Self Employed: how it began

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.