We recently connected with Natalia Aiza and have shared our conversation below.

Natalia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

My parents were both immigrants (from Poland and Mexico). I believe that they had to work twice as hard to earn respect and establish themselves in their workplaces. They have thick accents and, in America, their Ph.D.s carried much less weight. I knew from early on that I was in a very privileged position in comparison, as people would turn to me to “translate” my mother’s English. My mother had additional prejudices to overcome as a woman in the sciences in the late 20th century, My father has to contend with racial discrimination. I watched the two of them basically barrel through these limitations because they refused to give up on career success. They did not slow down to wish things were different, but rather, fought harder. I learned from them that people’s doubts about you can eventually be dispelled with unbelievable hard work. Also, my parents did not have the luxury of being able to languish in the self-doubt of imposter syndrome, because everyone around them was constantly thinking less of them.

Natalia, 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 started Kairos Wellness Collective because I didn’t know where to send my own daughter for therapy. I have OCD, as does much of my family. Until we launched, there was not an OCD clinic in Boulder, and my only choices were a 6-12 month waiting list at an individual OCD clinician or to send my daughter to a non-specialist. Unfortunately, OCD treatment is very counter to traditional talk therapy and non-specialists can actually make the condition worse. I cannot emphasize how many of our clients have spent years in mainstream therapy without relief from their symptoms. In the mental health community we have a collective lack of education and experience in OCD, and our clients are suffering!

I am so proud to have trained seven clinicians to become OCD specialists in the last 2 years. I urge anyone who suspects they may have OCD to question whether or not their existing supports are truly helping.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think in Mental Health the absolute best way to build your reputation is through word of mouth. Therapy is no longer a secretive process, and I am blessed that my clients proudly share their progress to friends and family. We are especially grateful to have this next generation of OCD experiencers who are even more openly speaking about OCD recovery. All four of my kids have heard other kids talking about our center at school. My daughter shared that someone she barely knows walked up to her in the hallways and said “You are Natalia’s daughter right? That is SO cool.” It is an honor to be spoken about and far more valuable than any google ad.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn a lot of my people-pleasing tendencies in order to run an effective business. People pleasing was my safety mechanism. For a long time I believed that I needed to be liked in order to be respected. I no longer believe that I can be liked by everyone all the time while running Kairos. In fact, I think that if I am people pleasing my employees and clients all the time, we will significantly slow down client recovery.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kairoswellnesscollective.com
• Instagram: @ocdcolorado
• Facebook: Kairos Wellness Collective
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalia-aniela-jose-truszkowska-0a1615174/
• Youtube: @kairoswellnesscollective4333