of individuals over the last 25 years!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.innerwisdompsychotherapyassoc.com
- Instagram: @innerwisdompsychassoc
- Facebook: Inner Wisdom Psychotherapy Associates
- Linkedin: Naomi Babcock