Building a Creative, Alive, Embodied Private Practice with Chelsea Horton | IP 193

As healers, we understand clinical work. We know how to help what hurts in our clients. 

But very few of us are taught how to build a business at all - much less one that genuinely fits who we are.

Today, I’m joined by somatic coach & educator Chelsea Horton for a rich conversation about creativity, embodiment, and building a private practice around an unconventional modality — dance and movement therapy — without losing what makes it unique in the first place.

Chelsea is the founder of Healing Embodied, where she trains therapists, coaches, and wellness professionals to integrate somatic work, nervous system healing, creativity, and emotional processing into the way they serve clients. 

But this conversation goes far beyond somatic work.

What struck me most about her story is this: while her work is deeply intuitive and body-centered, she is also incredibly thoughtful and strategic in the way she has built her business. (Though I’m not sure she even realized that until this convo.)

She didn’t just “follow her passion.” 

Nope.

She paid attention to outcomes, listened closely to client feedback, developed a unique methodology, refined her messaging, created a progression of offers, and intentionally positioned herself as what she calls a “category of one.”

Oh my beating heart. 😍

So in this episode you’ll hear:

• The powerful - and success enhancing - difference between building a business from “what should work” and building a business in alignment with who you are.
• How Chelsea built a thriving practice around a creative, unconventional modality.
• Why creativity works best inside structure — not chaos.
• The often overlooked relationship between embodiment, intuition, and strategic thinking.
• Why your own healing work directly impacts the quality of your client work. (Don’t miss this part!)

All that and so much more. 

As I shared in the intro, this may well be one of my favorite conversations that I’ve had in a long time. I don’t even think Chelsea realized how much she’s done, until I reflected back to her what I was hearing. 

So. Good. 

This episode is thoughtful, practical, inspiring… 

Learn from this.

~Wendy

P.S. If you want to take action on inspiration you gain from this episode, but aren’t sure where to start, a Quick Start Consult might help.

_______________

TODAY’S GUEST:  CHELSEA HORTON  

Chelsea is a somatic coach, educator, and founder of Healing Embodied, who combines body-based practices, nervous system healing, and trauma-informed care to help people move beyond traditional talk therapy and fully process emotions in the body. 

Website: https://healingembodied.com 

Instagram: @healing.embodied 

Her certification program: https://healingembodied.com/ge

Transcript

Wendy Pitts Reeves 0:00

You're listening to Ideal Practice, episode number 193. Today, guys, with my guest Chelsea Horton, we're going to talk about how to find the magic in your practice by starting with yourself. And we're going to do that with a deep dive into Chelsea's experience as a somatic therapist, coach, practitioner, and business owner. And y'all, I think this might be one of my favorite conversations I've had in a long time. This is so good. So stay tuned. Hi, I'm Wendy Pitts Reeves, and with over two decades of experience in the private practice world, I've built my six-figure business while learning a lot of lessons the hard way. This is the first podcast that shows you how to apply the principles of energy, alignment, and strategy to build a practice that is profit-centered, but people forward. This is the Ideal Practice Podcast. Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Ideal Practice Podcast. This is Wendy. Wendy Pitts Reeves, your host. And yes, of course, you know I'm excited to be hanging out with you today. I might be a little extra excited, actually, because I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this conversation. So I don't know how other folks do it on their podcast, but in my world, I always have kind of like two different things I want to do with my guests when I bring them to you. Mostly I want them to share something that's practical, reasonable, useful, something that you can learn from, something I really like something that kind of pokes you a little bit, makes you think a little bit, right? That so when I am evaluating folks to have on the program, the first thing I'm looking for is do they have something to teach that we can benefit from? But the second thing that is sort of unintended, but I can't really quite help it, I can't stop myself, is I like to know their backstory. I like to know how people got where they are and why they got where they are. Now I don't do this in every episode. It's not always necessarily a natural fit for the purpose of that particular episode. But every now and then I get one where the story of the unfolding of their business is a perfect reflection of exactly what they are teaching. And that's what today's episode is all about. I loved it so much. I loved it when I conducted this interview, when we had this conversation. I loved it all over again going back and listening to it to prepare it for you today. And I really want to tell I want to tell you this, guys. This thing is about the conversation itself is around 50 minutes long, so the whole thing's about an hour. It is good all the way to the very end. Please do yourself a favor, even if it takes a couple of times over a couple of days as you're driving around town or walking the dog or doing the dishes, listen to this all the way through. Because I think you will be genuinely inspired. And she dropped so many practical little nuggets of step one, two, three, four. She didn't call it that, she's not saying that, but if you listen to what she's done, you'll hear it. If you listen closely, you'll hear it. This is a beautiful unfolding of a of an ideal practice. So Chelsea Horton is a somatic coach. She's a therapist, she was a licensed therapist, but today she runs a business. She's a somatic coach, educator, and founder of Healing Embodied, where she trains wellness professionals and therapists like you and me to integrate somatics, creativity, and emotional healing into their work. With a master's degree in dance and movement therapy, which I didn't even know existed, she combines body-based practices, nervous system healing, and trauma-informed care to help people move beyond traditional talk therapy and fully process emotions in the body. After Burning Out in Community Mental Health, a story you will hear her share today, Chelsea built a business that is rooted in humanity over hustle, co-creating a thriving embodiment coaching program with her COO, whose name is Sarah, where they teach practitioners to lead with presence, intuition, and creativity. And what I want to tell you that's cool is like there's substance here, there's real substance here. This isn't just about feeling good. This is about doing good work in the world in a very intentional and impactful and effective way. And it's about applying those same principles to yourself and to your role as to your role as a business owner and the way your practice unfolds. Okay, I think I'm gushing and I'm taking way too long for this intro. So before I go too far, let's get in to the interview. All right, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Ideal Practice Podcast. You've already heard a little bit about my guest today. I think this is going to be a really interesting conversation that will be a little different than what we typically talk about here. So I think it, I think it's gonna be juicy. So with that, let me bring Chelsea on. Chelsea, say hi.

Chelsea Horton 5:36

Hi, so glad to be here and different conversation, exciting conversation. I'm here for that.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 5:43

I love it. Yeah. Your website alone is very unique. Like when I started poking around on there, I'm like, wow, this is gonna be interesting. Okay, I want to meet this person. So, Chelsea, I love to start with a question that has nothing to do with what you do, which is where are you in the world? And then from there, who do you serve and how do you serve them?

Chelsea Horton 6:05

I'm in the most precious little mountain town in Southern California called Crestline. It's about 90 miles from LA, but it's a completely different world. It's this small, beautiful town surrounded by trees and birds and nature. And but if I want to drive a half an hour, I'm in the city. So it's a really special place to live. Nice. And then we serve um practitioners, healers, helpers, mental health professionals to create a career where they're not only making an insanely massive impact on people's lives, but they build a career that feels like an extension and an expression of their soul, of their purpose. They're building something that really lights them up and allows them to use their creative gifts. And they're working in a way that actually works for them and their bodies rather than trying to fit themselves into a system or a routine that just does not feel good at all.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 6:59

I love that. That sounds like a perfect fit for an ideal practice, whatever's ideal for you. Yeah. I tell so. I love that. That's great. All right. So tell us a little bit. Okay, so so like fully embodied, like do what you love, do it in a way that you love, and do it with your whole self, right?

Chelsea Horton 7:17

Absolutely perfect. Yes.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 7:19

Okay, okay, good. Tell us a little bit about your background. Like, how did you get to that? Why this? How did you get here? Tell us a little bit about that. Yeah.

Chelsea Horton 7:28

Yeah. So I got my undergraduate degree in counseling psychology, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next. I was thinking about getting a master's degree, but I was like, do I go communications? But I don't really like, or do I go traditional therapy? I didn't really see myself sitting in a room because I'm a theater kid, as you could probably tell. I'm very expressive and playful. I was a theater kid, a dancer. I have always been a creative. And I'm like, how can I like can I do healing work, therapeutic work in a way that also allows me to bring my dancer identity into it?

Wendy Pitts Reeves 8:06

And so so were you interested in mental health from the beginning? Was that always a thing?

Chelsea Horton 8:11

Yeah. So I yeah, my undergrad degree was in counseling psychology, and I got really interested in psychology, but yeah, just didn't see myself going that purely traditional path. Yeah, sitting in a chair all day. Yeah. And so I did a little bit of research and I was like, is there a way to combine dance and therapy? And that's when I discovered that there is a master's degree in dance and movement therapy. And I was like, oh, well, this is me as a degree. Like they nailed it. If I could do anything.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 8:42

I remember asking you that we met before, like, you have an actual master's degree in dance and movement. So I've heard of music therapy, art therapy. I've never heard of dance and movement therapy as an area of study. So that's kind of cool. That's very cool.

Chelsea Horton 8:56

It's really special. It's uh like a blend of somatic therapy and creative arts therapy. And you're you're taking all the classes that would allow you to get a clinical license upon graduating. Um, and you're also learning how to facilitate movement experiences, creative movement experiences to help people process their emotions. And, you know, I got that degree and went the traditional career path. It's like, okay, I get a master's degree, you know, I'm gonna then work in the field. And so I my first job was, you know, working at a psych hospital. So I'm working with me too. Yeah, at community mental health, right? And and so I'm, you know, facilitating groups with patients who experience suicidality and depression and trauma and psychosis, like the whole DSM.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 9:45

Yeah.

Chelsea Horton 9:46

And loved the work that I got to do. I was like, okay, I really love helping people drop into their bodies and connect with their emotions in a different way and regulate their stress and regulate their nervous systems because I could see like they were in crisis, they were in trauma, and I could see how important it was and vital it was for people to know how to connect with their bodies in a way that felt safe.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 10:11

Because I'm guessing with trauma, they don't know how to do that, especially in particular, right?

Chelsea Horton 10:16

Yeah, your body feels like a very unsafe place, and they're in this really stressful environment. Like Western mental health facilities are not very warm and welcoming and calming. And so it's a stressful environment. And so, you know, being able to do that work in that setting taught me how important body work was for people. But as many people learn in community mental health, I was like, oh man, I'm starting to burn out. Okay. I was, you know, it's very emotional work. You're helping people in crisis, and especially as a body-based therapist, you're really attuning to people somatically. You're really like feeling with.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 11:02

And so I was wondering about that. I was gonna ask you, what was it in particular that was especially stressful? I mean, I've worked in those settings too, so I get it. It's often extremely intense. It's often one crisis after another. You may have lots of like several people who are losing it at the same time. Yeah. Oh, yeah, it's all right. Yeah, totally. I get that.

Chelsea Horton 11:20

Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, feeling it in my body and also just being overworked and underpaid, living in Los Angeles County. And I was like, this isn't, this isn't the career I thought it was gonna be. I I thought I was gonna get the master's degree and like just get the job, and that like that would be me living my purpose. And I was like, wow, it's not only the work that I do that needs to feel good for me, but the way that I work and how that like structure is and my ability to feel like I'm bringing my creative gifts to the table and I'm helping people in a way that feels like it's really uh making a lasting impact on their lives. Whereas, you know, community mental health patients are coming in and out, it's anywhere from three days to two weeks, and then it's goodbye.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 12:09

Yes, that's right. That's right. It's crisis management. That's right. Right. Yeah. And were you were you working Monday through Friday, day shift regular hours?

Chelsea Horton 12:20

Okay. Yeah, Monday to Friday, you know, eight hours a day.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 12:23

And yeah, but you couldn't go deep with people and you couldn't keep them long. This is this is the thing that has really changed in our psych, uh in our especially in this in the hospitals. When I went a hundred years ago when I got into the field, yeah, way, way back, um, we could keep people sometimes for months, a year, like like in a st in a private, for-profit, top-of-the-line psychiatric hospital. And then when managed care came along, that changed everything. And that that that has really the pendulum has swung so far the other way. So I get that. So you get them in and make sure people they're gonna stay alive, and then you send them back out again. And that is very difficult to work, very difficult. Okay. So you were pouring everything you had into it. The pay is terrible, the hours are long, the work is not terribly fulfilling because it's so crisis oriented, and you want it, it sounded like you wanted something, something different, different, something better.

Chelsea Horton 13:21

Deep. Yeah, some something deeper and being able to. I was the only body-based therapist on the whole treatment. I bet. I bet. I'm I'm usually a unicorn in the in the field. And so also I wanted to create an environment and create a business or a practice that really led with the body and centered the body versus, you know, I was like the adjunct therapist. A lot of therapists were like, Oh, you're the fun therapist, you just do fun activities with them. I'm like, no, I'm doing a really incredibly deep work with people. And it's like the traditional mental health system still is slowly catching on to somatic work, but at large, it's like, oh, the body is an afterthought. And I really wanted to create a body of work and a and a business that was like unapologetically body-centric.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 14:14

Love it.

Chelsea Horton 14:15

Okay.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 14:16

So, what did you do? Did you you you you yeah, tell me what'd you do? Tell us the story.

Chelsea Horton 14:22

Yeah. So I I remember thinking, like, oh gosh, like what else can I do with my skill set? What are their options? Are there? And yeah, I love the way life works. Like you start asking these questions, and suddenly life starts bringing you people and conversations that open you up to different pathways and options. And I started talking with other people who were doing different things and like doing things in ways I had never heard before. And you know, uh another dance therapist had started an online business. I was like, what? Like that was like unheard of. This was pre-COVID. Yeah, okay, okay. Before like everything went online and it was very normal to do things online, and I was like, What? Like that's an option, and like other people were just doing unique things, and I was like, could I do the juices going, got the wheels turning, love it, yeah. Yeah, like could I create something? I never saw myself as an entrepreneur, I never I don't know. I just never I wanted to do this the safe thing, especially growing up in poverty. I was like, I want to have the job that's gonna give me the security. But realizing that like there was something deeper that I wanted than just a secure paycheck. And so I, you know, opened up an LLC, registered for an LLC in the state of California in at the end of 2019. And I was like building my business on the side as I was still working full-time. I was also doing some work with a nonprofit, like I was taking any like side gigs that I possibly could. Yes, yeah. So that I could build, build something on the side as I was gonna be transitioning out of my full-time position.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 16:05

So you had a paycheck, which sort of carried you for a while, but you're already taking steps on the side to start building something new. And I do love what you said when you started this, and you said funny how once you start asking questions, the universe starts showing you things. Like that is like I do, like that's an important little point here, which is allowing yourself to want more is a good thing, right? And once you allow that and just expand the like just be open to the possibility, if you're paying attention, you're right. Opportunities will show up, teachers will show up. I love that you did that. Okay, so got a job working on the side. You started an LLC already right off the bat. I didn't do that for 20 years.

Chelsea Horton 16:46

It wasn't, I would say it was a couple months in. Yeah. And again, it was like, how can I do this very different thing, but as by the book as possible? Okay, okay, I love it. And so I then got to this point where I had a couple clients on the side, and I was like, okay, I need to be able to put more time and energy into this thing. So I dropped a part-time at the hospital, and then I got a contract job with the VA that paid me more per hour, but I didn't have to work as much. Ok So I was like, okay, here's the next step down. And then COVID hit. So my VA jo...b, that contract got canceled. They just like cut everything. And the month prior, I had told the hospital I'm fully quitting. So I was COVID kind of forced me to go all in full time on this thing.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 17:36

And were you seeing people in person? Like, did you have a location, a physical office, or was this online?

Chelsea Horton 17:41

Online.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 17:42

Okay.

Chelsea Horton 17:43

Yeah.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 17:44

And were you running it as a as a counseling practice, a counseling service, just with a different modality? Or was it something, or you was it more like coaching, um, stress management, life enhancement? Okay. Okay.

Chelsea Horton 17:58

Yes, yeah. More like wellness coaching, somatic. Um, yeah. So I I really specialize in helping people with anxiety. So teaching them, educating people on how do you process anxiety somatically? Yeah, more coaching, wellness versus therapy diagnosis, you know, it's all private pay. And okay. I remember like meeting with a lawyer and like making a contract and like, okay, you know, this is new territory still, like therapist turn coach, like what so I like meeting with a lawyer to like get a sound contract for like this body of work and being very explicit about the scope of of my work and and what I'm doing. And so, you know, going all in on that business in in 2020 was my first full year, like full-time in business, and I made double what I made at the psych hospital. And I was like, Oh, okay.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 18:56

Oh, that's great. Your very first year out. Yeah, it is truly insane. Yeah, I love it. Congratulations. That's great. Yeah, that should encourage a few people.

Chelsea Horton 19:09

And working half the hours, right?

Wendy Pitts Reeves 19:10

Like that's what I was gonna say. How how did you do that? What like what was the difference? And and I so that right there, you're already saying something. You were doing self-pay, so you weren't doing third-party reimbursement, no insurance, right? No, um, you weren't you were per you said you were working with anxiety. Was that from the beginning? Did you focus on that?

Chelsea Horton 19:28

Was that part of your that was pretty early on? I you know, took some business courses and got some coaching around like I had no idea how to start a business. No idea. You know, you're taught how to be uh you're taught how to do these skills, but you're not taught anything about marketing and niching and this world I knew nothing about. I'm laughing because we can all relate. So yeah, you're like, I I know how to do the work, but I have no idea how to promote a business. Yeah, what am I doing now? Okay, yeah. So I I decided pretty early on to specialize particularly in relationship anxiety. So people who were in healthy, loving, supportive relationships, but found themselves overthinking, doubting, worrying that it was all gonna come crashing down, worrying that one day they were gonna get a divorce. So learning how to feel more secure in their relationships.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 20:20

And that was where you started, not just anxiety in general, relationship anxiety.

Chelsea Horton 20:25

Yeah.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 20:26

This is okay. So can I just ask, like, how did you land there? Why that? And was that hard for you to choose? Like, was that a conscious, intentional thing that you did? Because that's very specific.

Chelsea Horton 20:39

Yeah, the reason why I chose that is because it was a big part of my personal story. And when I was reflecting on like, what has somatic work helped me with the most in my life? Like, how was I personally transformed the most by this work? And I was like, oh my gosh, like I, you know, I've me and my husband are celebrating eight years of marriage tomorrow. We've been together for 11 and a half. Lovely. In the first two years of my relationship, I was one foot in, one foot out, overthinking, terrified of commitment, broke up with him, got back together, broke like just so in my head all the time. And somatic work was what really helped me feel secure, helped me get out of my head, help me get out of the fears and the worries, and really be able to commit to this relationship. And I was like, it changed my life. Like my relationship would not be here today had it not been for that work. And I was like, I wonder if other people deal with this too.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 21:38

So when you were first, when you were like, I'm gonna start this side gig and then I'm gonna shift, I'm gonna slowly pivot into this full time. Were you was it an on I don't know why I'm asking this, I'm just super curious. Was it an on purpose? I need a niche, I need an area of focus, I need to know, I I've got to pick something. This is real, or was it like What do I care about? What do I feel? What's what's important to me? Well, this is what this is what's important to me. So this is what I want to do. Like, was it a more organic thing, I guess, is what I'm asking from the inside out? Or was it a more strategic choice that you made very consciously and on purpose?

Chelsea Horton 22:16

I would say it was a mixture of the two. Okay. When I first started dabbling with some things on the side, it was just like general movement sessions. And then I started seeing again having conversations with other people and they're being very like specific in what the application of the work. Okay. And then I'm starting learning about business. And it's like, okay, yeah, niching. And I was like, okay. And I remember like first trying to like fit something. And I was like, no, no, no, that's not it. And then I went inside my own body. And one of my mentors at the time was like, I want you to move, somatically move your own journey of like before dance therapy and after, and like feel like how this work has impacted your life. So I really had to get connected to myself, my story, my experiences, what I've learned, how I've grown, what I've mastered, what I've embodied. And then it was just like, oh, like I remember sobbing, being like, oh my God, like this, this is how I've been changed. And I wonder if other people need support with that too. And the response was overwhelming, of course.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 23:25

Y'all, I want to highlight something that Chelsea is saying here. Um, because there's two parts here that I think there's probably more than two, but there are two that are things that are jumping out to me. Um, you heard me ask her if this was an organic thing from the inside out. In other words, which which goes along with how she thinks and how she works, right? Which is moving from the body, moving from the heart, moving from the center into the world. So she was feeling her way through what she wanted her practice to look like, right, Jesse? Right? Yeah. Um and that what your the exercise your mentor suggested that sounds beautiful and powerful, and I love that. Um so there was a little bit of what feels right, what feels important to me. And she made a business decision, a strategic decision that a lot of us resist. I resisted this. I never had a niche. I mean, I had been in practice for probably 10 plus years before the first time I ever sort of picked something to focus on. And that and at that point, I was focusing on adolescents and their families because that's what I knew the most about, and that's what I had done the most of. And I thoroughly enjoyed them. So I loved working with cranky teenagers that everybody was afraid of, right? So, and so that was a real focus for a long time. But but this concept of developing, like I am Chelsea in a lot of my coaching work when I'm helping people with just basic, like they want to look at their website or their marketing copy, or how do I I want to put a program together? We always start with who is your ideal client, and it is never as clear as people think it is. It's always interesting how much time we need to spend on nailing that down. And you did that from the very beginning. And one last thing, and I'll I'll stop. I had a coach once that said, we are often the after of our clients before. Yes. And that's what I hear that you did here. You're like, this is something I have been through personally. This is how this work has helped me. I'm going to translate this into a business strategy that is in alignment with who I am and also is just smart business. Love it.

Chelsea Horton 25:33

That's great. That's the magic. That's the magic right there. I call that like embodied business. Like you're still learning the skills that you need to learn to have a create a thriving career in business, but you're doing it not from your head. Like, well, what should I pick? Because then it becomes very cognitive. You get stuck. I see a lot of people doing this. They're like, well, what should it be?

Wendy Pitts Reeves 25:55

And what well, there's this, and then I'm like, you are what's practical, what's strategic? Yes.

Chelsea Horton 25:59

I'm like, honey, you are way in your head. Like, let your body guide this business decision for you. Yeah. Because you're never going to find the answers in your head. Or you'll find an answer that like sort of works, but then it when you're doing it, it doesn't feel alive for you.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 26:16

So true. So true. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. So how did that go once you got that going? So you're still you're all online. Did you eventually start doing some in-person stuff, or was it strictly digital or virtual?

Chelsea Horton 26:26

All online, yeah. Like me and you over Zoom virtual session and started, you know, marketing on Instagram, just telling my story and also talking about how incorporating my body in my healing was like how that changed things for me. And then people are like, oh my gosh, I've never heard anyone talk about this in this way. I didn't know this was a thing. What relationship anxiety? I thought I had to leave my partner. You know, like, oh my gosh, I just broke up with my partner, even though I love him. And like, what? And so, like, getting the seeing that there was a real market for this and that people really wanted support with this. And yeah, I remember like getting my first one-on-one client and creating my first group program, and then creating my first digital course and creating an online community, like all the things. Yeah.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 27:22

Love it. You just you just zipped right through phases of development. One-on-one, one-to-many, group, course, yeah, community. Yep. Y'all, she just gave you something really useful there. Write that down. Remember that because that not that everybody has to do that, but that is a beautiful little what I want to say, a little timeline, a little developmental phase there, a little way to think about how you can expand your practice. I love that. It's great, Chelsea. Good job. So I take it this went well. People liked it, they resonated with it. The clients came and you grew. Yeah?

Chelsea Horton 27:57

Yeah. We grew at the end of my first year. I hired a team member. Um then the next year, we doubled what we did the first year. Like, so I was in scaling mode. It's like, okay, now we're we're working with lots of people. Like this is a this is a thing. You know, we're we're becoming like leaders in this little niche of relationship anxiety, and we're doing it in such a different way, and we're doing it in a way that's so uniquely us. My um co-facilitator is also a dance and movement therapist. We came from the same training program. She's a creative weirdo like me. And so, like, we're just very us in our work. Yeah. And it, you know, like we we got to support thousands of people around the world, just would get raving testimonials, people being like, I've been in talk therapy for 10 years, and I I've never experienced a shift like I've experienced with you in three months. Like, we're like, okay, something, we've got something going on.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 28:57

We're on something here. We're we're on to something. We're on to something. Love it. Yeah. Just out of curiosity, there is more language in the common everyday vernacular these days about attachment in relationships, right? People are talking about attachment theory, secure attachment, anxious attachment, avoidant attachment. Is that part, has that helped you? Has have you sort of tapped into that at all?

Chelsea Horton 29:23

We didn't really talk about attachment a lot because I wanted to differentiate. We we had every now and then talk about it, but I didn't really piggyback off of those common terminologies. I saw a lot of other people, I know people are really well ver or they know about those. Right. It's a little more commonly known. Yeah. Yeah. But I it was like we kind of created our own language, which is uh really important in marketing, is like having your own big idea. Yeah, like your own unique way of explaining something that already exists, but you you can explain it from a different angle. And we really like developed our own way of talking about this phenomena that people were experiencing now because people would come to us like, well, I think I have avoidant attachment, and I think I and they would get so kind of stuck in the labels of it. And so we kind of wanted to remove those labels that people often get themselves stuck in and conceptualize the experience in a different way.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 30:26

That's super cool. I love that. When you said people were talking about I just got out of this relationship and I was all anxious, and I should that's what made me think about that. Were you tapping into that? But no, from the beginning, you have you you really have been sort of dancing to your own, to a different drummer, to your own drummer, right? What's following your own internal beat in a way. And we're gonna do we're gonna do it our way. I love that. And I love what you said about a that it's important in marketing to have a big idea that's already out there, but that you are doing it in your unique way. Yes. That's brilliant. I love that. That's really good.

Chelsea Horton 31:03

Yes, you're so right. Yeah. That's your that's your category of oneness. You're not just another therapist working with attachment. You're not just another this doing this. You are a true category of one where you're standing out in the marketplace, you're standing out in the industry, in the field, which is then what like helps gain recognition for the body of work that you're creating? It's it's not, you're not just in a lineup with others. Like you are truly in your uniqueness, in your eunus. You again, creativity has been such a big thing for me and my work and my business. And how can I look at things from a different angle, talk about things in a new way? Like, how can I really own like my creative zone of genius here? Like, how can I do things a little bit yeah, be dancing to the beat of my own drum? I love the way you said that.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 32:01

Was that did this come naturally to you? Was this an easy thing? Did you like how did you arrive at this? Did you what was the process you because because it's hard for people to identify what is it? I mean, I've worked with people sometimes for a year or longer, a year and a half sometimes, pretty intensely, before things finally clicked because they would often go through a lot of stuff from their head, you're right, until they sort of whittled it and whittled it and finally, oh, that's what I'm about. That's who I am, that's what I care about, that's who I really want to serve. How did you how did in a way it sounds like your North Star all the way through has been creative movement, like all the way through, like dance, creativity in general, but dance in particular and movement in particular. But how did you arrive as a brand new business owner? Because you're new, five years is not long. Um I guess six at this point. But how did you how did you get there? How did you identify this? That it was it something that yeah, just tell me about, just tell me, how'd you figure that out?

Chelsea Horton 33:09

I you know, it's something I've of course refined along the way, and I think I'm really grateful for my my foundation and embodiment because when we're trying to get it right, when we're so up in our head, like that's the opposite of creative energy, right? Creativity does not thrive when we're like, what's the right thing and what should I do? And we're shooting all over ourselves. We access our innate creativity and all humans are creative. That's what makes us human, right? Like what makes us human is our ability to create. And so when I can like really connect to my body, create safety, remove the layers of fear and judgment around what I should do or shouldn't do, or what's right, or what's gonna be this. Like, when I can really tap into that space inside of myself, I can finally uncover like what is what is me? What is mine? What are my desires? Like, what are my gifts? What is my story? And can I feel safe enough inside of myself to make mistakes and for people to not like what I have to say? Like it's that level of safety that then allows the creativity to naturally flow. It's not something that you force, it's it's something that's already inside of you. It's about tapping into it and accessing it by getting out of our very like black and white, trying to get it right thinking.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 34:43

I just wrote down what is me. I love that. Um I'm gonna come back to that in a minute, but I want to follow the story a little bit before I go off on a tangent. Um you identified and also I love that what you said, Chelsea. It is so true when we are up in our heads and we're trying to make something happen. I've experienced that personally. I've done lots of little businesses along the I've done my core counseling work, it's always been my main thing, but I've done lots of things on the side. And I have learned through trial and error that if whatever I'm doing isn't something that I thoroughly enjoy, like really want to do, if I'm doing it because it's practical, reasonable, smart, it is I can't sustain it. I can't keep it going. I it I just can't do it. Um because it's coming from the wrong place, right? It has to come from our center. So you're right about that. So so you you had this huge response. You've gotten clients out of the wazoo, it sounds like, and you've and your practice, but you began to add to your offer and how you served people. You took on a partner, right? It was this a business partner? Okay.

Chelsea Horton 35:54

So she's a she's not like a direct partner, but she's like my co-facilitator employee. She's okay, one of your staff.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 36:00

She's a team member. Okay, awesome, awesome. And so how has your business evolved from there? Where have you gone? Is it all like tell me sort of tell me where you are today? What does your business look like today?

Chelsea Horton 36:12

Yeah. So, you know, as we were doing this work with thousands of clients around the world specializing in relationship anxiety, I realized that we were, you know, even though we both had our training in dance therapy, that we were doing something different from even anything we were taught in dance therapy. We're like, we're doing something different here. And even people who came to us were like, I've been to other somatic therapists, or I've been to IFS therapists, or I've done this, but y'all are doing it in a different way. And I was like, huh. And I put on my qualitative research hat, which I, you know, I did a qualitative research for my thesis, and I put on my qualitative research hat and I was like, what are we doing over and over and over again with clients that we can really see in real time? Like something is shifting inside of them. Like they're getting real results whenever we do these things, and these things always seem to come up. No matter what client we work with, these recurring themes, these places we take people, they keep coming up. And then I realized, like, oh, we kind of have our own unique way of facilitating somatic work, especially from the creative angle. Again, even all my own inner work that I did in running a business, which is like the biggest spiritual teacher of all freaking time. That's the preach. Oh my gosh, like my own shame work. And so, like my own inner work kept developing, which then impacted my professional work with clients, which then impacted their results. And I was able to be like, whoa. I remember like again, sitting down, feeling into like what are the core like tenets of our work that have keep coming up over and over again. And we developed our own methodology and at the end of 2023, um, applied for accreditation through the Complementary Therapist Accreditation Association. So we're like, I think we have a certification program in us. And so we developed a certification program for other mental health professionals, therapists, coaches. Uh, you know, we've had a doctor come through our program, um, you know, people switching out of corporate who want to do like more healing work with people. So we developed a certification program. And then that's kind of where our business pivoted. We're like, whoa, we want to really help other mental health professionals and coaches like do really profound creative, somatic work and to be able to take their clients beyond the mind and to help them move with their emotions and alchemize them and transform them into vitality and aliveness and joy and expression. And so that's what we've really been focusing on. And it's been incredible.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 38:59

This is so delightful to hear your journey. I love the way things are unfolding for you. It really does feel like you are just in flow and have been in a way all the way through. It's really, really cool, Chelsea, for real. Um, such a natural evolution of yourself as a practice owner, as a business owner, and an evolution of your business itself. Um what did you say a minute ago about um what was it? You said that your internal work was continuing and that that impacted the way you worked with your clients, which impacted your results. And you said you said something funny. I've already forgot it.

Chelsea Horton 39:38

Oh, that running a business has been like my biggest spiritual teacher that works. Yeah, there you go. There you go.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 39:44

There's a quote for you. Running your business is your biggest spiritual teacher. That's a quote right there. I love it. That's a quote. I always say, um, like there's nothing like running a business to show you what your stuff is, right? Um it is so true. But listen to this. Okay, so your certification program, are you teaching other health practitioners of various kinds to weave somatic practices into their work with their patients and clients, or is it for themselves to use?

Chelsea Horton 40:16

So the certification program is for their work with clients. We also have programs for helpers, healers, leaders to do the embodiment work for themselves. So that, you know, because I always say our own embodiment, our own inner work impacts everything. How we show up for our businesses, our clients, our partners, or like your own embodiment. Like you can't take someone somewhere you're not willing to go yourself.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 40:40

Amen. Can I get an amen? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. For real. You oh my gosh, that is so good. You cannot take someone where you are not willing to go yourself. You cannot take someone where you are not willing to go yourself. And they're like, so so I'm not a dancer, but I am a huge believer in experiential work and have done a lot of it. In my particular background, most of that has been wilderness-based work with with kids and adults in all different kinds of ways. Um, and when you are in the woods with a group of people and you're asking them to do something really scary, like jump off a cliff or maybe build their first fire or whatever it is, um, you have to be willing to do the thing you're asking them to do. Like very like literally, you have to be willing to do it, but also metaphorically. So, y'all, there's so many different things here I want you to learn from what Chelsea is saying. My brain is going pop pop. So there's a there's a soul piece here. There's a soul piece here that I want to capture really quick. What you just said, Chelsea, really is absolutely one of the truest things I think I've heard in a while. Like you cannot take somebody you're not someplace you're not willing to go yourself. So, guys, if you are not doing your own therapy, or if it's been a while, if you are not working with your own coach, if you are not doing your own body work, if you need to, whatever it is that you're avoiding, you need to go be doing that because you will be a better practitioner because you're doing that. I just want to like I believe that, I've always believed that. I've I I live and breathe that, but you nailed it right here, and I just want to highlight that. Also, this is my business coach brain. Um, you did something super cool here when you uh when you said you put on your qualitative analysis hat. I'm like, what is that? I don't have one of those. I'm sorry, I'm a social worker and I got out of the thesis. Um but what you did, yeah. But what you did was you became an observer of your process. And guys, y'all who are listening, if you've been following me for a while, you've heard I had an episode a while back about developing a program as opposed to a package. And um the guest that day, her um, I'll I'll I'll I'm gonna get it wrong if I say it. So I'm gonna go back, I'll I'll tag that episode below. But we've had a conversation on here fairly recently, Chelsea, about how it can help your business to develop a program where you walk your clients through a process, beginning, middle, and end, that is repeatable, predictable, transformational, marketable. And what you did, you said the other thing that you I'm so sorry, but I can't help it. I'm excited about it. I love this. I love this. Okay. What you did was you you listened to feedback from your clients who were saying, This is different. So part of that is because it is experiential, right? I you can sit and talk for 10 years, but you get somebody out in the woods or you get them up and moving, or you get them messing around the mud or playing with paint. Like that alone will shake something loose, anything that gets them out of their heads and into their body. But in your particular case, like you, I love when you said people that you some of the feedback you were getting. I've worked with other somatic therapists. You do something different, and you listen to that as the business owner and as the practitioner. Well, what am I doing different? What is that? And it sounds like you went through a really specific process to study it, begin to isolate it, understand it, encapsulate it, learn how to articulate it, and now you have taken that and turned it into a product.

Chelsea Horton 44:43

You guys can't see my face, but I'm like, oh my gosh, you're like gassing me up over here. Thank you.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 44:50

Well, but is that not true? I mean, that's what you're telling me. That's exactly what you've done, yeah? It is what I did. Thank you. So, okay, so I'm not blowing smoke. Like I'm just reflecting back what I hear from you. I appreciate it. It means a lot. And it's super cool. And it's not always like this, and it's not always this clear. But you are not just stumbling into it, you are paying attention, you are doing things in a very specific and intentional way. So you are using your head, you are thinking analytically and strategically, but you are leading from your heart. Dang, I love it. So good. So good.

Chelsea Horton 45:31

Thank you. Okay. Yeah, it's it's that the marriage of your cognitive intelligence and your somatic intelligence. Because your body holds so much wisdom. If you leave that out, you miss the magic.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 45:46

If you leave that out, your body holds so much wisdom. If you leave that out, you miss the magic. So, what's the name of your certification program? We might as well highlight it. Sure.

Chelsea Horton 45:57

It's called the Healing Embodied Practitioner Training Program.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 46:01

Healing Embodied Practitioner Training Program. Okay. And where did people learn about that?

Chelsea Horton 46:08

So you can learn about it online, uh, healingembodied.com slash get dash certified. Or if you just go to our website, there there'll be a page for that. But it's it's online with a in-person weeklong training integration retreat included. And it's 12 months long. Um you know, I I also feel like talking talking about observation, I was also observing, you know, if someone wanted to get some sort of somatic training outside of like going back and getting a potentially second master's degree, what's available right now? And uh some of the biggest name online somatic certification programs are like three to six months long. And I'm like, I've been doing somatic work for a while, and I think we need to go a little bit longer. Like this, it really takes time to integrate it for yourself and then also integrate the skills to be able to facilitate with someone else. So it was really important to us that our program was a year long. I love that.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 47:12

Yet another way that you are differentiating yourself from everybody else, you're separating from the pack. We do things different around here. I love it. Trailblazing. Yeah, it's really great. It's really great. It's great because it's true. And it's great because it sets you apart. It said it's just it's great for marketing. Um it's it, but it's so I have a saying, my mantra as a business owner is that good treatment is good business and good business is good treatment. That's I love that. I've had uh that popped into my head when I was working in a psych hospital in the 80s, and it has served me well ever since. When you are doing the right thing clinically, when you're doing the right thing for your clients or your patients, um, that's going to be good for your business. And when you are taking care of your business in a healthy and appropriate way, that's going to be good for the clinical work too. I don't, I do not think it's an either-or. I think they both go together. And you're a great example of this. You are following, you're following your heart in terms of how you're developing your business, but you're also paying attention to what's best for your clients, including the practitioners who come to get certified for you. You need more than three to six months. This takes a while to do it right. So we're gonna keep you. I love that. I love that. We're keeping you around, yeah. We're gonna keep you. I love that. Okay, so I want to go somewhere with you real quick if I can. Um when if I hadn't planned this, but if you'll if you'll just play with me, Chelsea. Okay. That's great. So you were I was asking you like how you came up with this in the beginning. You know, you'd worked in community health in a psych hospital where you are probably, you know, it's fairly restrictive, I'm guessing, what you were allowed to do and how you were doing it. And you're working inside all kinds of structures that you don't have any say in. Once you step out of that and you've got the whole show, it's both exciting and a little overwhelming at the same time. Like, yay, I can do anything. And oh crap, I can do anything.

Chelsea Horton 49:15

Right? Right? Right. Yeah.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 49:17

So I was asking you how you came up with this concept of um doing somatic work specifically around relationship anxiety and the the way you wanted to teach it, and you said that you sat with yourself over a period of time and you said, What is me? You went through this whole thing about what is me. Could you give our listeners um maybe just a little starting point, a little bit of guidance, an exercise, a suggestion? If they have either they may not be in practice yet, they may they may be working in community mental health and trying and trying to make the leap. They may be just getting started within the first year or two. But I know that I have listeners who've been doing it as long as I have, too, right? So kind of regardless of where you are in the process, if it's fine, it's good, but it's not wow. What could I do as a as a practice owner to begin to explore what would make this a wow for me?

Chelsea Horton 50:29

Oh, I love that the way you said all that. I think the first thing is coming back home to your own aliveness, just as a human who feels and experiences and like turning on your own senses. So that that might look like just taking a moment to notice your body and all the little subtle buzzing temperatures, feelings, flutterings that we often miss because we're so in our head and we're so disconnected, and we're thinking about what I should do and what's expected of me. So, like really coming back into your own aliveness and then like beginning to just feel and see and sense and attune to all the things in your life that make you feel alive. Like the little things that maybe are don't seem connected to your business. Like, I talk with my with our um students that we train, I talk about like how I love a good beverage. Like I love things that have ice that make the sound in a glass, and I love the feeling of the glass, and I love the different flavors, and I love mixing things together. Like, I literally have this like pink drink that I concocted before this call. Um it's it's non-alcoholic, don't worry. Um but like, do you know what makes you come alive? You know, like do you do you foster that in yourself? Because in the way that I teach my students, it's your your work, your profession is an extension of your purpose, and your purpose is an extension of who you are and your aliveness. And so if you don't feel alive in yourself as a human existing on this floating rock in space with all the insane magic and all the sensory things available to you, like come home to that first. Come home to your own body first and then start to pay attention. What lights me up about the work I am doing? Are there certain clients that I'm like, ooh, whenever someone brings that, I go, oh, yeah. I sit up in my chair a little bit more and I lean in and like start paying attention to then what makes you feel more alive in your work. And that's gonna really cue you into okay, what do I want to lead with in my work? Like, what do I want to really focus on and make the center or or specialize in or bring forth more in my work?

Wendy Pitts Reeves 52:59

Lead with, specialize in, bring forth more in my work, pay special attention to. Oh, that I think I think this is the thing that is like the kernel of what we've talked about today is you paying, you pay attention. Which I guess is the nature of embodiment, right? But yeah, it's it's saying presence, presence, presence. But you're paying attention on multiple levels, what makes a difference for my clients, what what do I feel in my body? Um, what's working here? What am I excited about? And why? What is it about that? And how can I do more of it? Yeah. So you will love this. I'll take could I tell you just one little side story?

Chelsea Horton 53:47

Yes, please, please.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 53:50

So I went through a period um where I had thought I was going in one direction, life threw me a massive curveball. Nope, not going in that direction. Need to figure out who I was now. And I went through a process very much like this of turning into all the things, like what made me feel it. Like I didn't word it this way, but it was the same idea. And the way I started thinking about it was what were the conversations I was having with clients where I had to be careful because I would go down a rabbit hole that wasn't why they were there. You know, like it was so exact, it was so um seductive that it was just fun. And if I wasn't careful, we would spend the whole hour talking. And for me, it was camping, hiking, and backpacking. That's always been my thing, right? And somewhere along the way, long story short, there's lots to this I won't go into, but I began to realize that I had a client. In fact, I had a client, I was this isn't the story I was gonna tell, but this is this is relevant. I told a client one time when we were having one of these conversations about backpacking, and I'm like, this isn't what you're here for. We this is not what we should be talking about. And I said, I have always wanted to take women out who have never been backpacking and wanted to learn how to backpacking. And she said, Well, when are you gonna do that? Why haven't you done that? And I'm like, Well, I don't know. I don't know how, and I'd have to figure out the insurance and the malpractice piece, and I you know, I just don't know. And she said, Well, you're smart, you know how to figure stuff out. So what's stopping you? Why don't you just do that? And do you know, like, this isn't where I was gonna go? But I went home that night and literally figured it out overnight. And by the end of the week, by the end of the week, I had a co-leader, I had the forums, I figured out the malpractice stuff, the medical risk stuff I had to do. And I did, and and y'all, those who listen to the podcast, I have actually not told this story. This is not one I've told. But I did for a little while, um, in the early, this has been a while back, but I did lead beginner backpack trips for women. And it was called Wildish Women Adventures, and it was based on a story out of uh Clarissa Pinkle S's book, Women Who Run with the Wolves. That was sort of the foundation of it. And I taught them everything they need to know, and then we took them out for a back for a three-day backpack. And it and it came because of a client conversation where I was just enjoying myself inappropriately off topic. And of course, she went on my first trip and the second one. So isn't that funny? It is so funny.

Chelsea Horton 56:17

Wendy, I love this. This is a perfect example of when like all of your gifts and interests and skills, all of it comes together to create something one of a kind that lights you up and lights your clients up. And I love that. Yeah.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 56:30

And I think you'll find you do it over and over and over again. And what it is from one period of time in your life may be different from what it is at a different period of time in your life. But the process you're laying out always works, always works no matter where you are. So, guys, go back and listen to this again. Here, like I really want you to listen to the whole episode because there's been so many good things all the way through. But in particular, what Chelsea just shared about tuning in to all the things you you said that are making you buzz. All the things inside. And like in life in general, and then you said, and in your work. So that makes me think of a Venn diagram. What do I love out here? What do I love here? What's the overlap? Yeah. And what can I do with it? What can I do with it?

Chelsea Horton 57:18

Yeah.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 57:19

Because you can do something with it.

Chelsea Horton 57:21

Yeah. Yes. In a way that no one's ever done it before, because there is no other you who has had your life experiences and your particular skills and interests and passions. And yeah, this is I love this conversation.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 57:37

It's fun. It is fun. Um and like I said earlier, I'm not blowing smoke. Like I I just feel like I feel like you you are teaching, you are providing a really great example of what a creative but not crazy, not chaotic, not just running off and trying whatever crazy, you know, like there is a method here. It is creative within a structure. It is and and that's why it's working, right? And and it and it is repeatable. Um and it's not doing things the way corporate says you have to do it, or the hospital says you have to do it, or some insurance company. It is your way, it is your ideal method. But what you have laid out for us, Chelsea, anybody can do when they are paying attention and when they're starting from their heart, from their core. This is so good. Thank you so much. I love the blend. I love the blend.

Chelsea Horton 58:34

Thank you.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 58:36

You're very welcome. I have it happens a lot that I will have guests on here who will be like, oh wow, never saw it that way before, but you're right.

Chelsea Horton 58:45

You're a very good reflector.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 58:47

I'm a therapist. What can I say? Oh, it's almost like you do this for a living. Almost could be, you know, who knows? I don't know where I learned how to do that. It just is as natural as breathing to me. But this is why I love doing the podcast too, because I love, and this is why I love about interviews, because I like I get to meet cool people that I would never meet otherwise. And everybody has a story we can learn from. Um, and often it's easy to go, oh well, that's what they did. But when you really pay attention, it's like, oh, that's what they did. And you know what? I think I could do that. I bet I could. And that's that's the win. That's cool. That's cool. All right, my friend. Thank you. This has been awesome. Tell everybody, you you mentioned your website, but give it to them again. Tell them how they can find you, if they want to learn more about you, if they want to hook up with you. What do they do?

Chelsea Horton 59:38

Yeah, if you want to connect with me directly, go to www.healingembodied.com forward slash connect. You can book a free consult call with me. There's also a free resource library all about somatics and embodiment and bringing that into your business and your work with your clients. Um, but if you want to learn specifically about the certification program, it's healingembodied.com slash get dash certified. I am everywhere on the internet pretty much. Uh Instagram at healing.embodied. Uh, we have a TikTok, but I'm not on it a lot. And I don't like that app that very much.

Wendy Pitts Reeves 1:00:15

But if you look for her, you can find her. But it is embodied past tense. I want to hyphen, I want to point that out because if you're listening to this while you're walking, you may not remember that, or if you're driving or something. Okay. Thank you for saying that. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Tuned in. All right, everybody. Um, I hope you guys, y'all listen to like seriously. There's been so many nuggets of real wisdom here that I hope you can take this, take some notes, play with this, go write about it in your journal, do a little mind mapping, like draw it. Imagine where you could go with this if you just let yourself go. Because I think it could be really cool. And I would love to hear what you all get out of this. All right. All right. All right, that with that, guys, it's always hard for me to sign off. I'm gonna let you go to go off and do your creative thinking. Thank you so much for being here, Chelsea. Thank you for joining us today. And uh you guys have a great week, and I'll see you next week right here on the Ideal Practice Podcast. Bye now. Hey, y'all, if this program has become important to you, if ideal practice matters, it would mean so much to me if you'd be willing to take just a minute to do one or two of the following things. First of all, would you follow or subscribe to the show here at Ideal Practice? Following me helps you because you'll never miss an episode. But it helps me as well for all kinds of reasons. To do that, all you have to do is go to the show page for Ideal Practice on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. There, just click on the plus sign that you'll usually find in the top right hand corner, or click on the word follow that you're gonna find somewhere there on that page. Of all the things, this really is the most important thing you can do for the podcast itself. While you're there, it would be extra special if you would be willing to give me a five-star rating, and even better than that, a review with your own words. Your words matter, and when you write what you feel, what you think, you uplift and encourage others. And I love that. If you want to go a step further than that, take your favorite episode or two, one of the ones that has meant a lot to you, and share it with a friend. Could you do one or two of those things for me? I promise I will love you forever. You guys matter to me, and I value your support more than I can possibly say. Thank you, sweet friend, for anything you can do to help me out and support the show. I'll see you again soon.