In 1984 I realized I could no longer work for a mental
health agency. The dysfunctional
behavior and politics were more than I wanted to deal with, and I realized I
would have to leave the field of therapy or open my own practice for the sake
of my health and well-being. So that
June I found and rented a very small office and with a $1000.00 loan I set out
on my own. I was thirty-eight and married
with two children. It was time to be my
own boss.
I maintained my practice for twenty-seven years; until
2011 when I had a stroke that caused me to close my offices. Being my own boss was not always easy but
when I look at the state of mental health agencies, their dysfunction, and the
interference of the equally flawed insurance providers and the government I
know that my decision to open my private practice allowed me to remain sane.
My success was due to my starting small, not
accumulating a large debt to open the office, and the timing of when I chose to
set out on my own. I realized that the
counseling services I would offer to the public were not going to be encouraged
or nurtured by agencies. With the loving
and unfailing support of my husband, two sons, and extended family my dream
became a reality.
THE START UP
My first private office was small, inexpensive, and
only required a six month lease. It was
in the basement of an insurance company and had its own private entrance from
the parking lot. It was two rooms; a
waiting room and an interview room.
There was a door from the hallway into both rooms, so clients could come
and go with privacy. I rented it
furnished, which meant a desk, a chair, a conference table, and filing cabinets.
I bought four waiting
room chairs, moved the conference table into the waiting room and hung art on
the paneled walls. I set up a small
radio/stereo there that served as a sound cover for conversations in the other
room.
My interview room was the same size of my waiting room
and the desk and desk chair went there.
I brought two swivel chairs that had originally been a part of a dinette
set from home, and an end table that was a put together piece of furniture we bought
at a discount store. I sat plants around
this room, hung art on the walls, and this was my first private practice
office.
The timing for opening my office which was called The
Center Against Sexual Assault, or CASA, came on the heels of the California
allegations of sexual abuse in a daycare center. I had been working with victims of childhood
sexual abuse since taking the job in 1979 with the last agency I was employed
by. I had gained the reputation of being an expert in the field of childhood sexual abuse, so with the
opening of CASA I received daily media attention concerning keeping children
safe from abuse. I was interviewed and quoted weekly by several media sources in and
out of my city of residence. I was also
frequently invited to be a guest or keynote speaker at workshops and seminars
throughout the state.
During the five years of my employment at the last
private agency I worked for I realized that many of the child victims of sexual abuse
parents had suffered similar trauma when they were children and the pattern was
now repeating in their own children’s lives.
It was apparent that these parents were struggling with their own abuse.
Learning of their children’s sexual victimization often drove these parents
into reacting from their own scars. They
often were not able to act proactively for their children or for
themselves.
It was this awareness that led to my opening CASA. Government agencies such as children and
family services, police departments, and the courts did not see the
generational scope of this problem, yet these were the groups who were attempting
to provide services to these children and their families.
Along with not seeing the generational scope of this problem
there also was a sense of anger, blame, and the desire to punish these parents. CASA and my private practice grew out of the
need for a non-judgmental approach and attitude toward victims and the families
of sexual abuse.
Four months after opening my practice I had enough
clients to move from this tiny office to a much larger office. I found someone to assume my first lease and
in October I moved into my new offices.
These offices were four rooms; a waiting room, an interview room, a
conference/play room, and my private work office. These offices were on the second floor of a commercial
building. All of the rooms with outside
walls had windows. The waiting room was
the only room without outside windows but the light colored walls and opaque
windows between it and the other rooms gave it a bright uplifting energy.
I purchased a desk, desk chair, conference table,
filing cabinets, a credenza, lamps, and lots of live plants to enhance the ambiance
of my work space. A new stereo was
placed in my work office and the speakers were hung in the waiting room. A water cooler with bottled water delivered
weekly along with a coffee pot and CASA’s new digs were ready for business.
I was able in those first four months of being in
private practice to double the space of my offices, double my rent, without borrowing more than the original $1000.00.
I believe my success came from my being able to dream realistically
within my budget, to start small and humbly, and to trust my intuition. It was the right time to step out into my own
practice.
This required that I trust and believe that I was
making the correct decision at the perfect time. In stepping away I had to be willing let go
of the securities I had draped around me. Walking
clear of attachments is what I believe made me successful. I stepped into this new space without a
security net, but I was also unencumbered by
attachments.
My move into private practice came with five days of
flue. I purged and rid myself of
physical, mental, and emotional toxins that had been accumulating for
years. Working in an unhealthy and toxic
environment I had developed immunity to the poisons I was daily exposed
to. Once free of this sick atmosphere my
body, mind, and spirit fell into a physical illness that worked to clear these
toxins from my system. My physical and emotional health responded favorably to my new overall state of well-being.
