Compassionate Climb

Meet Elena Cetola, the owner of the group practice Good Hope Wellness. She shares how her experience immigrating from Peru and how the work ethic she was taught led her to take a CNA course, apply to nursing school, work on an inpatient psychiatric unit, and return to school to become a nurse practitioner. She describes the positive experience she had working in community mental health but the decision to ultimately start her own business in order to put her energy and effort into her own dream as opposed to someone else's. She promotes leadership training, mentorship, and valuing people over profit.

Key Takeaways:

-business is hard but doing it for yourself in a way that is giving back brings it full circle and makes it rewarding

-your path is your path for a reason and things happen the way they should

-if you are working for me it is because you care about people

-do not give away your values because the right person will come along

-there is a leader in all of us

-in coaching you serve as a guide rather than leading with your expertise

-if we value people we benefit personally-you cannot lead a team successfully if you are not leading yourself-let your team know you are human and we all make mistakes-business ownership is 24/7

Elena's Links:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Meet Rachel Bentley, the owner the group practice COR Counseling and the consulting business, Next Level Private Practice, a consulting business aimed at mental health practitioners looking to start or expand their private practices. Rachel uses Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help her lead her team and build a successful business. Through IFS, Rachel has learned not only about herself, but how to effectively communicate with her team and resolve conflict at work. She encourages other leaders to be curious about their own feelings and explore what could be activating their responses to situations that come up throughout their work.

Key Takeaways:

• Rachel initially started her private practice as an exit strategy for leaving her previous job. She and a couple of other therapists worked part-time until they expanded right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

• As her private practice expanded, she realized she had not put in the infrastructure to work with such a large team and grow her business. Working with a consultant, she was able to build those systems and restructure her business in a way that made it efficient.

• She started her consulting business because the success of her own business had started attracting others who wanted her advice and guidance. 

• Going through IFS training allowed her to learn so much about herself in all aspects of her life. “They kind of tricked me. I thought I was coming in for a lecture but this was really about learning about yourself.”

• Rachel feels that connection with others can help re-energize us and it can be very healing to have someone understand your experiences. This is why it was so important for her to plan a summit (check her website for more information about this exciting event).

Rachel’s links:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Meet Dr. Tara Vossenkemper, group practice owner, business consultant, and podcaster who believes that leadership doesn't have to suck the life out of you. She shares how she manages a virtual team while traveling in an RV with her family, uses the Entrepreneurial Operating System to provide structure, clarity, and accountability, and developed the Culture Focused Practice Podcast. She discusses her 6 month EOS Mastermind for Group Practice Owners that starts June 5th.

Tara's Links:

Website

EOS Mastermind

Culture Focused Practice Podcast

In this episode, I share the strategies that have helped me land more speaking opportunities. I talk about how I defined my niche, started offering trainings to build credibility, and showed up at events and conferences to connect with the right people. I also walk through how I applied to speak at aligned events and explain how having a podcast has become a powerful platform for connecting with people I admire and creating meaningful conversations. Tune in for tips!

Website

Consult

Meet Katie K. May and Shaelene Kite, the co-founders of Stabilize and Scale, where they help group practice owners make data-driven, values-aligned decisions. Together, they have supported over 60 six- and seven-figure practices in building sustainable systems, leading with clarity, and scaling without burnout. In this episode they share how they met on Facebook as DBT practice owners who became battle buddies during the pandemic. In developing their program they created a place for group practice owners to celebrate wins and successes while growing a group practice without overwhelm. They share the harsh realities they experienced along their journeys and how they stepped into leadership and help others do the same.

Key Takeaways:

-connect with people who are doing what you want to be doing

-step into leadership and have systems documented with clear expectations

-know your numbers

-to be a successful group practice owner you have to want to lead people

-your business is a mirror for your inner landscape

-distance yourself from the life happiness of the people on your team

-you rent employees, you do not own them

-the business owners job is to keep the business going

-employees are always going to choose themselves over the business

-the more you let you the more you attract

Katie and Shaelene's Links:

Stabilize and Scale

Numbers Aren't Nasty

Instagram

Meet Jole Berlage-Buccellati, a holistic coach who works with highly sensitive people. She helps these individuals build self-worth and become effective leaders and business people in a world that is not built for people like them. Jole says that 20% of the global population is a highly sensitive person and that despite our world that rewards loudness and narcissism, sensitive people still have great gifts to give to the world. She speaks about her work building her theories about sensitivity and how it brought her an understanding of herself and many of her clients. It has been work she has done to help people focus their empathy and caring for others in a way that is effective and helpful. Listen to her thoughts about the strengths of being a highly sensitive person, how more sensitive people in leadership can benefit the world, and how a sensitive person can take care of themselves in this week’s episode!

Key Takeaways:

• Our world says it’s okay to be a sensitive person as long as you’re a woman who is not in business or an artist of some sort. If not, the world punishes you for being a person who cares for the world deeply.

• Many highly sensitive people have been bullied at some point, but especially at school. This harms their self-worth and makes them feel as if no one understands them.

• Being highly sensitive can be a very complex experience and building community around people like them is one way they can help make themselves feel less alienated.

• Jole is writing a book about highly sensitive people and why they’re so important in our current political climate globally.

• Finding your voice is important in order to make sure you can be heard. Many highly sensitive people are overwhelmed or introverted (or both!) but that is something they need to work through in order to be more effective.

• Use your ability to notice others’ feelings and mental states to know when someone needs to take a time out, or a break, in order for their feelings to not overwhelm yours.

  
  

Jole’s links:

Website

Instagram

Podcast

Meet Rachel Duncan, a financial and art therapist based in Denver, Colorado. Through her company, The Money Healing Club, Rachel helps clients work through their money related trauma and form a healthier relationship with their finances. Her career journey took many twists and turns until she finally realized what her real passion was: financial therapy. Rachel offers one-on-one therapy and a group membership. Through this work, she helps people think and talk about money more openly, work towards financial goals, and set boundaries around money. The work she does with people helps them to realize where their trauma around money comes from and how they can begin the healing process.

Key takeaways:

• Money is neutral-our feelings about money are a trauma response based on situations or people in our lives. 

• Art therapy is a great way to help people work towards breaking down these trauma responses and form a healthier relationship with money. 

• Financial therapy is really trauma work!

• A client can only go as far in therapy as their therapist has gone themselves-if a therapist who has not worked on their own financial trauma will have a difficult time helping others.

• “Noble poverty” is something that is systemic and is institutionalized. It indoctrinates people in the helping field to believe that their work should not be equally paid in comparison to other professions with the same level of education.

• The mental health profession attracts people who truly want to help others and thus are more likely to undervalue their work which ultimately makes it more difficult for them to be good therapists!

• Who are we to say what someone else can afford?

• If asking for a higher rate makes you uncomfortable, then find some ways to give back to your community outside of your private practice work.

  
  

Rachel’s links:

Website

Instagram

YouTube

Meet Arilda Surridge LMFT and director of Wellness Counseling Inc. She is a certified in EMDR, an approved EMDRIA consultant, a trainer, author, and international retreat host. She shares how she began providing retreats for couples, transitioned to providing retreats for therapists, and is traveling the world training mental health professionals in trauma treatment. She describes how she structures her retreats, what participants can expect, and how she incorporates self-care, continuing education credits, and immersive experiences.

Key Takeaways:

-Whatever you are teaching, you should be doing yourself

-Don't let the fear of "what if" stop you

-You can do so much in the field of mental health

-If you have an idea, don't be afraid to try and start somewhere

Arilda's Links

Website

Facebook Group

In this episode I share my journey turning 40 and making the decision to prioritize my health and wellness by hiring a coach. I draw the parallel between business goals and personal goals and the benefits of utilizing someone to guide you that has advanced knowledge and is where you want to be.

Key Takeaways:

-honor your commitments to yourself

-you are more likely to achieve your goals with accountability

-enter what is most important to you on your calendar and fill in everything else around it

-the decisions we make now share our future

Julia's Links:

Website

Free Consult

Meet Kristen Belevich, the owner of the group practice B&B Well Counseling who is preparing for her second maternity leave while in private practice. She is also helping two of the clinicians in her practice prepare for their maternity leaves as well. She discusses her process for acquiring more space, hiring multiple clinicians at one time, training and onboarding, as well as her process for transferring clients in this situation. She identifies the ways she promotes work-life balance with her team as well as clinician retention.

Kristen's Links:

Website

Facebook

Instagram