We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannon Ricks, LMFT a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shannon, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
Something really exceptional about my parents is that they never gave me compliments or feedback about my appearance. I know that’s really unheard of to have parents never call their daughter beautiful or pretty or cute. My mom didn’t particularly care about her appearance, and I only had brothers who also didn’t care much about the way they looked. Instead I was being complemented and psychologically rewarded for my intelligence, my kindness, and my talents. This really helped me build confidence and self-esteem. The way I feel about myself doesn’t fluctuate even as my outward appearance fluctuates. I am so grateful for the messaging I was given as a child and hope that other parents can learn from this.
Shannon , 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 was attending therapy for depression when I was 16 years old and wasn’t a huge fan of all of the therapists I tried. It was a lot of going to clinics and hospitals and older gentleman wearing suits. It made me feel like there was some thing wrong with me. It felt like there was a big power differential. I wondered if they were any therapists in the world who were young. Who were really casual. Kind of like the big sister I didn’t have. One who had good fashion and swore sometimes. So I decided that I would be exactly what the industry was needing. A young, woke, woman who didn’t make people feel broken.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I had to appear confident and fearless in the face of traditionalists. I felt so strongly that my approach was needed and honestly, better than the old school styles I was taught in grad school. I wasn’t afraid to perform on social media and be interviewed on podcasts. I got a thrill from it! I knew I wasn’t the best and could be faced with scrutiny but the amount of positive feedback I got from my clients and colleagues kept me going. I knew I was making an impact by just letting my authentic, irreverent, personality shine. I think my clients have a lot of fears that hold them back and may look to me on some level to break free of that since they see that freedom in me.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Create the type of work environment you always wish you could have, but never experienced. I genuinely love and respect each of my team members. I supervise them the way I wish I was supervised. I love the ability to create a culture of progressive therapists who take trips together, who share deep emotions with each other, and who know they are valued. learn what motivates each employee. What their love language is. And make sure you look at that every time you evaluate performance or it’s their birthday.
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