184 The 2025 Practice Grant: Interview with Svetlana Kutikova and Isaiah Rodriguez

Private practice is not just about seeing clients. Without consistent referrals and a clear niche, it becomes unpredictable and difficult to sustain.

In this episode, I introduce two clinicians from our 2025 Practice Grant, Svetlana Kutikova and Isaiah Rodriguez. Svetlana is building her caseload in a group practice. Isaiah is expanding into supervision as a way to grow his business. Both are navigating what it actually looks like to build something real after licensure.

We talk about the early-stage challenges that do not get normalized enough. Inconsistent schedules. Low caseloads. The pressure to “get more clients” without a clear plan. Svetlana shares what it feels like to have ten clients one week and far fewer the next. These are not signs that something is wrong. They are part of the process.

You will hear how clinicians move from uncertainty to clarity by identifying who they serve, how they serve them, and how to communicate that effectively. We also discuss what makes a therapist referable, why ease of access matters for clients, and how small systems create long-term stability.

Isaiah brings a different perspective. He is looking beyond sessions and stepping into supervision. We talk about what it means to think like a business owner, not just a provider, and how supervision becomes a structured path for growth when it is built intentionally.

This conversation is about building. When private practice is treated passively, it creates inconsistency. When it is built intentionally, it becomes sustainable.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  Why inconsistent caseloads are normal in early private practice 
•  How to clarify your niche so referrals actually come in 
•  What makes it easier for clients to contact and book with you 
•  Why referral relationships matter more than passive marketing 
•  How supervision can become a structured path for growth, as Isaiah demonstrates 

If you have been thinking, “I just need more clients,” pause here. This is not just a referral problem. It is a structure problem. Sustainable private practice comes from clear messaging, consistent systems, and intentional growth.

Connect with Svetlana:

• Positive Path Psychology
• Psychology Today

Connect with Isaiah:

• F.E.A.R. Counseling
• Psychology Today

Want to learn more? Check out this month’s free resource from Kate Walker Training.

If this episode raised questions about building your caseload, creating referral pathways, or growing into supervision, you do not have to figure that out alone. These are the exact conversations we have inside the Step It Up Membership, where we build practices that are ethical, structured, and designed to last.

Get your step by step guide to private practice. Because you are too important to lose to not knowing the rules, going broke, burning out, and giving up. #counselorsdontquit. 

Transcript

First-Day Panic And Perseverance

SPEAKER_03 0:00

One moment that really sticks out to me was literally my first day on the job, like my very first case. Everything that could go wrong absolutely went wrong. And I remember leaving work that day and I was calling my friend and I was like, I quit. I can't do this. I didn't, obviously.

Practice Grant Giveaway Explained

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Welcome to Bad Master Therapists, building practices of life. When it's all about working smart, not hard. And here's your host, Dr. Kate Lil, who loves a quick.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

We're doing something a little different today, and I love it. Every year around my birthday, I give away a practice grant. So you're going to meet two people who showed up for the December 2025 practice grant. One is a runner-up and one is the winner. And both of them decided to do something real with it. Svetlana Kudukova is already in practice and she's building something. Isaiah Rodriguez is using his grant money with his private practice to become a supervisor. Today we're hearing their stories, what they're building, what they've learned, and what they tell the version of themselves that first applied for the grant. This is what the badass therapist community actually looks like. Now, let's get to work. So in December, every year, I do a practice grant giveaway to one person who gets $599. Everybody else gets a chance to be featured on the podcast to promote their business. And uh my guest today is one of the people who didn't win the money, but she's here to promote her practice. And so, Saved Lana, uh, I'm gonna say your last name, Kutkova with Positive Path, is gonna talk about her counseling practice and uh things she loves, challenges, all of the things. But at the end of the day, she is going to share the best way to contact her. So if you're listening to this and you're a counselor, it's great. But if you're listening to this and you're looking for therapy, then this is gonna be a great episode for you. So, Svetlana, tell us about you, uh, how you got started and how you found positive path, all the things.

Svetlana’s Path Into Counseling

SPEAKER_03 2:36

Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm really glad to be joining you today. Um, I guess I'll start with how I just kind of got into the field. I would say, you know, from a young age, I was always kind of fascinated with humans and kind of human interaction and people watching was something I loved to do. And just how every human is kind of different, how every human interaction is very different. I think sometimes people would, like when I was growing up, think I was kind of quiet. But in reality, I don't think people realize I just love to kind of observe the environment around me, the people around me, how everyone kind of interacted with each other. And I think that's what really drew me to psychology. And I got to take my first psychology class when I was in high school, and that kind of started it all. I think it was intro to psychology, if I remember correctly. And then once I got to college, I really majored in psychology. So I took a bunch of different classes to kind of get a feel of the field. And the plan was always to continue my education once I graduated, but I did want to take a little bit of a break, kind of gain some real life experience before I threw myself back into school. And during that time, I worked as an ABA therapist with artistic individuals from the age of about four to 22. And I got to do some training and then I got to take on cases and work in home with them. So a lot of the work I did was in home with the individuals. I would say it wasn't an easy job, like straight out of college, but I do feel thankful for that time because I definitely learned a lot during that time and just kind of being thrown into the field. One moment that really sticks out to me was literally my first day on the job, like my very first case. It was everything that could go wrong absolutely went wrong. It's like nothing went right. And I remember leaving work that day and I was calling my friend, and I was in tears, and I was like, I quit. I can't do this. I didn't, obviously.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

But a lot of us have been in those shoes. They say the thing that you're scared of the most is the first thing that walks through your door. So yeah, that's I I can I can empathize with that.

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Yeah, I remember that day so really because I'm like, what did I just get myself into? But I feel like the good days always far outweighed any of the bad days. So I just had to take kind of a moment and then step back and just breathe. My friend talked me through it, which was great too, and was like, okay, that was the first day. Like no one expects you to figure everything out just starting out. But I think over that time span, just seeing the progress that individuals made, a lot of times, especially autistic individuals and tasks that you and I, and many of us who would not even think twice about, just like daily living tasks. But I feel like that's gave me so much fulfillment when they did progress and enrichment. And I knew that like I needed to go back to school and kind of get my degree in counseling so I could expand my horizons and kind of expand the populations that I could work with because I didn't want to be so limited in just the work I could do.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

So let's let's pause a second. So if you're a listener and you're not really uh sure how the whole counseling or if your social work or psychology works, you and Spitlana, what you're saying is you had a bachelor's level position. And this bachelor's level position didn't require a license or supervision. Uh, but the training that you had in this type of therapy was was great and it gave you good experience. But then you realize, no, I need to go back to school, get an advanced degree so that you can become licensed. And that then also if you're listening to this, you know, when you're preparing to get licensed, you must be supervised on so many levels, right? A lot more supervision, a lot more. I think about that moment that you had on your first day and having your friend kind of talk you through that after your advanced degree and you get supervised. That's what your supervisor is supposed to do. So you dove back into this and you went back to school. And then what was your what was your master's in?

SPEAKER_03 6:59

I did my master's actually in New Jersey. I re I only moved to Texas about three years ago, three and a half years ago now, but it was on Masters of Arts and the field was clinical mental health. Like that was kind of um right, I guess the focus you would call it. And I remember when I was like in grad school, I would tell like my friends and just people I knew that I wanted to help people, of course I did, but it was kind of more than that. I would kind of tell them, I want to change the world, I want to make like a difference. What's wrong with that? No. I know my friends would tell me all it takes is one person. It just starts with one person. If you want to do it, you could do it. And I guess I always had the sense in me that even if all I ever did in my career was make a difference, a big difference in one person's life, that would be enough for me because I knew that what I did mattered, even if all I ever did was reach one person. That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

That's me in a nutshell. That's that is so beautiful. And uh I think it's I want to say, I hope it's typical of most folks who have gone on and gotten their license and counseling or social work or whatever. You know, you have to understand you're helping one person at a time as opposed to like a teacher with a classroom or, you know, something like that. I mean, one person at a time, that's the best we can do. And so having a bad day and then being able to get up and do it again and say, no, I want to learn more. No, I want to do better. I think that's beautiful. And I love the way you said that.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

Thank you. I appreciate

Why Teens Open Up In Therapy

SPEAKER_03 8:36

that. It's also funny because so my focus is mostly kids and teens. That's kind of where I specialize from the ages of two to 17. I do take on adults every now and then, also to kind of keep my sanity because working with kids is a lot. But it's funny because when I was in grad school, I also there was a time where I told one of my friends, like, I cannot work with teens. Absolutely. Like that was like I said, no, they're gonna drive me nuts. Just because I I remember myself as a teen too. I didn't always make it super easy. But I think after I got into the field and started working with teens, I I realized how much I loved it and how much that population just really wanted someone to listen and someone to see them and hear them. And a lot of times, you know, as teens, we did they don't get that, you know, sometimes because, you know, sometimes parents just tell them what to do, or you or teachers tell them you have to do this, and they don't feel like anyone really understands them. And at first they're very teens tend to be resistant, but once they realize they can open up to you, it's like a whole different ballgame. And I felt like I learned I loved how much that kind of worked like that and that affected me. I'm like, if I can be that person, if I can be the person they feel safe and comfortable with, that's what I'm here for.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Okay, I've got to just draw a conclusion here again for those of you who are listening who, you know, may work with teens and it doesn't go so well. I mean, what you're describing is a skill set. Not every counselor can get a teenager to open up. So what you're saying is you're actually really good with teens. Not to toot my own horn, but like so. That's why you're here. We want you to toot your horn. Because if you toot, people listen and then they'll come to you. And maybe, you know, that's one of the things as counselors, we're all pretty isolated. I mean, unless you're on Facebook and I guess people are talking about different things. But, you know, when you describe this ease or this sort of comfort you have with teenagers and the feeling that you make a difference, listeners, I want you to know, I mean, that's that's not the usual, oh huge, as the kids say. No, I don't know. I don't work with teens. So I think that's fantastic. So you've been in Texas for three years. And so when did you uh did you come to Texas? So two questions. Did you come to Texas fully licensed or did you need supervision? And then the next part of the question is when did you get to the private practice stage at Positive Path?

SPEAKER_03 11:14

So I actually got my full license just last March. So congratulations. Even been a full year, yeah, but thank you. So when I got here, I still had very few hours. Like I was basically just starting out when I moved to Texas. So I was still under supervision and I I worked at a different company that started our private practice, and then it kind of turned into a big national company. And then after I got my hours, I kind of left that company and I came to Positive Path just about three three months ago. I think it was beginning of November where I started. And and where's Positive Path located? We're in Frisco.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Okay, Frisco, Texas. And uh you see people in person and virtually.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

Yes, I am hybrid. Mostly if you if the clients are between the ages of two to 17, I do suggest in person because I think kids and teens just do a lot better in person. There's not as many distractions as if when you're virtual. But if you're an adult, like virtual, I would say is fine. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

And so tell us sort of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Private Practice Wins And Stressors

SPEAKER_02 12:25

What do you love about practice, private practice first? Tell us, tell us all the things you love.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

When it comes to me, I think about private practice, what I love is just kind of the supportive environments, the collaboration. Obviously, there's the flexibility with schedules, so you can make your own schedule, see as many clients as you want. I always say, like, I work well independently and I'm good working independently, but it's nice to have a team, a supportive team you can reach out to when things come up and you do need some support or someone to reach out to. I don't need to, I'm not the person who needs to be micromanaged. That's just not how I work. But it's nice to know you can reach out to someone when they do need help and they're gonna help you out, and you're not kind of left to your own devices on things that maybe you are not aware of how to handle.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

Well, and I'm I was looking at your website um before we started this. It's a beautiful website, uh Positive Path in Frisco. And I'm looking at ocean and uh it's it's just water moving, and then the pictures of their offices. Your offices are beautiful, your team. It looks like it's super easy to contact you. And so uh walk us through somebody like if I'm if I'm needing services and I'm still gonna get to the bad and the ugly in a second, but walk us through if I was looking for services, what I would do when I get to your website.

SPEAKER_03 13:55

So once you log on to the Positive Path website, you can go down, you can press on top where it says about us. And then if you want to make an appointment directly with me, you would just have to scroll down until you see my name. I think I'm closer to the bottom there.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

I'm scrolling, I'm scrolling, but I see lots of great photos and great bios. You've got it, it looks like a ton of great qualified people. And this is this is sorry danglers practice, right? Yes. Okay. Correct. So there you are.

SPEAKER_03 14:29

I found you.

unknown 14:30

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

So once you oh, thank you. Once you kind of reach down to the person you want to make an appointment with, if it's me, you just click on the photo. And if you're a new client, you would just press book an appointment and it would kind of take you to register for the portal, do all the things, and then you're able to directly make an appointment with me. Very easy.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

It is so easy. And because if you're listening to this and you've never had counseling before, there is a process. Just like if you went to your primary care physician for the first time, there's going to be paperwork, there are going to be questions to answer. You're going to be informed about HIPAA and your rights and all of the things. And so as I'm navigating through this website, it looks super easy. I mean, you guys have done a fantastic job of just making it very easy to navigate, especially if I'm the potential client and I'm already stressed out because my teen is doing something I don't agree with, right? And I just need help. And you guys make it extremely easy to find you and know exactly what you specialize in. So good job on that. Um, tell me a little bit of the bad and the ugly of private practice. What have you found to be challenging in that arena?

SPEAKER_03 15:44

One of the things I find challenging, and I'm not sure, well, I guess I'm not sure if it's directly to private practice, but I would say how I mentioned the whole flexibility with schedules. I feel like that's amazing and that's so great, especially when you can figure out how much you want to work, when you want to work, things like that. But I think that also kind of comes with how your schedule's never constant, never consistent. Just because obviously there are times during the year where things are a bit slower, like maybe around the holidays, the summers, at least from what I've observed so far. But I think it's just been a little bit hard where one week can be really fulfilling. You have so many clients, you're like, I don't, I don't have time. And then the next week you barely have any clients. So I think just the lack of consistency, which I know it comes with the career kind of itself. It's not like just because, you know, clients come, clients go, clients, you know, graduate, they terminate, you know, so it's a constant on and off thing. But I think that's been one of the more challenging things, especially when it comes to more financial reasons, you know, because you don't kind of have that stability every week.

SPEAKER_02 17:00

Yeah, I mean, counselors, we're basically working ourselves out of a job with every client. I mean, again, if you're listening to this and you've never had therapy or you're in therapy, we want you to get better. We want you to get to a place where you you don't need us, right? But at the this, that also creates kind of a dilemma of, okay, you know, the good weeks and the bad weeks. And that's why, you know, uh, we here at K Walker Training and uh Texas Counselors creating badass businesses and the podcast therapist building practices that thrive. We want to help counselors market. It's such a hard thing to do. Like you even said, I don't want to toot my own horn. And I'm like, oh, but you need to, right? How else are we gonna find you? And that's that's part of it is making sure that you get to connect with the people who need you and they're actively looking for you so that you've got lots of people making those initial phone calls. It's so is that what people do? They make a phone call, or I saw a form. It looks like they could fill out a form, or uh, I'm at the paperwork part. So, how would somebody uh just kind of get to know you uh to see if it's a good fit? Or what's the process with that?

SPEAKER_03 18:16

So they can fill out a form and sometimes sorry, actually, clients reach out to her. So she'll send me, she's like, There's a potential new client. Can you get them a call or an email? And sometimes I'll call them and see if it's a good fit. My number that, my work number that you can reach me on is also on the website, so they can always just directly call me or um, you know, send me a message and I'll call back when I can. Because, you know, schedules are also unpredictable, so I can't always answer the moment someone reaches out to me. The current email I use would be Svetlana counselor at ourcompassionatehearts.com. So if there's ever any clients that are interested, they could always email me at that email as well, and I'll reach back to them as soon as I see it. Oh, and we'll put that in the show notes. Okay, great.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

That would I would appreciate that. Yeah, absolutely. So you do have a lot of seasoned counselors listening and watching right now. What could this tribe of experienced people help you with? What do you feel like um you could use help with?

SPEAKER_03 19:20

I guess the part that I would struggle I'm struggling with the most is still kind of getting clients onto my schedule. And that just kind of, and I know that usually takes a time and because it's only been three months since I started here, but I feel like I could definitely just use more clients, like get more people onto my schedule. Just get myself into um a schedule that really works for me and that I feel confident in. Because right now I have maybe about 10, 10 people a week, and that's just not enough for me at the moment. So I feel like just kind of getting more clients so referral. Referrals. There we go.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

Okay. So if you were to describe then your ideal client, if we, you know, we're out here, we're gonna send you referrals. Who is your ideal client?

Ideal Clients And How To Reach Her

SPEAKER_03 20:15

So I mean, with kids and teens, I would say, you know, anxiety, ADHD, behavioral problems, school issues, uh self-esteem, I guess. Like the main things uh depression. So those are the big ones I feel like I deal with kids. You know, I do plate therapy. Obviously, if they're like smaller, I do CBT with them. I do some mindfulness-based therapy. Autism is another one. So those are like I think the big ones with the kids. With the adults, I would say anxiety, depression, ADHD. Also, you know, women's issues, trauma, kind of relationship issues, that interpersonal issues, I think that all kind of comes together when people come to see me.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Okay. And so we would say, okay, this is this is a counselor for you, so but Savana Kudukova is a person that you need to connect with, go to positive path, but you also have a psychology today, right? Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

How does that work with psychology today? So in psychology today, if you find me on psychology today, I have I have my email linked down there, I have my number linked on there, and you could so anyone who finds interest could always the same way, send me a message, call me, and as soon as I get a minute, I will reach right back out to you.

SPEAKER_02 21:43

And I think that's important for listeners to understand. You know, when you are looking for a counselor, it's not like calling your physician or your dentist who has a full office staff and somebody's gonna pick up the phone. You know, counselors, even in In a private practice or a group practice, usually are answering their own calls. So it's important to understand you're probably going to leave a message and get a call back. And I know some people don't understand that. I know some people who, especially if they've never been to a counselor, they think we all work in these big office buildings with tons and tons of staff. And that's just not how we work.

SPEAKER_03 22:21

And I try to be good as in, I try to respond timely, but you know, sometimes things do get busy. Sometimes the life takes over and I can't always get to. But I will always respond. Sometimes it just might be a few days, but I always get back to any requests I get. That's excellent.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

Well, and so in the last few minutes, what would you like us to know about you?

SPEAKER_03 22:45

Just anything. Well, we talked about why I got into counseling, but I feel like one of the reasons I love it so much is just because I have learned that sometimes it is a lot easier for us to talk to someone who doesn't have any history or like strings attached to you. Because sometimes it's not so easy to kind of share the deepest parts of ourselves with the people that are closest to us. Because sometimes there's just too much history, and you're like, well, what if they're gonna judge me for something? Or what if this is gonna happen? And I've learned that I really love kind of being able to be that person for them. And like when I was in a teenager, I wish like I saw a therapist where I had someone like that. I feel like it would have been so helpful just because in our teen years, there's so much going on that sometimes it's like you just need someone to hear you and to see you and just be like, I'm here. This is a safe space. You can talk to me about anything, and there's not going to be any judgment here.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

And parents who are listening to this, you under you need to know that counselors cannot keep dangerous secrets, but at the same time, their job is to provide that confidentiality to your teen or your child so that they can feel that non-judgmental presence and know that they can talk about whatever they need to talk about. So it's a balance, right? I mean, you you let the kiddos know, okay, hey, I don't keep dangerous secrets. But other than that, this is a safe space. Definitely also a safe space because you don't keep dangerous secrets, but you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_03 24:24

I do. And it's funny because the other day one of my kids was like, um, I feel like you're more kid-like than adult. But then she was like, it's a good thing because I feel like it makes it easier for me to open up to you and be comfortable. And I'm like, and I realize therapy with kids and adults is very different, but I always sometimes I have to be a little bit crazier and be like, go down to the kids' levels because I'm like, it's like you're gonna be comfortable. I need to get to a level where you're comfortable.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

I think that is the greatest compliment that a counselor who works with kids can receive from a kid. That's that's wonderful. I know it kind of made me laugh. I'm like, I don't know how to take this, but thank you. Well, that's wonderful. And so if you're listening to this and you're in the Frisco area, Svetlana can be reached at Positive Path Counseling or Psychology Today. And she has a hybrid practice, so that means she offers in-person and virtual via webcam. So if you're looking for services, give her a call. If you have information to help Svetlana out with her challenges, you know, we're gonna have contact information in the show notes. So just uh send her an email with some some great advice or whatever you got. And uh, Svetlana, thank you again for agreeing to be our subject today and tell us about you and uh hopefully get a whole ton of clients. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Free Bonus For Future Supervisors

SPEAKER_02 25:57

Hey, quick heads up. This month's free bonus is something I built for every clinician who's ever wondered am I thinking about supervision too early or not early enough? It's called the Clinical Leaders Roadmap, and it's a self-assessment and roadmap that shows you exactly where you are in your leadership development and what to build right now. Whether you're supervising today or planning for it down the road, this is the kind of clarity that makes every step after it easier. Grab it free at KateWalkerTraining.com slash bonus. Now, back to the episode.

Isaiah’s Niche And Fear Counseling

SPEAKER_02 26:38

I'm with Isaiah Rodriguez, owner of Fear Counseling and the winner of the 2025 Practice Grant giveaway. Isaiah, I mean you're gonna talk about your practice a little bit. You're gonna talk about what I want you to talk about, is what you're gonna do with the money because I'm so excited about that. But tell us uh a little bit about you and how you started and and how long you've been in business, all the things.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Yeah, absolutely. So I started my business about three years ago. That's when I went into private practice and really sat down with myself to kind of think about what I wanted to focus on, where I wanted to put my focus and my expertise in. And so fear counseling kind of came from what's important to me, right? So it sounds for faith, equality, affirming, and resilience, right? I think a lot of times clients have a lot of fear in coming into therapy. And so I'm like, you know what, this could be like a twofold here that could really have a lot of meaning for me, but also for the people I serve. And so I work with a lot of men, specifically gay men, that are really trying to navigate their masculinity and conflict internally and making sense who they are. I think we grew up in a very heteronormalized normative society that creates a lot of just shame for gay men, and then I kind of create a safe space to help them sort of explore that. Um, some trauma that's there with EMDR, discipline of coaches in that way. So yeah, I kind of got to a place in my practice kind of irony that I, you know, was a recipient of this grant. Um, I was at a place in my practice where I was like, I'm expanding. I am, you know, really wanting to grow my practice right now. Um and you know, I was like, you know what, I need to kind of look and explore. And a great colleague had recommended um, you know, the supervision training to look into it and you know, your supervision training. And I was kind of just hanging out one night, and I knew that I had applied for for the grant and stuff, and I didn't know that I was the recipient at the time. And I went and was kind of looking through the the videos and I saw my name, and I'm like, okay, I need to watch this video. Like and I went and watched the video, and you know, I was like, wow, this is such a wonderful thing, perfect timing. Um that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 28:40

Yeah, and we didn't plan this, right? I mean, that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Yeah, no, absolutely. So, yeah, so um I'm going to use it to begin my supervision um process and the training for supervision.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

Um excellent, excellent.

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Yes, I could take that next step to uh to grow my practice.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

Wonderful. And so where your practice is located in San Antonio, correct?

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Correct.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

And are you brick and mortar? Are you virtual? Are you a mix of both?

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Yeah, I do a mix of both. I do hybrid. Um, so I have some office space that I do a little bit of in-person and I do a little bit of virtual as well.

SPEAKER_02 29:15

Oh, okay, nice. And so you have been in practice then total of how many years?

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Probably going on about eight or nine years total. Um practice, uh, about three years.

SPEAKER_02 29:27

All right. And how did you get the bud to start a private practice?

SPEAKER_00 29:31

Yeah, I mean, I think that I, you know, kind of explore different options in the field and, you know, work for different agencies and other practices. And I was like, you know what? I think that I'm ready to to be my own boss and kind of just start that journey and you know, be able to just help, you know, the population I want to help and just continue to put myself out there and just, you know, explore the the private practice world. So I took the leap and here I am.

SPEAKER_02 29:55

Okay. So I'm gonna I'm gonna poke at this a little bit. What kind of business background do you have? Or do you have any sort of entrepreneur background? Or is this just all kind of brand new for well, not brand new, three years old? But was it new to you?

SPEAKER_00 30:09

It was very new to me. Yeah, I think that's where I was a little bit hesitant for a while where I was like, you know what, I don't really have that background. Um, as a therapist, it kind of scared me to think about taking on different hats other than just being a therapist. So I did a couple of trainings with other therapists. I kind of talked a little bit about it, and that was the push I needed to just like, hey, you know what, take the leap and see what happens with it.

SPEAKER_02 30:32

Great. Do you have a network? Do you have a network of therapists that you can kind of hang out with and bounce ideas off of?

SPEAKER_00 30:38

Yeah, here in San Antonio, we have a group of therapists that are all in carriage practice. We'll meet maybe like once a month, sometime via virtual yeah, kind of just chit-chat and you know, pick each other's brain and see how we can help each other.

SPEAKER_02 30:51

And yeah, I bet she crossed her fur as well.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Absolutely. Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 30:55

Do you mind giving a shout-out to the group? I would love that if people in San Antonio would who you know are looking for that kind of group, maybe they could connect with you.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

Yeah, absolutely. The therapist, her name is Sarah Amendades, she runs the the group practice. Um yeah, so Sarah, I know Sarah um really well. She's amazing. Yeah, so that's where I kind of got the push. She kind of her her program really gave me the motivation.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

She's fantastic. Yeah, we've had her on the podcast as well. Oh, great, great, great. So anything associated with her is gonna be amazing. And so does she run this group, or is this something she kind of advertises or people can join in with? I'm a big believer in groups, so I think well, absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

So she she was doing like a live group thing where you would kind of meet for an extended amount of time. Kind of, I think it's like maybe two or three months, I believe it is, that you sort of just meet and she kind of guides you every step in the way. I think now she does it like um like a um you can online purchase like the course, I think is what it looks like now. Um yeah, but the group, um, she runs like ongoing groups where it's kind of just like you meet up and she's kind of like the facilitator of the groups.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

Very nice.

Using The Grant To Start Supervision

SPEAKER_02 32:04

All right, so let's talk supervision. What do you hope to do? What kind of a supervisor do you want to be for your supervisees?

SPEAKER_00 32:11

Yeah, I mean, that's a good question. I think that for me, I think my niche is so uh specific that I think that there's a lot of clinicians that maybe need that specific guidance and how to help, you know, these individuals navigate their journey and maybe what's unique to you know, me as you know, a clinician and how to help my clients. So I think I just really want to be able to give future supervise just the the guidance and the support that they need and trying to navigate this specific niche of mine.

SPEAKER_02 32:39

Okay. And so the idea then is to grow your practice. So where do you picture yourself? And, you know, let's say, you know, you take on your first supervisee by this summer and it takes about 18 months to two years. So where do you see you and you this practice in let's say three years?

SPEAKER_00 32:56

Yeah. I mean, I think my my goal is to eventually open up a group practice, right? Where I can provide that space for other clinicians to work in the same setting and sort of have a commodity with one another and just that support along with that supervision aspect of it to my practice as well.

SPEAKER_02 33:14

Awesome. Okay, so growing the group practice, bringing on your supervisees, growing them into your colleagues with some skills to navigate a similar population that to the one you're serving. What kind of challenges do you anticipate? I mean, you know, I guess maybe even what challenges have you faced kind of as a growing business owner? And what do you think your challenges might be as you grow and add more people?

SPEAKER_00 33:42

Yeah, for sure. Um, I think what I kind of struggle with in trying to kind of explore is the marketing aspect of it, like what that looks like, like how to reach out to people and how to be able to continue to grow my practice. So I think that is a big obstacle or hurdle that I've had to navigate growing my practice. So I could see that being something that I have to work through in taking on the supervision process.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

Do you plan to teach your new associates how to market themselves? Is that part of what you think you'll offer?

SPEAKER_00 34:09

Absolutely. Yeah, I think it's so needed in our field and something that's not really talked about. So I think adding that is super important.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

So you'll be a supervisor who also supports associates in being good business people and developing a niche and marketing their services. You sound like a real like quadruple threat here. I mean, that sounds amazing. I appreciate that. Yeah. So how can people find you? I mean, I know uh I looked you up, your website's amazing. I love it. So what's the so two things? How could a client, a potential client, find you? What's the process? Do they reach out by phone? Do you have a form on your website? How do you how do you like potential clients to reach out to you?

SPEAKER_00 34:53

Yeah, I think really two ways is what I've been noticing. So through my website, I have a lot of clients that reach out to my website. There's a contact form that they'll fill out and send some A. And then Psychology Today is where a lot of people end up coming in as well. So those are really like the two big referral sources that I'm kind of saying.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Okay. And how do you plan? This is kind of a trick question because you made a lot of thought about this. How do you plan on marketing for supervisees?

SPEAKER_00 35:19

That's a that is a good question. Um, you know, I I kind of keep up with your group with the the the badass counts that I've done.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

Good, good, good.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Yeah. So I think ways like that, right? Where other supervisors as well are, you know, kind of able to communicate with each other and kind of um give that information on how I can reach out um and find the supervisees.

SPEAKER_02 35:40

Yeah, because they're they're out there and I know they want to do what you do. And I think you're gonna make an amazing supervisor. And I'm so excited that you're the winner. And I think it's incredible that you're going to use it to become a supervisor. Thank you. Thank you for that. Thank you for contributing to the community and to the profession. And I want to hear from you again. I want to know how you do. And do you have any questions for me?

SPEAKER_00 36:05

Um, no, I I want to thank you. I want to thank you for doing this. I think this is something that is so amazing that it's giving me a lot of motivation and the the leap that I needed to continue to grow. So I think that other clinicians can also benefit from something like this in the long run. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02 36:20

Oh, my pleasure. And we'll do it again in 2026 when December rolls around. We will absolutely do this again. All right. Well, thank you. And thanks for letting me feature you on the podcast. So if you guys want to reach out to Isaiah, you can do that through his website. And then in about, I don't know, three, four months, five months, this guy's going to be a supervisor. So you'll want to reach out to him for all of your supervision needs as well. All right. Thanks a lot for joining me, Isaiah. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 36:47

Thank you.

Checklists Reviews And Next Steps

SPEAKER_02 36:52

Thanks for listening. If this got you thinking about supervision, grab the free supervision onboarding checklist at KateWalkertraining.com/slash checklist. It walks you through exactly what you need in place before your first supervisee ever signs a contract. And if you're thinking, I wish I could get a CE for this, step it up members can. Check it out at Katewalkertraining.comslash step it up. If you love today's episode, be sure to leave a five-star review. It helps other badass therapists find the show and build practices that thrive. Big thanks to Ridgley Walker for our original fun facts and podcast intro, and to Carl Guyanella for editing this episode and making us sound amazing. See you next week.