We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Phil Stark a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Phil thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?
When COVID hit in 2020 I was halfway through my graduate program, getting my master’s degree in Psychology, about six months from starting to see clients in person. I did end up starting to see clients but instead of in person it was online via telehealth. What started out as a barrier to accomplishing what I wanted to do with my practice ending up being a feature I wanted to incorporate in to my practice. During the pandemic many things we did in person transitioned to being done online, from ordering food to going on dates. Now that we’re coming out the other end of the COVID experience some things we got used to doing online are things we’re going to keep doing online. For instance, more people are now not only more comfortable having doctor’s appointments or therapy sessions online, but they now prefer it The ease of logging in from their own home and not having to drive are factors that my clients find positive about doing talk therapy online. It’s been an interesting journey adjusting my practice to the post COVID environment.
Phil, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a talk therapist, seeing clients all over California, working on issues like depression, anxiety, addiction, and anger, as well as phase of life issues like marriage, career, parenthood, and the midlife. Before becoming a therapist I was a writer and producer in the entertainment industry, and I often work with writers and comedians on issues involving the artistic process, imposter syndrome, and the inner critic. I’m also a man, a father, and someone who changed careers mid-life, so I work well with men regarding issues like fatherhood, career changes, relationship conflict, anger, anxiety, and the midlife. I enjoy working with couples, emphasizing the process of recognizing and resolving conflict in ways that improve relationships. I see romantic couples as well as work couples, like writing teams or co-founders.
Before I became a therapist I was a screenwriter, working on shows like South Park and That ’70s Show, as well as writing features like “Dude, Where’s My Car?”. I was a screenwriter for a long time, but eventually I became frustrated with my career. I was unhappy and I felt stuck. After a long period of self reflection (and therapy!), I decided to go back to school, get a degree in psychology, and become a therapist. Now I feel much more positive and enthusiastic about my career and my work.
While I no longer write screenplays I still continue to write. Instead of scripts I write non fiction books and articles about mental health and personal growth. My latest book is “Dude, Where’s My Car-tharsis?”. It’s a friendly and engaging guide to talk therapy. It’s a way for me to share concepts about talk therapy that have helped my individual clients with a broader audience of people curious about how talk therapy can help them with the issues they’re experiencing.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The big pivot in my life so far was changing careers, going from screenwriter to therapist. Many people reach a point in their lives, often around the midpoint, where they reassess their satisfaction with their careers, sometimes realizing they want to do something else, but struggling both figuring out what that something else is, and also how to go about doing it. I had a lot of success as a screenwriter, but towards the end of my writing career it became clear that I was unhappy and wished I was doing something else, but had no idea what that something else might be. This kind of mid life reassessment of careers is common, and something I work with many clients on, and it’s nice to share my own life experiences with my clients.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
If I were starting out now I think I’d do it the same exact way. Being a therapist is something I came to later in my life, and part of the reason for that it because I started to feel like I wanted to share what I’d learned from my experiences in life with people who are experiencing similar things. Therapy is a field people sometimes come to after having a full career in a different field. Being a therapist is an opportunity to draw from your own personal history to help clients deal with their own situations. I often tell people that I went from Hollywood, where having some grey in your beard can be a disadvantage, to being a therapist, where having some grey in your beard is a good thing!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.starktalk.net
- Facebook: facebook.com/philip.stark.98
- Twitter: @pbstarkok
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcAWTIw8UPo