We were lucky to catch up with Shahla Nikpour recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shahla, appreciate you joining us today. What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

Roll with the resistance! This is something I learned in my graduate program as a Social Worker. People are seeking change, but it’s not a quick fix, especially in our current collective climate, self-healing, growth, empowerment and resiliency take a life time. I work with people wanting to make adaptive changes but what we don’t talk about is that we have to embrace the client’s resistance as well! You can have all the great resources and tools and you can gift these to your clients but at the end of the day the client will still hold resistance to change, but this is actually a healthy part of the transformation process. Even as a private practice owner I have had to examine my own resistance to change, and transformation. It’s ok to hold space for people that are resisting change, it’s a daunting thing! I tell my clients there is nothing wrong with you! Hold space, listen and validate, make people feel seen and heard that in itself is so powerful. The client goes at their pace, not at your pace.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

It was through my own horrible experience of being in a toxic relationship and finally having the courage to leave it but then turn that pain into my private practice. Sometimes friends and family don’t get what it’s like to go through something this painful especially when they may see your partner as charming and friendly. I decided after feeling so immobilized my story was a foundation for the future work I wanted to do. I help clients learn to end toxic patterns in their life, to build more empowerment, and to embrace their resiliency. It’s that simple. I chose the Phoenix as it is a symbol of a creature that is able to rebuild themselves from the ashes and begin to soar. One of the definition of a Phoenix: a person or thing regarded as uniquely remarkable in some respect. All of my clients that come to see me have a remarkable story that needs to told and heard. Each clients ability to show up and do the work, painful work none the less is remarkable. I am really proud of the fact that I was able to begin to build my brand and start to share my stories with others.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Going through Social Work school there is culture taught that our profession is about the ultimate sacrifice to the community. We were taught that it was bad to make money in the social work profession. I had an amazing clinical experience in school and in my internships, but what they didn’t tell us was if we wanted to go into private practice, consulting, teaching or even writing, that we needed to understand the business of marketing. No one taught us that. When I started moving into my private practice I started to meet other therapists that were really giving the whole community permission to make a successful living as a therapist. I started blogging with a group of female entrepreneurs in South Florida called The Daily Drip and I learned a lot from different women who were marketing consultants, lawyers, accountants, wealth managers, if I didn’t have that connection I don’t think I would be as far along in the game.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Quality over quantity. I can’t stress this enough. This for me is the key. Would I love to be booked every day for weeks at a time with clients? Absolutely, but I have to remember that I am ONE human that I need to provide quality care to each of my client, and not all clients will be the ideal fit for my practice. That is why it’s so important that when I do my initial consultation with a client that if it is not a good fit I make sure that I get them connected to the right therapist. Quality treatment is going to lay the foundation for growing your clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.phoenixthrivingtherapy.com
• Instagram: @phoenixthrivingtherapy
• Facebook: Shahla NIkpour
• Linkedin: Shaha Nikpour LCSW-QS
• Twitter: @snikpour444
• Other: The Daily Drip.com