From Fear to Flourish: Bria’s Journey to a 95% Full Pelvic Health Practice

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Here's more about my guest:

Hey! I'm Dr. Bria Stark Adamopoulou! I'm an occupational therapist that specializes in pelvic floor therapy in Winston Salem, NC. This summer I opened my own pelvic health practice- Hälsa Wellness and Pelvic Floor Therapy where I treat vulva owners for conditions such as pelvic pain, endometriosis, hypermobility related dysfunction, sexual health dysfunction, pre/post op for hysterectomy, pregnancy and postpartum care, and more! 

 I'm originally from the Rockford, IL area, so yes I have a midwest accent and love cheese curds and deep dish pizza! I continued East after completing my doctorate program in Ohio and landed in beautiful North Carolina!

 I am a travel loving bookworm who adores a solid cold plunge/sauna session with a local coffee date planned for later. I enjoy nature walks with my lovely husband and snuggles with my three cats (yes, I'm a cat lady)!"

Instagram handles: 

@pelvic_flourish 

@halsawellnessandpft 

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Inside Pelvic OTPs United you'll find:​

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Transcript

Lindsey: New and seasoned OTs are finding their calling in pelvic health. After all, what's more ADL than sex, peeing, and poop? But here's the question. What does it take to become a successful, fulfilled, and thriving OT in pelvic health? How do you go from beginner to seasoned and everything in between? Those are the questions and this podcast will give you the answers.We are inspired OTs. We are out-of-the-box OTs. We are Pelvic Health OTs.I'm your host, Lindsey Vestal, and welcome to the OTs in Pelvic Health podcast. 

Lindsey: Bria, Doug and I are so excited to have you on the OTs for Public Health podcast today. Thank you for being here.

 Bria: Thank you guys for asking me. This is just so fun. I feel like I'm just having coffee with friends. So this is just delicious.

 Doug: I love it. That's it. That's it. We're so excited to be talking with you. So I think it all kicked off because at the OTs and Public Health Summit, you mentioned that your caseload is about 95% full. In your own private practice, right? And that is phenomenal. So could you just walk us through how did that happen? Tell us the story.

Bria: Okay, this is so great. So I think part of a little bit of the success, and I will 100% give credit where credit's due, is I came from working at a cash-based practice already here in where I live. So there was definitely a lot of pull from in the very beginning. Again, we're month five, six now, which is just bonkers to me. It's flown by, but in the most stunning, stressful, but beautiful way. And so I think a lot of people... I was very professional. I followed kind of what my old boss wanted of not giving people my business cards, but just saying, should you choose to follow me, have at it. It's kind of up to you.

And I think it's important to give patients that autonomy of, hey, if you want to stay here, there's people that'll take care of you. They're very awesome. But at the end of the day, it's your choice. So I also think in between, I left May 23rd and opened my doors June 17th. So I think that kind of helped. And I had a gut intuition of, I can't wait too long.

I need to be doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes so that I'm kind of ready to have the boots on the ground and just go for it. So it was a little stressful, but I think having not a lot of gap in care was also really helpful. So I will say that.

The other piece is really word of mouth is the best thing. I'm very comfortable on social media. And I think that was really helpful to get the word out. And that felt like mine. And I think maybe some people can resonate, depending if they're coming from different practices or not even in pelvic health at all. And a lot of people are really uncomfortable on social media.

But I'm like, that's where you get to be. You know, you can be yourself and have that autonomy to play. And the people who resonate are meant to stay. And the people who don't move on and they find someone else. So I think that just having that, you know, just like creativity really helped me. And it was really daunting.

And honestly, from your course, Doug, I literally would sit there at the kitchen table. Like I had my printed out checklist. And I'm sitting there with my coffee.

And my husband's like, are you doing your Doug homework? He literally called it my Doug homework. And I was like, yes, I'm doing my Doug homework. And he's like, good, good.

You know, and it really helped because I realized so many of the biases and the negativity and the fear that I felt was literally all in my, like it kind of was in my head. Like I was making it up. I was my own worst enemy.

And from that, I kind of, this sounds kind of woo woo, maybe out there. But I kind of came up with this mantra of, instead of worrying about how I'm going to fill this schedule and if people are going to cancel, instead put my energy towards like, what if I actually open my laptop on Monday and I have two new emails? What if that happens? You know, what if so-and-so talked to so-and-so at church, like she said she was going to when we talked about this and they booked an appointment. And I know that sounds silly, but it's worked.

And so I think just kind of putting it out there and being, you know, kind of sitting in my seat of, maybe I'm not for everybody and that's okay. But it's attracting the people that do mesh well, if that makes sense. So yeah, I mean, it was in the very beginning in the summer, I think there was, you know, a couple holes in the schedule here and there.

But I mean, yeah, last month was the first time I had a wait list and I was like, what is happening? So yeah, that's kind of the gist of it, I think. Yeah.

Lindsey: Yeah. Oh my gosh. So there's two things that I want to, that really stood out to me as you were talking, that I think was a big part of your success. Number one is your ability to take action really quickly and the foresight to know that ahead of time.

You had an exit strategy when you left your last place, that allowed you to just jump right in. I also heard along those same lines that you were very open with your boss. I think a lot of hesitancy comes from, do I have this conversation? Are they going to fire me on the spot? Are they going to think of me as a competitor? You brought them in.

I'm sure that has everything to do with your amazing ability to create relationships because I've met you several times in person. I've known you online for a long time. You're just like a source of joy and light to everyone.

I am so sure that that relationship just added to that really open candidness that you were able to have with your boss. But then the second thing, Bria, that you said was this incredibly positive mindset. Let them think what they want to think.

If I'm not for them, that's okay. And I'm going to open my laptop on Monday and have two new e-mails. I think that is such a powerful combination that really resonated with me.

Bria: Yeah. And I mean, a lot of it came from just stuff that you talked about in your course, Doug, of ask that one patient that you maybe have a really good rapport with. Hey, you're part of these mom groups.

What do you think? Or whatever. And my kind of niche in all of this, pregnancy and postpartum is great. I love it.

My heart and my joy comes from chronic pain, sexual dysfunction. My endo-girlies, my endo-warriors, all of that and perimenopausal women. And so I'm also in a really unique space, the space that I rent from.

She is a PA by education and treats only women. And she is kind of concierge medicine-wise. So I do get some lovely referrals.

But it was interesting when I was kind of building my nest, if you will, of who's going to be my referral tree? Who's going to be there? It was funny because I kind of recognized too. I'm like, okay, I'm going to drop off these things at physician's offices. And I did, but I've only done that once because I was like, you know what? Historically, this is not a population of people that are doing that unless they've been a patient.

And that has been really beautiful where I've had different physicians or dentists and just people from the medical world. I mean, let's face it, like our poor nurses and teachers, just anything like that. And it's been really cool to say, oh, actually like you treated my daughter during her pregnancy.

You're going to get now one of my patients. So really something that has been so humbling and so beautiful because believe it or not, I was a little bit of kind of a loner. But just from it, I simply don't believe you.

But before all of this, I kind of kept to myself. I would do the community events that my boss shared with me. And I really found that now having this space, that's my own, I'm like, why was I not saying yes to the things I actually really wanted to say yes to and saying no to the things that I'm like, girl, you didn't really want to do that.

Why did you say that? So it's been such a beautiful, from a professional standpoint, but a personal standpoint. I told my husband, I'm like, this is the biggest act of self-love I've literally ever done in my entire life. I could cry talking about it.

And I'm a better partner. My husband's like, you're so much nicer. I feel better in my body.

I have more energy to do the things I want to do. And I kind of realized that at one point being overworked for what my body can handle, I was growing resentful of just being a therapist. And being, especially in the pelvic sphere.

And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is ugly. This is not what I want.

I'm young. I have so many years ahead of me. And your interests are allowed to change.

But resentment is where burnout, like we're getting close to that point.

Doug: Exactly. Well, I think so much of the burnout that's prevalent in the OT profession, just like we talked about at the summit, comes from lack of choice, right? Anything you do, but on a schedule you can't control, that it's going to lead to burnout.

And it's so wonderful to hear that stepping into a private practice has probably freed up time. It's freed up mental energy for you. We probably won't talk about money, but you're charging more than what you're making at the other cash flow practice.

And it's like you're able to show up fully as Bria in your life while getting great results for your clients, right? And fulfilling a very huge need, 95% full in less than five minutes is just bonkers, you know?

Bria: No, it is. No, and you're 100% right. And I'm just recognizing that.

And I mean, I wanted to let you know too, when you were speaking, Doug, and Allison was speaking, I was holding Tamara next to me and we were kind of silent stopping. And we were just like, oh my God, we apologize so much for taking up space, especially in the pelvic sphere. And it's like, stop begging for a seat at the table that's already yours.

It's had your name, sit down, girl, sit your butt down, unclench your glutes. So like sit in that and ask for seconds because you're supposed to be there. And I mean, that's just why I genuinely love the summit so much just because I'm like, you know, you guys could tell me like, oh, you're not gonna learn anything new.

I'm like, that's fine. I'm so like, I don't care, which obviously I learned so much every time I go, but it's just such a beautiful sense of community. And it's so great to also see people that I've like looked up to like you guys and also to kind of help and, you know, not coming in with a savior complex by any means, but like talking with other people who maybe are younger than me, people I talked to when they were students and they first messaged me on my account, like years ago, and they're like, oh, you know, how old are you? I'm like, I'm 29.

They're like, how old are you, 29? And, you know, I did feel a little bit at the summit and I kind of checked myself too. No one made me feel like this, but it was all, again, me, where that kind of thing of like, I'm too young to be doing this. And I think that was another thing, like Doug, you said in your course in one of the lectures of like, there's no perfect time.

And I feel, I just like resonate with that so much because like, we don't have a family, we don't have kids yet. And that's something I want. And I just never thought I could have the life I want for my future children with what I was making.

And like the time that I was committed to growing someone else's business. And now I'm at the point where I'm like, oh, you know, this is looking like a, this is gonna happen, you know, which is so cool.

Doug: You have a ladder out of the hole.

And that's the exact same story for Lindsey and I. Like we had just had our first kid, Avery, and she was coming home from the clinic. And it was like, okay, well, we're spending so much on daycare. We're away from the kids so much.

And basically her salary was going 100% just to pay for the daycare and to pay the OT loans. And it's like, you fast forward that narrative and you're like, well, we're not happy with it now. Why are we gonna stick with it for the next 30 years? It's not going to improve unless we change it.

You know, and the team there for us was, we wanna be in the driver's seat. We wanna control the schedule. We want to control the finances.

We wanna control the outcomes. And there was a couple of things also that you mentioned in your story, which I think is really, I don't know if this is intrinsically in you or if this just sort of happened through this process, but like the strategy that you had is incredible because, and I've seen it work over and over. You remind me of another student of mine, Nicole Woodruff, who was working.

Bria: Yeah. We get along very well. So that's such a compliment.

Doug: She was working at another clinic and then also became full going out on her own within about three months. And it was because of the relationships that she had developed at the clinic. And same thing as you, right? She didn't take anyone.

She was very ethical about it, but it's like, well, if you want a choice, like this is a choice. And it was, I always tell people, like become the little inner entrepreneur at your work, right? Like you can be an entrepreneur at your work, develop those relationships, follow up with the providers. You all planting seeds that you might not come to fruition for a couple of years, but while you're there, take absolute advantage of it.

Because if you're not getting paid in the remuneration you want, get paid in the relationships that you're developing.

Bria: 100%. And it's been so beautiful to see those little nest eggs.

And I literally had a patient today and I'm seeing her exclusively for dry needling, which has been also a really great strategy. Like, I don't want to say marketing strategy, but kind of where people are like, oh, I have a tight neck. And then I find out, I'm like, hey girl, also in my intake form, I'm like, do you have any like bowel bladder stuff? And they're like, I mean, I poop like once a week.

I'm like, oh dear. Okay. And because it's holistic and because we are not siloed, we are a system, a beautiful system.

I can take that time to explain to her. And she's like, wait, so like you can also help me with my C-section scar that's six years old. I'm like, yeah, boo.

Like let's, you know, and so it's been a really cool thing to have people be like, wait, I need to come see you for a pelvic floor. And I was like, we can do all these same things in your session. Cause again, you're a whole human being.

And so just having that conversation has been really helpful. But back to your point of making the relationships, she was talking with me and she goes, you know, I'm just so glad that I, you know, finally made that appointment. I was like, wait, what do you mean? Like, finally, like I thought Rebecca, the massage therapist said she's a doll.

We're very, very close referral base wise. And she's like, oh, she told me to come to you a year ago. And I said, what? I said, she's like, I mean, I needed it a year ago, but she's like, I don't know.

Like once you went off on your own, that's when, you know, Rebecca said, hey, she's out on her own. You really need to go see her. And that's when she, so I'm like, I've been in your brain for a year, you know? So just like you said, it's like those relationships might not matter in the moment, but again, you get what you put out.

And I really try to come from a place of love, not for a place of love. And I think that's been really helpful because there's a lot of times where I'm like, oh, I could connect with this person. Am I genuinely connecting with this person because this is, you know, symbiotic? Or is it because I'm like, oh, they could help me, you know, kind of checking that almost like selfishness a little bit that just sneaks up a little bit.

So that's been really cool to see.

Doug: That's great. And Lindsey was complimenting you on the action that you take.

Is that something that, because this is what we see a lot of people struggle with, right? Is they might, and no offense to anyone, right? But we all get in our own head. We all feel like imposters. We all struggle thinking like, really, could it actually be this easy? And so what ends up happening, what we see a lot is procrastination.

A task that should take an hour ends up taking a month, you know, and then it compounds and everything. So do you have any of those tendencies or are you just naturally like, what is the next thing that needs to get done?

Bria: Honestly, kind of both. I ebb and flow.

I genuinely believe that my like humble beginnings of having to advocate for OTs in pelvic health from grad school, because I knew I wanted to do this going into grad school well before the pandemic and everything. And I met a few mentors that they were more of just like, you go girl. But there wasn't a lot of, here's how you do this.

And so it wasn't until I found Lindsey and then I was like, okay, like I'm in the right place. And that's what prompted me to build my social media was literally just because I'm like, someone else out there, like, please. And so I think that fire under my butt kind of started burning then.

And I started noticing, I'm like, okay, at the time when the risks were lower, we'll say, I'm like, I'm just going to do it scared and see what happens. And it would happen. And it was really good.

I'm like, oh, okay. And just like that tiny bits of confidence kind of kept building. I'm naturally like, I don't want to say hotheaded, but like, I want to get it done.

I'm a Virgo. I want to get it done. I want to get it done, right.

And, you know, and so honestly, the more challenging aspect is like pulling myself away. And that's been really great. Like listening to some of the podcasts, listening to and kind of getting out of even like the OT brain and listening to more like self-help type, you know, things has been really helpful because like now I have the time and go on a walk before work.

 But, you know, that's been really cool.

The procrastination part, honestly, I work well under pressure. And I think a lot of people, a lot of OTs do. And so I kind of gave myself almost like an imaginary, like with the checklist that you gave in your course, Doug, I was like, no, this is like a homework assignment.

Like, this is something like this is due at 11:59 PM. And if it is not done, it's late. And for something in my little, you know, the wheels in my brain, I'm like, no, it can't be late.

Like, I got to get this done. And just kind of reminding myself, like, this is for you. If you're procrastinating, this is self-sabotage.

And that's not what we're hustling for. So I know it sounds silly, but like a lot of internal monologue.

Doug: Yeah, that's recognizing what is your brain saying to you? And how do you reframe that in a different way? I love that.

Lindsey: I think the do it scared thing is actually something that a lot of your students say. And I think I said it a lot, even now, because the fear never goes away, right? We never stop being scared. It just takes on new levels.

But those little hits of confidence that you get along the way, like you were saying, just feel the fire. And I do think that stubbornness and that grit goes a long way too.

Bria: It does, it does.

But again, everybody, I'm going to generalize and say every OT going into public health, like you got it. You got here for a reason. You have that fire, just like, are you actually feeding it? Are you doing things that feed it? Or are you, unfortunately, being your own like, you know, bucket of water and dumping it out yourself because it's easier.

So yeah, definitely.

Doug: What would you say, in terms of referral sources, like what has been, what's been the biggest source of the referrals, like word of mouth? Are there particular types of practices or practitioners? And then what are you doing on an ongoing basis to like nurture those relationships?

Bria: Yeah, that's a great question. Honestly, a lot of my patients are in the health wellness medical field.

So I'm kind of seeing them routinely for different things. So it's always like a nice little, you know, the first like two minutes, I'm like, Hey, you know, how's everything going with your practice and different things? So that's been really cool to just have it naturally happen. Um, and then, uh, really massage therapists are a wonderful source.

And I think it's because the ones that I'm networking at least, like they, they're either owning their own practice or they're really happy where they are. And so they're taking the time. They're asking their, you know, clients like, how are you feeling? Has this gotten better? Different things like that.

There's one chiropractor in town, really two referral sources that I just adore. And I'd gotten lunch with them when I worked at the other place and one, one from one of the practice that we just like clicked where both tattoo girlies, like love spooky Halloween, you know, just kind of related on more of that personal level. So that's been really helpful.

And then, funny enough. Yeah. One of the physicians, she is, I'm trying to remember, she is a director.

So she is no longer treating, but she does more admin overseeing type stuff, but I treated her daughter in pregnancy. And so she's like, she loved you. She, she's like, my daughter is very hard to please.

And you did, you know, fabulous with her. So she actually sends me quite a few people. And then just word of mouth.

My patients are, you know, again, I attract people that I'm trying to attract people that really want to be there. And so someone will say, Hey, you know, you're seeing my friend, so-and-so, or, you know, my friend just actually had a hysterectomy and I told her about you and send her your profile and she's going to book a free screen to like talk to you. Or she's coming in for an eval because I've been hounding her like every girl's weekend of, you know, coming to see you.

So, really kind of a mix, but the OB is that I haven't formed a relationship with. Not particularly. But I do tell my patients that I feel very comfortable with and that I've treated for maybe multiple pregnancies.

There's one, uh, male OB here in town and I just, I adore him. Like he, I met him briefly, probably does not remember me and that's fine, but all of his patients have nothing but good positive things to say. So I'll tell them, Hey, when you go for your six week appointment, tell Dr. Thompson, I said, hi, you know, I plant those little seeds.

And if he's like, Oh yeah, great. And he's like, wait, who is she? And you know, I'm in the brain, you know? So, you know, sometimes I'm like, have them kind of do the hard work for me because they're already doing it anyway. So, and they're all troopers about it, whether they carry through with it every time or not.

Up to the universe.

Doug: You're planting the seeds. You're planting the seeds.

Lindsey: I think the word of mouth is probably the most quality driven referral source that could be because those natural stories that come out and you feel the lightness of the person when they're talking about you and you're like, of course, I'm going to go see Bria. So kudos to you for that. A, it's an easier lift, but B, I feel like it does carry over to that person booking because it's, you're talking to someone you trust.

And that's just a phenomenal Bria. It has been so incredible spending this time with you. We are so excited and proud and know that the future is so bright before, you know, you're going to be hiring.

Like you're going to take over the world.

Bria: And thank you. I mean, talking to people at the OT Summit, I was like, oh, I probably do need help with that, you know, and figuring that out.

So that's been really cool. So I'm so excited for like January to just like really look at six months of being open. And like, also I took time off.

I went on vacation and I was so nervous about it and I was feeling so guilty and I just kind of came from that place of like, instead of having a bunch of cancels, I'm going to come back and people who need me are going to find me. And it was good. So, you know, and I just like heard everybody in my ear, like practice what you preach, take the time, recharge, do something that's meaningful.

And I'm like, yeah, this is what I needed. So thank you guys so much.

Doug: Thank you. This has been fantastic.

Lindsey: Thank you, Bria. Absolutely love it.

Can't wait for everyone who listens to it to get inspired by your story and your journey. And let us know where we can find you on social for anyone who hasn't seen you there yet.

Bria: Yes. So you can find me at Pelvic Flourish or Halsa Wellness and PFT. But if you go to Pelvic Flourish, which is easier, you'll find me on the other one too. Perfect.

Lindsey: Thank you so much, Bria.

Bria: Thank you guys so much.

Lindsey: Thanks for listening to another episode of OTs and Pelvic Health. If you haven't already, hop onto Facebook and join my group, OTs for Pelvic Health, where we have thousands of OTs at all stages of their pelvic health career journey. This is such an incredibly supportive community where I go live each and every week. If you love this episode, please take a screenshot of this episode on your phone and post it to IG, Facebook, wherever you post your stuff, and be sure to tag me and let me know why you like this episode. This will help me to create in the future what you want to hear more of. Thanks again for listening to the OTs and Pelvic Health podcast.