Compassionate Climb

Meet Doreen Huffman LMHC PMHNP, a fellow group practice owner. Doreen started her career in community mental health and once fully licensed started working for a group practice. When she eventually decided to open a practice of her own, an issue she often encountered was finding prescribers for her patients who needed medication management. She decided to fix her own problem and went back to school. She is now both a psychiatric nurse practitioner and a therapist. She shares the growth of her practice, DLH Consulting and Psychiatric Services, and her efforts to share what she has learned by having practicum students and interns and through the local Facebook group she created.

Key Takeaways: 

-Don’t underestimate the power of baked goods when networking in person

-Networking with other local professionals can be a great source of referrals

-Joining a group practice can be a great opportunity to learn and prepare for your own

-Always have a vacation on the calendar

⁠https://www.dlhconsultant.com/⁠⁠

https://www.facebook.com/dlhconsulting/⁠⁠

https://www.instagram.com/dlh.consulting/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1931648187098725

Meet Carolyn Robistow, an entrepreneur helping other entrepreneurs create healthy relationships with alcohol, all while sailing the eastern coast and Bahamas. Carolyn coined the term Groundhog Day Drinker after recognizing in herself that she was tired of waking up on day one of her goals each time she drank. Throughout the process of redefining her relationship with alcohol, she determined three pillars to her success: personal support, brain spotting, and embodied truth. Now, she works to share that experience and information with others who find themselves in a gray-area of drinking.

Key Takeaways: 

- Consider your habits as a relationship versus a math equation

- What works for others may not work for you, but that does not mean you are the problem

https://www.carolynrobistow.net/

https://www.facebook.com/Carolynrobistow

https://www.instagram.com/carolynrobistow/

In this episode I review the book Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. I discuss their method of:

1. starting each day by choosing a highlight

2. making adjustments to avoid distraction in order to remain laser focused on the identified highlight

3. resetting our defaults and using our body to energize our brains

4. evaluating our process each night to continually improve the method

I also share how slight changes that I have implemented since completing the book have been transformative in how I structure my day and my level of focus when completing tasks.

https://compassionateconsultingcompany.com

Meet Elise Gilbert Hall, owner of Attunement Counseling and Wellness Collective in Rhode Island. Throughout her professional career she has worked in community mental health, a school system, various agencies, and private practice; all of which have led to where she is today. In the two years since she founded Attunement Counseling, Elise has seen continual growth, but finds herself asking: “How do I scale my group practice without losing touch with my team?"

Key Takeaways: 

- Schedule regular touch-points with all team members

- Set office hours for employees to access you

- Create opportunities for personal connection outside of the office

- Provide multiple avenues for feedback

- Maintain transparency and communication

https://www.attunementcollective.com/

Meet Katie Gibbons, a counselor turned children’s book author. In the midst of treating chronic illness and having to scale back her counseling practice she turned to writing as something to keep her mind busy. Having been adopted, adopting, and working with those who have been adopted, Katie knew exactly what the story would be about.

Key Takeaways: 

- Do the research

- Hire professionals because you’re a professional too

- Believe in what you’re doing

- Let the shitty first draft be shitty

Meet Gordon Brewer, a therapist, group practice owner, host of two podcasts, and most recently, the president and founder of the PsychCraft Network of podcasts. As an auditory learner and processor, Gordon found himself drawn to the world of podcasts as he built his therapy practice. Since then, he has turned to sharing the lessons he has learned along the way and building a space for like-minded professionals to collaborate and resource one another.

Key Takeaways: 

- Stay consistent

- Automate where you can

- Avoid doing too much alone

-Surround yourself with experts

- The most important asset we have is our time and expertise

https://psychcraftnetwork.com/

https://practiceoftherapy.com/

https://kindnessandcompassion.com/

https://kingsportcounseling.com/

Meet Kim Spooner, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in private practice who facilitates a Narcissistic Abuse Peer Support Group. It is free, volunteer-based, and confidential with the mission to provide educational resources on how to reduce the effects of the abuse. Support peers who have experienced narcissistic abuse listen, validate their experiences, and provide non-judgmental feedback. The meetings are held biweekly, alternating between in person in New Bedford, Massachusetts and virtual. In order to join, participants should be referred by a provider.

If interested, email [email protected].