I live in the Great State of Texas, and many college students – 66,425 in 2016 to be exact, attend A & M. So of course, it goes without saying that I know lots of kids who attend school there, as well as others in the process of applying for a future spot.
One of my close friends has a son there currently and was alerted during the last month about two recent suicides on campus. Details are unknown, but just the other morning, she texted me about yet another one. That makes three. Of course, this story was buried in the news amidst hurricanes and other happenings.
Another friend, in another state, told me about a recent suicide on the campus where her son attends school at the University of Boulder-Colorado.
All of this news came after a call I received recently from Rock Prairie Behavioral Health Hospital in College Station. One of my former clients who attends school there checked themselves into the hospital feeling hopeless and suicidal. Luckily, this client reached out for help before doing anything. I received this call one day – just one day – after writing a letter my client requested asking her apartment manager to please waive a $400 pet fee because her cat was crucial to managing her ongoing anxiety. She couldn’t nearly afford the pet fee. She also, in my opinion, could not afford to not have her cat with her for the sake of her own mental health. It was a letter I gladly wrote.
The pet fee was waived.
This rash of college suicides, hitting so close to home, is worrisome. According to an American College Health Association (ACHA) study from 2016, the suicide rate among young adults, ages 15-25, has tripled since the 1950s and suicide is currently the second most common cause of death a month college students. This study has other interesting stats: 22.7% of students felt things were hopeless within the previous two weeks of being surveyed, and 58%, in that same timeframe, felt overwhelmed by all they had to do.
These statistics are alarming, but they are certainly not surprising. College is a stressful environment for many students. They are navigating being on their own for the first time, and dealing with newfound pressures of picking majors, dealing with roommates, and attending to life skills such as grocery shopping, laundry and organizing their own time management. Add the rampant availability of drugs and alcohol on campus and for some students who are already at risk, it can be overwhelming.
While are warning signs for suicide, sometimes, there simply are none. Kids can spiral fast. So listen when your child tells you they are feeling hopeless or worried or anxious or depressed. Encourage them to get help, and get it now. Insist on it. It could save their life.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has a hotline that operates 24/7 at 800-273-8255. Students can also text HOME to 741741 and a live, trained Crisis Counselor will respond immediately.
Many families are now adjusting to having a child away at college. Parents are worried about class schedules, whether Junior is getting enough nutrition and if their laundry is sorted correctly (or even done at all).
But kids are often using this situation to experiment with drugs and alcohol – in an environment where they are unaccountable for the first time (to anyone but themselves) and testing their newfound freedom.
This freedom can be okay for some, and work in the opposite direction for others. I know this because in my own clinic, I see many college students that got into some serious trouble with drugs and alcohol while away their first semester at college. Here are some warning signs that parents need to think about for their college-age children – and ones that can indicate that trouble is lurking around the corner:
- They have excessive cash withdrawals – I can’t emphasize enough that cash withdrawals must be limited. In fact, I wrote an entire blog on this topic. Make sure your child is using a debit or credit card for purchases – and not using the good ole “I paid for the check, and everyone paid me back, Mom” excuse. Why limit the cash withdrawals? Because drug dealers – and people that supply beer – only take only cash. And cash is unaccountable.
- They are out all the time – Of course, college is a time for exploring new relationships and establishing a social life. But if your child is out 4 or more nights a week (and not at the library), then they might be heading in a dangerous direction. Partying to excess is not “cute.” It’s dangerous.
- They are evasive about their friends and where they go – College is a different environment, and parents are not going to be totally in the know about all of their friends and whereabouts like they were in high school. But if they are not telling you who they hang with or where they are going, then it’s time to ask who, what, where, why and when.
- They are skipping class – If your student is repeatedly skipping class, there are probably other issues going on, such as staying out too late, being hungover, or not having motivation or feeling overwhelmed.
- They are sleeping all the time – It is natural for college students to keep more unconventional hours and nap in between class or to catch up for a big night out. Excessive sleeping can be a warning sign of depression or other issues, and that warrants immediate attention.
So what can you do as a parent, especially when your student is far away? Make time to engage. Arrange FaceTime dates, use Snapchat to send them pictures of the dog, and send occasional cards and care packages of their favorite things.
Above all, talk to them. Ask them not just if they are doing well in class or if they are dating anyone but ask them if they are worried or stressed about anything. Ask them how they are dealing with the pressure. Ask them if they are feeling alone, or isolated – or if they picked the right environment. Ask them directly about their drug or alcohol use. Don’t judge them at first if they tell you something, just listen. You might be surprised at their answers.
Don’t wait. If you suspect your child is in trouble, take action – and now. Insist they seek help with a local therapist that specializes in Chemical Dependency, or seek counseling at their college counseling center.
Above all, support them. Love them. And get them help – before it’s too late.
I met Sarah McClelland when we were graduate students in San Antonio. She was personable, funny, and gosh, was she always in amazing physical shape!!! After grad school, she moved to Chicago, has been working as a clinician at a group practice. We’ve kept in touch through the years, and I was super-excited to see that she took the plunge and opened up her own shop in May.
Her innovative practice, Chicago Mind & Body, is a psychotherapy practice providing clinical counseling services with an integrated focus on exercise and nutrition habits to promote overall balance.
I recently interviewed Sarah to hear more about her new practice, which is located in the West Loop in Chicago.
Q: Congrats on your new practice! It’s truly integrative behavioral health, which we need more of in our country. What was your inspiration for Chicago Mind & Body?
A: I’ve always noticed in my personal life the benefits of eating well and working out. I love the feeling when I work out – I love when I do it, and I love how I feel after. And of course, I believe in the value of clinical and mental health counseling. Good nutrition and exercise, along with therapy, is also proven to help fight depression and anxiety, so it made sense to me to use this approach.
Q: Tell me about your own fitness routine.
A: Ever since I was a little girl, I was obsessed with riding horses. I started when I was 8 years old, and I still ride whenever I get the chance. In college, I always ran or hit the gym. Now I lift weights several days a week – working out is my “coffee” for the day!! But I’d say I work out typically, 5-6 days a week.
Q: How do you integrate exercise with your clients’ treatment plans? How do you deal with those that are resistant?
A: I base everything on my clinical modality, which is a lot of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness work, and I am very client-centered. Of course, no two clients are alike so I customize everything. I always go into a session assuming my clients are their own experts.
If a person says to me, “I don’t exercise, I don’t have time” then I go right to self-care and how important it is to our whole state of being. I am never going to force someone to do something they don’t want to do. But I explore it. I will talk to them about things they might want to try, or things they used to do. But the bottom line is that I’m not going to tell someone to run if they hate running.
Q: Sleeping and eating patterns are always important areas to address with clients.
A: Yes, I see a lot of clients with many different concerns about their eating. Maybe they are a binge-eater or maybe their relationship with food is bad – like, they will restrict themselves for a week after they indulged at a party. I try to shift the focus with my clients to look at food at nourishment for their bodies – not “good” or “bad” and for them to not use food as punishment.
Q: Do you find that people want to see changes right away?
A: A lot of our clients want the quick fix and as we all know, there is none. But people can change and shift their thinking over time. There are so many fads right now. I use my sessions for educations purposes with regards to their own eating patterns and help guide them on a different path.
Q: What has been your proudest moment as a therapist?
A: Seeing people get better! I love seeing when they have improved and we terminate services because they don’t need me anymore. It makes me really happy seeing people do well. It’s such a privilege for people to share their lives and stories with me and to trust me to be a part of that.
Q: What is your vision for the future of Chicago Mind & Body, say, five years down the road?
A: I envision one day having my practice be a place where people can come for not only mental health counseling, but also having a workout room with weights and cardio, and rooms where myself and other clinicians can run groups. I’m also interested in starting some therapeutic walking groups around the city.
Q: I have no doubt you’ll make that happen!!
A: That’s the goal.
Q: I’m definately coming to see your place next time I’m in town.
A: I’m holding you to that!
Chicago Mind & Body is located at 25 E. Washington Street in the loop. They serve adults and couples 18 years and upup. Visit their website at www.chicagomindandbody.com for more information. Contact Sarah via email at sfarris@chicagomindandbody.com.
It’s a question I’m asked often. How, praytell, did a 40-something former marketing and journalism gal become a therapist?
It was a gradual move. In my previous career, I was in marketing and content writing. When my kids were small and I was moving around the country as a military spouse, I shifted to freelance writing. I wrote mostly for military publications and websites and it was great having the flexibility and ability to work from home (wherever home happened to be at the time) and around my kid’s schedules.
Then a funny thing happened. My kids started getting older and the pull to go back to work became stronger. In my writing world, though, I realized something: I was writing features and interviewing tons of people around the country on different topics. And they’d all tell me lots of stuff. Private stuff. The article topic wasn’t even discussed and people I’d talk to, mostly strangers, and usually on the phone, are telling me about their affairs, abortions, family problems. I remember distinctly one phone conversation where an enlisted soldier in Virginia, who had gone well over our 30-minute allotted phone interview time, said to me, ‘Gosh, you are just so easy to talk to. You really listened to me.”
Something clicked for me. I knew that I was easy to talk to – I’d been told that all my life. Moving around the country as a military spouse kinda forces you to talk with different people from many walks of life – in my case, Upstate New York, the Pacific Northwest and finally the Texas Hill Country.
But obviously there’s more to it than that.
I knew a fellow military spouse, an RN who also was pursuing her LPC that was in my book club at Ft. Hood. I spoke with her and asked her a ton of questions. How is the program? What do you have to do? She was completely encouraging and I’ll never forget her telling me this: “Girl, you have to do it. You’ll be great.”
So one year later, I find myself at 6:00 p.m. a Monday night in a classroom in downtown San Antonio, sitting in my first (of many) 3 hour graduate night-school classes for my Master’s in Counseling at UTSA. I had applied for and received a $4,000 grant from the Army (thanks, Uncle Sugah) towards my studies. For the next two and a-half years, I spent a minimum of two nights a week and two summers in class, pulled many late-nights writing papers, completed 400 closely-supervised clinical counseling hours, took two big national certification exams and graduated.
And I loved it. I counseled groups of teens at a Juvenille Justice Academy in downtown San Antonio. I did in-home case-management with at-risk youth and their families on the west and east sides. I worked at a crisis center, detox, and IOP. I visited clients in jail and detention centers. And now, 7 years after starting this journey, I have my own private practice.
I’m finally able to say, at age 46, that I love what I do – and that journalism degree? Well, I get to use my marketing and writing skills on a daily basis, just in a different way – to promote myself and market my own business, and of course, write this blog.
At the end of the day….even the most challenging of days (and believe me, there are many) here is what I know, and the answer(s) to why I became a therapist:
I became a therapist to help others.
I became a therapist to listen to others.
I became a therapist to learn from others.
I became a therapist because I know, from personal experience, that therapy works.
I became a therapist because I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Every time someone walks through my door and sits down in my office, I know what a privilege it is that they’ve chosen me to help them. That is never lost on me. My job, while demanding at times, is fulfilling in a way that no other job has been for me.
There is no better feeling than when a person tells me that I’ve changed their life, or helped them stop using, or made their relationship with their spouse/parent/child better.
So that’s why this former marketing girl is now a therapist. I plan to continue working in this field until I retire. And as long as people want to tell me their stories, I’ll continue to listen.
What do the following topics have in common?
- a mother who has a child consistently breaking curfew – and she has found pot in the child’s room
- a parent insisting on random UAs for their child who has been dabbling in various substances
- a couple assigning tasks to their blended large family which include household chores and limits on when they will drive and pick-up kids from unplanned or spontaneous plans
- a client being reminded to be on time for appointments, or they will be charged for a full hour
They all involve boundaries – either lack thereof or the need to enforce them. Lately, I’ve been discussing boundaries at length with clients, co-workers and friends.
Mention the word “boundaries” to anyone and people usually cringe. For some reason, the word has a negative connotation and sometimes, reaction. The opposite is, in fact, true. Boundaries, when reasonable and clear, set expectations and limits within all of our relationships – be it romantic, work, friend or parent/child. Boundaries set a standard and ensure a baseline of trust, which is a necessary component for any successful relationship.
One thing that makes me simply nash my teeth to powder is when a parent tells me, when discussing boundries, is, “Well, they’re over 18, I have no say,” or “They’re an adult, I can’t do anything about it.”
Um, huh? What? Did you really just say that? You can and need to do everything about it.
So parents, I ask you this: do they live in your house? Yes? Then set boundaries.
Are you paying for their living expenses? Yes? Then set boundaries.
Are they going down a path that is high-risk? Yes? Then set boundaries. Now.
A father recently came to my clinic to talk about his oldest child, an adult, who moved back home after years of heroin use. The child has been in and out of rehab. Nothing is sticking, and the using is getting worse. The child stayed clean for a bit of time, but recently relapsed. The child was stealing from his parents and lying to cover up the substance use. We discussed treatment options. I suggested that based on the current status of things, it was probably time for an intervention to take place.
“Well, I don’t want to kick a dog when it’s down,” the father said. “I’m not sure now is the time for that.”
Boundaries are severely lacking in all aspects of this child’s life. We talked about boundaries as a gift, not a punishment. I added to the father that if this didn’t happen, his child might not have another chance to steal money from him – because the child most likely will succumb to his addiction. In this case, boundaries will more likely than not serve as a life-saver.
I struggled with boundaries soon after opening my private practice. I had clients that would text me at all hours of the night and if I was up, I would usually engage in texting with them. But it was taking an emotional toll on me. I can’t be available 24/7, and I wasn’t doing my clients any favors. So, I stopped answering texts and calls after a certain time at night and let those clients know that I was not available during those times. It was a boundary I needed to set, one they respected, and it benefitted us both in the long run.
So set your boundaries, and never apologize for doing so. Your relationships will thrive – not suffer.
It’s been exactly one year – today – since my first paying client walked through my private practice office door and sat on the couch. It’s been a great year, and I’ve been doing a ton of reflecting on the past 12 months. There are things I’ve done right, many I’ve done wrong and just about everything in between.
I’ve loved writing about my experience in my “Private Practice Chronicles” series, and due to the positive feedback I’ve received, I plan to continue to write about the things I learn in the upcoming year.
For this anniversary post, I’m sharing a few thoughts on my past year, and the most important things I’ve learned:
You Can’t Network Too Much – My daughter is a competitive baton twirler, and when she complains about practice time, I always remind her that no one has ever gone to a competition and said, “I practiced too much.” But the opposite is certainly true. The same goes for business networking – you can’t do “too much” of it! My networking has been an important and crucial part of growing my practice. The coffees, lunches, tours, emails, cold calls and meetings have been invaluable for making new contacts in my industry – as well as referrals.
Trust the Process – When I graduated from my Master’s, one of my favorite professors gave me a bookmark and wrote this phrase on the back. I didn’t quite understand what she meant at the time, but now I do. Therapy is a process. Owning a business is a process. There are ups and downs, and quite honestly, some days are better than others. Mistakes are made, but you learn from them and move on. But you must trust the process, and each and every lesson it teaches.
Diversify – Besides my private practice, I also write this blog, contract with a local opioid clinic and write and handle social media for other therapists. I am also working on a few other collaborative therapy-related business ventures. Don’t pigeon-hole yourself into only seeing clients in your clinic in case there is a slow month (and there will be slow months!) Have other options – and other revenue sources.
Enjoy Yourself – opening up your own business is scary, and there are lots of unknowns. There’s no steady paycheck, paid vacation time, insurance benefits or matching 401(k). There were times in the past year when my phone was silent and my clinic was empty, and other weeks where I couldn’t keep up with the demand. Through it all, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and am excited and energized to see where my business goes -and grows – in the upcoming years. I love what I do, and the best feeling in the world is when a client tells me how much I’ve helped them or changed their life.
I can’t imagine going back to work for someone else again after taking the plunge and venturing out on my own. It was a long and thought-out decision, and one I’m happy I made. I find it an honor and a privilege to work with my clients. I love meeting and connecting with new people in my industry. Every day I walk into my cozy office and I can’t believe I get to do what I do for a living. I’ve never been more energized or excited about my work.
Happy Anniversary to me, and hopefully, many, many more!
My first-born is off to college. We toured, he applied and he was admitted (Baylor, for those curious). We attended orientation. First semester tuition is paid, and the obligatory (and fun) trip to Bed Bath & Beyond is complete. He secured a dorm room (first choice), roommate (cute kid from Houston) and move-in time (o’dark-thirty on August 17).
He is my oldest and the first to leave the nest. I have many friends in similar boats: We have kids the same age, leaving for school and we are all entering this unchartered territory together. One by one they are leaving … for universities in-state, out-of-state, military institutions or they are staying close to home and working or attending local schools.
But here’s the thing: From my social media feed, you’d think that half of these kids have died. The posts are coming fast and furious as if their kids are gone forever and never coming home again.
And that makes me feel like a bad mom. Because the reality is – I’m not sad he’s leaving.
I’m excited. And thrilled.
Why should I be sad? He got into his first-choice school. He’s happy and looking forward to it. Plus, he’s a three hour-and-change drive away should something occur and I need to get there.
I’d be much sadder if he was home, living in my game-room with no future plan or direction.
So I simply do not feel sad. Why would I be sad? I’m thrilled for him and the wide-open possibilities that lie ahead. Will he study abroad? I hope so! Will he meet new people and experience different things than he has the last 18 years? Yes, please! I know for sure that on breaks he’ll come home and bring his laundry, empty my pantry and fridge, stay out way too late with his friends and drive me all kinds of crazy. And I can’t wait.
For 18 years, all I have wanted is for him to spread his wings and fly. And now he is. He has a work-ethic much like his surgeon-father and me combined and for that I am grateful. He is nervous and unsure and excited and planning his future independent of me. These are all of the things he should be doing as an 18-year-old facing a new challenge and mapping out his future.
I’ll always be there for him. I will sorely miss his energy and wit. I will miss his especially unique relationship he has with his sister. I will miss making him chocolate-chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast. I will miss the constant guitar and drum playing. I will miss watching Giants football games with him on Sundays. I will miss him coming into the house and saying, “Yo, whaasssup?” I will miss him cursing at the Madden Football screen. But sad? No. I’m not sad.
This momma is proud. And excited. And happy for him in a way he can’t possibly comprehend until one day when he watches his own kids go off to college.
I have two little secrets to share with all you other therapists out there, especially those thinking of starting a private practice. I hate just giving these secrets away, but I’m going to, because they are pretty valuable, and both are something I wish someone would have shared with me before I started out.
Ready for it? Alright, then sit down. And get your egos in check, people. ‘Cause these are some tough truths I’m telling you, but you need to know them and it’s better to figure this out sooner rather than later.
Secret Number One: Not everyone is going to like you.
I’m serious. Not everyone is going to like you.
And that’s ok.
Because here’s the deal – the real deal, the one that no one told you in your expensive graduate school classes, the one that no fancy PhD research study has revealed, the one you are simply gonna have to face: You are not the right fit for everyone that walks through your door.
And that’s ok.
The entire process of therapy revolves around the therapist-client relationship. It has to feel good for both parties involved for it to work. Haven’t you ever had a client that just adored you, but you’d cringe when you’d see them on your schedule? Of course you have!
And that’s ok.
I tell everyone in their intake – especially my teens and tweens – that therapy is a two-way street. The client must feel comfortable with me, and be able to be real with me….otherwise, the whole thing just won’t work. So unless they feel that way, I don’t want to waste their time and money.
But it’s hard. It’s not easy to have someone come in for an appointment, and never call and schedule another one. At first, it hurt my feelers. And made me doubt it I was an effective therapist….and if my practice would make it.
Which leads me to Secret Number Two: It’s not about you.
If they don’t like you, than the therapy process most likely won’t work. And that’s not about you. That’s about the client, and what they need. Maybe the therapy process scared them. Maybe there simply wasn’t the comfort level on their end. Or, maybe it was a good-old fashioned case of Secret Number One.
And that’s ok.
Early in my practice, I saw a client for one session, and never heard from her again. In my opinion, it was a good session (I can usually tell if the session is not working, or the client and I simply aren’t gelling). I was somewhat perplexed that she never called back. My SOP is to give a client after the intake one shout-out (via text or email), then leave them alone if they don’t respond. She never responded, so I thought, well, ok, it most likely wasn’t about me, I just wasn’t a good fit.
Don’t get me wrong. Even if I know I’m not the right fit or someone never comes back after the initial intake, I wonder if they went elsewhere, or I ruminate over the session, wondering if I said something that offended the client or if didn’t ask the right questions. But then, I focus on my clinic full of clients that I do serve, that have seen me for multiple appointments, and are happy enough to refer me to others. At the end of the day, I only want what’s best for my clients. And if that’s not me, then I truly hope they find the right fit for themselves, and get the help they need.
That client I thought clicked? She eventually called me back….for a couple’s session! Seems that was more of what she wanted and needed.
And that’s ok.
I hope these secrets are helpful. If you have any little secrets that you’d like to share about your private practice, I’d love to hear them!
Here in the great State of Texas, there is a not-so-great law. This law states that minors can be served in their own homes with alcohol provided that is supplied by a parent or legal guardian of the child.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard parents of many underage kids say, to some effect, “We are teaching our kids to drink responsibly at home.”
Um, what? No. Oh no. As Julia Roberts famously said in Pretty Woman, “Big Mistake. Huge.”
There is no research that proves that parents who serve their underage children are able to drink “responsibly.” In fact, this study shows that parents think that providing alcohol to teens at home decreases the risk for future problems, but in fact – the opposite is true. Parents that provide alcohol to minors actually increase the risk for future drinking problems.
I’ve had many clients come to my clinic and recount times in high school their parents served them alcohol. “It was always not a big deal,” they said. The irony is – and that I often point out – that they are sitting in my office dealing with some sort of substance-use issue.
I spoke with Dan Nichols, MA, LCDC, a former colleague and now Clinical Director of Lifetime Recovery, an in-patient rehab facility in San Antonio, and asked him his thoughts. “The only positive that comes to mind with parents serving minors in the home is risk-reduction with regards to operating a motor vehicle,” he said. “The others are all negatives. There are a lot of messages that are sent to the child, like they endorse underage drinking, and that it’s ok.”
When a parent introduces alcohol, Nichols says, the message is clear: “It basically is saying to the child, here’s how you should drink,” he said. “Next time, these kids will most likely be doing it outside the home.”
Nichols states there is a bottom line that parents often don’t think of when prematurely introductions alcohol to minors. “Alcohol is an addictive substance,” he said. “It’s not tea. It’s not Kool-Aid. So be aware that it can become habit-forming. People are not addicted on first exposure to alchohol, but sometimes there is an adverse effect, and sometimes there isn’t. But why take that chance with your 15 or 16-year-old kid?”
So, please, parents, please, pretty please, think twice before serving your underage children alcohol. To me, it crosses the parent boundary into the party-buddy zone. It blurs those lines, and Nichols is right: why take the chance?
I’m near the one year mark – one year! – of owning my private practice. It was a dream and ultimate career goal from the time I decided to go back to grad school in 2010. Seven years later, an opportunity arose, in the form of a sudden and unexpected (boy, I didn’t see that one coming) job layoff, some office space that became available, a person willing to share the rent and just like that, a dream became reality.
Shy of one year in my practice, I just re-signed a lease (solo, yikes!) and couldn’t be happier. I’ve had some big successes co-mingled with a lot of hard lessons. Here are five rookie mistakes for you to avoid if/when you are thinking of opening your own private practice.
1) Find a Niche – I was all over the map when I started. Honestly. As a therapist, you can’t be everything to everyone. So don’t make the mistake of taking all business just for the sake of taking business. Figure out your strengths (and weaknesses), find your niche, and work on perfecting it. Refer cases beyond your expertise to others in your community. In time, they’ll refer back to you.
2) Stay Organized – Owning a business means you are all departments – IT, accounting, scheduling, marketing and everything in between. This is a constant challenge for me. When I’m not seeing clients, I schedule time in my day for meetings, marketing, social media management, paperwork or general planning, depending on what needs to be done. Set up systems that work for you so that your practice can run efficiently.
3) Safety First – I’ve taken new clients at 8:00 p.m. and weekend slots where my usually-bustling office building was desolate and I was isolated and alone. Looking back, considering the line of work I’m in, some of those clients would have been better for me to see during normal business hours until I got to know them better. Looking forward, I only schedule my known and established clients during my irregular times.
4) Have a Business Plan – I’m going to make all you MBA-types (and my accountant) cringe right here: I didn’t write one. Well, not an official one. Oh, I had a list of things to do (website, PLLC, business accounts, etc) and lots of ideas swimming in my head. But get your business plan down on paper, including all start-up costs, projected expenses, and number of clients you need weekly to break-even, turn a profit, and cover expenses. Refer to your business plan monthly, and make revisions as needed.
5) Don’t Panic – Owning a business has its ups and downs. Some months are better than others. Case in point: my most profitable month was one where I was off for a week on vacation. The next month was slow (and I mean, slooooooooow). During this slow month, someone approached me coming to work for them – notice I said “for” not “with.” I considered this offer for a few days (what if I don’t make it? what if business continues this slow? What if what if what if?) but decided to continue working to build my practice. Sure enough, not two weeks after turning down the offer, some well-paying, substance-use contract-work came my way. If I had panicked and thrown in the towel, I would have been giving up not only my dream, but this other, better-suited opportunity.
I’m still making mistakes, and learning from each and every one. Mistakes are simply par for the course of owning your own business. Don’t dwell on them. They happen to everyone – just don’t repeat them, and learn from them. Best of luck with your own practice, and I hope reading about my rookie mistakes help you avoid making your own.
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