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

Alright, Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights 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.

My name is Nicole Wallace and the risk I took was betting on myself and opening my own mental health counseling private practice. In January 2021, I resigned from my position as a school counselor and took the leap to open my own private practice. This was both scary and exciting for me. As a person of African American/Puerto Rican descent, mental health is not very prominent in our communities. Several people told me that my business would not survive and that I would struggle to maintain clients. They told me to stick with my W2 job. Luckily, I have a very good support system. I have a group of people who listened to my dream and encouraged me throughout the process. My husband began researching how to open a practice and setting a timeline for me to submit my documentation for LLC and licensing. My best friend always had an encouraging word when I was down or lost on what my next step might be. We all need support people by our side. Coming from an inner city, low income, single parent home – I didn’t know to many people who had opened their own business and been successful. I sometimes didn’t even feel I had the right to have such a dream.

Currently my business has been open for over a year. I have 4 other clinicians who work for me. I am so excited to give back these new clinicians and maybe provide a role model that I did not have.

Nicole, 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 joined the U.S. Army right after high school. Coming from a single parent home and the youngest of 3, I knew my mother could not afford to send me to college. The Army afford me to return to Connecticut and complete a dual degree program in education and pyschology. After teaching elementary school for 5 years, I realized my passion was working with students on social emotional concerns. I enrolled in a graduate program and received my degree in school counseling. As a school counselor I was able to engage students in a much more effective manner. However, my coworker and I would always discuss what it would look like if we had our own practice and creative a safe judgement free environment for students. My coworker left before I did and took the leap into private practice. I waited several years but I never gave up on my dream. When I left school counseling I worked within agencies and non-profit organizations. I performed trauma therapy and in home therapy. It was a great learning experience. In 2021 I too the leap and opened my open practice.

At my practice, Transformation Counseling & Consulting located in Raleigh, North Carolina we specialize in assisting women who are struggling with anxiety, depression, and past trauma. What sets us apart at TC&C is that we are a group of non-white providers and we are servicing our own community. It can be very difficult to find a African American on non-white therapist. Many of the women we service are looking for a therapist that looks like them and that can relate to their struggles, especially during this time when social injustices are being revealed daily. This makes me proud that we can be here to serve women – any woman.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Marketing online has helped my me to build my reputation as a licensed clinical therapist. Defining my niche as specializing in servicing women who are experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms, particularly women in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) community. I first started with being sure that my website showed images of women who were diverse. I created a page directly speaking to our services provided in the Women’s Issues category. My next step was to work on my Google Business profile. Google Business is one of the quickest ways that potential clients search for providers. I was sure to include pictures of my self and my staff. We are all women and we are a diverse group as well. As a clinical professional it is not ethical to advertise with client testimony. So, I utilize colleagues on to provide Google reviews. If I work with another woman in the community, I will kindly ask her to provide me with a review of our time or experience together. These strategies have helped increase traffic to my website and increase referrals for new clients.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was to not accept all referrals in business. I was seeking someone to refer male clients to as I work with primarily female clients. Many times the women I work with will ask if we have a male therapist for their partner. A colleague recommended a male therapist in the community to me and I sent several clients his way only to find out that the recommended therapist was not always on time for appointments and was difficult to reach to set up appointments. This caused the referred clients a great deal of distress. I learned not every referral to another business in your area is a good referral. Now I do my research on colleagues I want to refer clients to in the future. I also try to set up a network meeting or virtual meeting to learn more about other clinicians in the Wake County area of North Carolina. Getting to know people outside of their business profile is such an asset.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.transformcc10.com
• Instagram: @transformcc10
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Transformcc10
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-wallace-lcmhc-a844b721b/

Image Credits
Nicole Wallace