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

Tara, appreciate you joining us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

I knew early on in my Master’s program at Columbia University that I wanted to own my own business/ clinical practice helping children, teenagers and families in need. I knew that I needed my higher level education do to so, thousands of hours in clinical training and supervision, as well as passing my LCSW/ LICSW clinical board exam. I am currently licensed in two states, both Minnesota and Georgia where I currently live and practice.

I knew that I wanted to become a mother early on after graduating, so choosing to run my own business, offered me flexibility of hours and choosing my specialities/ caseload inquiries. It was important to me to be able to offer high quality care for all families, without having to pay out of pocket, so becoming credentialed with major insurance companies accepting insurance has been key. An important  concept of social work is helping others access affordable resources and care, despite socioeconomic barriers.

My career goal and dream to run my own private practice, occurred simultaneously with becoming a new mom, 19 years ago.  I would take care of my twin baby boys during the day hours, and then work part time evenings and weekends, three days per week while building my business in Minnesota.

Back then, nothing was done digitally, so all of my client case notes and billing to insurance companies was done by hand. That was a challenge in some ways, now looking back, however I didn’t know any different then. Technology has driven so much in the therapy private practice world over the years, and my platforms for managing my clinical caseloads are so much more efficient and convenient now.

I worked part time around having five children over the years and renting out a shared office space with two other family therapists in my local town in Minnesota. Sharing work space was an affordable way to manage my practice, without high overhead office expense.

Ten years ago, I met a new challenge of moving to a new state that did not allow reciprocity in my clinical licensure, despite my many years of experience and clinical practice. It took my almost a year, but I was determined to obtain my licensure in Georgia, as well as in Minnesota.

All along it was important to keep my licensure status active while participating in continued education training annually as well.

I feel so fortunate that I chose a career that is a win win balance for maintaining my career and passion to help others in need, while still being a mom and prioritizing my family life.

Tara, 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?

From a young age, I was drawn to helping others in my neighborhoods, at church and in my school and community. My early jobs included babysitting, coaching kids, teaching psycho-education and facilitating groups, creating and leading a program for at risk kids in my town and being a summer recreational camp counselor in diverse neighborhoods.

I engaged in study abroad programming in Sweden to better understand the social welfare systems and how we can more effectively care for people across all settings and situations in need. I also went on mission trips abroad internationally to Jamaica and South America to actively learn and grow my faith and exposure to many different cultures.

After receiving my bachelor and master degrees, I worked many internships and clinical therapy jobs in inner city neighborhoods in St. Paul, Minneapolis and the Bronx, NYC before starting my own private practice.

I have been drawn my entire life to understanding conflict and solving problems with a positive, creative and open mind. Being nonjudgemental, objective and helping others with empathy and compassion has been critical to my life long career success.

One of my favorite career quotes over the past 25 years defines my passion and career:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” -Fred Rogers

Another quote that I love is this:
“We all do better when we all do better”. -Paul Wellstone

Paul Wellstone said it best when he also said, “Sometimes the only realist are the dreamers.”

I have always chosen to dream big and chase my dreams. It is part of who I am and a big part of my wanting to see my client’s meet their goals and feel their best at the end of each day.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I have grown my clientele through being authentic in my work and life. When you pour your heart into your work and you are honest, trustworthy, caring, compassionate and hard working, it shows; your clients will refer you to others. Word of mouth has always been my biggest referral point. Protecting confidentiality is also cornerstone to working with clients.  I care for and protect my clients personal struggles and goal achievements, as much as I do my own family.

I also use a monthly service where I advertise my work on Psychology Today.

Major insurance companies also refer me as a listed credentialed and licensed provider with them. I collaborate with many teachers, pediatricians and other helping professionals as well. This is also a referral point to build my caseload.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid changed the way may of us in the therapy world work and live. Who would have ever guessed we could effectively reach clients and meet goals so efficiently and effectively across a computer screen?

In 2020, my office doors were closed and I learned how to run my business on HIPPA compliant Telehealth modes of interaction. I engaged in many hours of online / zoom training and I was ready to hit the ground running learning an entirely new way to reach clients in need.

My prior play therapy and talk therapy counseling modalities in an office converted overnight to becoming trained in how to provide counseling and therapy from our homes.

I have continued to effectively provide Telehealth services to many children, teenagers and parents/ families via Telehealth. In fact, many prefer the convenience of this modality and insurance companies now continue to offer provider and families this mode of therapy. While I refer most play therapy younger clients out to in person, I do continue to do parent, family and teenage talk counseling via Telehealth. I also refer higher need clients out to in person therapy; it is always important to assess who is an acceptable candidate for Telehealth therapy versus in person.

I have personally witnessed how resistant clients and teenagers who previously didn’t want to go to an office for counseling, be more open to Teletherapy in the comfort of their bedroom (with their favorite pet). What took me three sessions to do, I can easily accomplish in one session breaking the ice and building a trusting relationship. Kids and teens are so accustomed to technology and interacting via Facetime, Zoom and now Teledocs and Telehealth. It has also been remarkably surprising how effective I can facilitate family therapy sessions with many people on a couch interacting with me via computer.

Telehealth has made access to counseling and therapy more convenient and easier for busy families to manage in the comfort of their own homes. Being at home talking through problems, creating goals and working through hard things is also easier for many without going into an office.

De-stigmatizing mental health services and the need for counseling for all of us at different times in our lives is very important to me. Everyone struggles with something at any given time. I continue to have a waitlist, as so many children and families continue to seek out help with pandemic ripple effects.

I feel so lucky and blessed to love my work and continue to love what I do, while still being a very busy Mom and wife. I highly recommend this career for anyone who wants to help others, while still allowing the flexibility to create your own schedule and hours. It is a highly rewarding career helping others reach their counseling goals and live their best lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/tara-schoeller-alpharetta-ga/44162
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-schoeller-msw-licsw-lcsw-8bb16159/

Image Credits
I took the picture. ( my daughter did) LOL