Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 324: Breaking Down Barriers: How Online Therapy Makes Mental Health Care Accessible

• Sophia Yvette

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What makes Karisma Ishaq with Charisma Counseling PLLC a good neighbor?

Meet Karisma Ishaq, founder of Charisma Counseling PLLC, who's revolutionizing mental health care through her 100% virtual practice. With five years in private practice and a decade in the mental health field, Karisma brings expertise and compassion to adults, couples, and families struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and relationship challenges.

What makes Karisma's approach refreshing is her belief that mental health support isn't just for those with severe diagnoses. "Sometimes it's just an acute problem or everyday struggle, or sometimes you just need someone to listen," she explains. This perspective makes therapy more accessible and less intimidating for those who might otherwise hesitate to seek help. The joy she derives from helping others shines through as she describes the fulfillment of seeing clients improve: "Something about them feeling better and I had a little bit of something to do with it makes me feel like I'm on a mountaintop."

Despite concerns some might have about virtual therapy lacking personal connection, Karisma guarantees clients quickly forget they're on a screen. The virtual format eliminates common barriers to mental health care—no fighting traffic, rushing from work, or rearranging schedules. Instead, clients open their laptops from wherever they are and receive the same quality care they'd get in person. This convenience factor has fueled the practice's growth through enthusiastic word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied clients. During our conversation, Karisma also takes a moment to debunk common mental health misconceptions, including the misuse of clinical terms like "bipolar" and "imposter syndrome."

To learn more about Charisma Counseling PLLC go to:
🌐 www.charismacounselingpllc.org

Charisma Counseling PLLC
📞 +1 (214) 334-2163

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a private counseling practice? Well, one might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Karisma Ishak. With Charisma Counseling PLLC, Karisma, how are you today? I'm good. Thank you, Sophia. Great. Well, we are excited to learn all about you and your company. Can you start by telling our listeners just a little bit about your business?

Speaker 3:

Sure, so I have a mental health practice that is a private practice and we are completely, 100%, virtual. We have been in private practice for about five years now. I've been in the industry for 10 years and we handle clients, mostly adult individuals, couples and families, and we see people from a vast array of anxiety, depression, ptsd, acute stress disorder, bipolar. So there's a different, different, you know, needs for different, different people. But if we can have the focal point that we can do it.

Speaker 2:

So, karisma, how did you originally get into this business?

Speaker 3:

shelter. So I have like different experiences, but private practice really allows for me to see those clients. That is, your everyday hustle, bustle, struggle clients. I think mental health sometimes is seen as such a like a big deal, to the point where you have to have like some kind of huge diagnosis to get care for. And sometimes it's not. It's not that at all. Sometimes it's just like a acute problem or it's a everyday struggle, or sometimes it's just you need someone to listen or talk out your thoughts with and private practice really allows for me to do that. I love the fact that it allows me to take away from not having to diagnose people. It's like I can. I have a lot more leverage in the just kind of like the freedom I have on private practice. So it has always been a dream of mine to have my own and run it this way.

Speaker 2:

Wow. Well, I can tell you really have a heart for helping others. Where did that kind of start for you?

Speaker 3:

Maybe it's selfish of me that.

Speaker 2:

I get that joy. I'm not quite sure, but something about them feeling better and I had a little bit of something to do with it makes me like on a mountaintop. I just feel so good. No, I think that's definitely the heart of a nurturer. That's not at all selfish. Now you're welcome. What is the most common myth or misconception you come across in your industry?

Speaker 3:

Sure. So one of the most popular ones is calling people bipolar just because they have, like, hot and cold moods. That is definitely not why bipolar is. Or we get a very famous one which is I have imposter syndrome and that's not an actual syndrome, you know. So there's a lot of street words that I think has been used to kind of use it as a crutch and blame it on mental health, when really they don't. They're not actual diagnoses at all.

Speaker 2:

Now, karisma, I know we talked about this a little bit, but marketing is really the heart of every business. How do you currently market your business, and let's go a little bit more in depth on who your target customers are.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. I have in my passion to really work with would be anxiety, depression, trauma and acute stress disorder, and couples. I love working with couples. I love working with families, so this is where my niche is really. Marketing has been a struggle because we are 100% online, so it's not like we have a brick and mortar where people can see driving by. It really is something that I would either have to be out there for you to even know that I exist. But a lot of my clientele has been from word of mouth, from recommendations from current clients. I have many clients that return to me and that's really been like the driving force other than maybe being on insurance panels as well has helped, but not like I actually exposed myself anywhere significant.

Speaker 2:

Now, have you ever thought about having your own podcast?

Speaker 3:

No, I have not.

Speaker 2:

And outside of work. What do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3:

It's going to sound cliche, but I do love to travel. I travel a lot and I love spending time with my family and traveling with them and traveling with my husband. It definitely I get it. Everyone loves to travel. I understand that. But I really love to travel Like it just brings my spirits the highest.

Speaker 2:

That's amazing. Now please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Charisma Counseling, PLLC.

Speaker 3:

One thing to remember is that, again, we are 100% virtual and this sometimes scares people because they feel like they won't get that human interaction. And I cannot stress it enough how much you tend to forget you're on a screen, that when you're working with me or you're working with anyone in my practice we really do have that touch to where you forget there's a computer in the middle and it really allows a lot of people the convenience of getting to mental health care that otherwise they would have to sit through traffic or they would have to physically, you know, get dressed or make it to an appointment, which is such, you know, a pain from coming from their job or their school or whatnot. And this allows you to just open up your computer anywhere you are and not have to go through the struggle of getting there. And the human interaction is not missing and I can guarantee that.

Speaker 2:

And where can our listeners go to learn more about Charisma Counseling PLLC?

Speaker 3:

Sure. So we have a website. It's wwwcharismacounselingplcorg, or my staff can be emailed at admin at charismacounselingorg, at charismacounselingorg, and we have our office phone number that I can provide, which is 214-334-2163. You can text this number, you can call this number and if you leave a voicemail, that we will make sure to get back to that voicemail within 24 to 48 hours.

Speaker 2:

Well, Charisma, I really appreciate you being on the show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward. Thank you so much, Sophia.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPFriscocom. That's GNPFriscocom, or call 469-221-9345.