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

Alright, Savannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the best advice you ever gave to a client? How did they benefit / what was the result? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

As a clinician, my job is to help clients come up with their own solutions with guidance. Telling others what to do per say isn’t helpful in a lot of ways in the counseling relationship, but I have shared bits of advice here and there that have especially resonated with clients. One important phrase that I use a lot of my practice is, “No” is a complete sentence. This is especially helpful when clients come in with a long history of people pleasing, perfectionism, and loose boundaries with co-workers and/or loved ones. It appears to be such a simple principle, but yet it really is a skill that takes practice and intention. Sometimes the most basic pieces of communication are the hardest.

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

I am a boy mom of two who has been in the mental health space since 2008. Graduating from The University of Memphis with a Master’s in Counseling in 2010 propelled me to many different roles within the field. These range from acute care in psychiatric hospitals and outpatient clinics to a clinical marketing rep for a rehabilitation center. When starting my own practice, I wanted to do two things….

1. Help normalize therapy and break mental health stigma
2. Build a team of honest employees who feel empowered and valued

I think living by these two principles named above helps me stand out as a practice in the mental health field, but also as a business in the community. In previous jobs, I was tired of corporate structures treating patients and employees like numbers and used that to fuel the foundation of my business.

Currently, my practice, My Memphis Therapist Counseling and Consulting treats children, adolescents, and adults with a specific focus on women’s mental health. Play therapy is also offered for children ages 5 and up. I am a PMH-C, perinatal mental health certified provider which means I specialize in seeing women struggling with perinatal and postpartum mood disorders. As a whole my team and I can treat (but not limited to): depression, anxiety, ADHD, perinatal and postpartum, issues, everyday life stressors, and disordered eating.

My Instagram is a big part of my brand and it’s also what I named the business after as it technically came first! Check it out at @mymemphistherapist

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Besides local advertising & social media presence, word of mouth is such a big referral source in this market. Being highly ethical, honest, and authentic are some of my personal values that I bring to my professional life as well. I feel like by building a business around these values, it has served me well as clients and community resources see me as trustworthy. Clients can see straight through someone being unauthentic and I never want anyone who comes to my space looking for healing to feel that way.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Oh, this is such a good question. I had to unlearn that you professionally as a therapist, you cannot be creative or have a personality. I think there is a therapist stigma in our field and many therapists are terrified of being themselves as it will be seen as “less than” or “unprofessional.” The truth is, there is a huge difference between being unethical and authentically being yourself. Clients want relatability and maybe some humor here and there. They don’t want a therapist robot. I have had to unlearn this throughout the years as I was so scared to be myself, but once I stepped out of the box and actually did it, my business took off and my clients also appreciate that I too, am human.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mymemphistherapist.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mymemphistherapist/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyMemphisTherapy

Image Credits
1st headshot credit: Lexi Merlino Photography