The Flourish Foundry Podcast

009: Healing Wounded Belief Systems with Heather Widmer

• Abigail Johansson | Women Entrepreneurship Advocate • Episode 9

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0:00 | 49:57

Today’s episode is like a deep breath for your soul. I’m joined by Heather Widmer, a licensed mental health counselor based in South Tampa, who brings both wisdom and warmth to the conversation around healing, identity, and emotional health.

Heather shares her journey from working in addiction recovery to specializing in trauma, attachment, and accelerated resolution therapy—all within a Christ-centered framework. Whether you’re navigating emotional healing yourself, supporting loved ones, or simply curious about what it means to thrive mentally and spiritually, this conversation is filled with truth, encouragement, and practical insight.


We chat about:

  1. Why healing wounded belief systems is essential for reaching your goals
  2. How your identity in Christ can transform your sense of self and purpose
  3. The lasting impact of childhood emotional needs (and what to do when they resurface)
  4. What it really takes to be successful in private practice
  5. Why emotional health isn’t just a bonus—it’s foundational


Heather’s passion for this work is so evident, and her faith-filled perspective is both grounding and empowering. You’ll leave this episode feeling seen, supported, and inspired to do the deeper work.


Connect with Heather:

Instagram | Heather Widmer

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Music: "Great podcast intro (both short and long version included)" by Lundstroem. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

SPEAKER_01

Today I'm with Heather, who owns her own private practice under Christian Counseling of South Tampa. She is a wife, a stepmom, and has been a mental health counselor for over 11 years, and it is such an honor to be talking with her today. Today we're talking all about our identity in Christ and how that impacts the decisions we make as business owners, how to know it's time to raise your rates, and dealing with some uncomfortable conversations within business. So without further ado, let's get into it. Welcome. I'm so glad to have this conversation with you. And thank you for requesting to be on the show. That is such a compliment and such an honor to be on the show.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I listened to one of your episodes, which may or may not be mentioned as far as we'll see where the session goes, right? Um, and I just found the ease of your conversation to be like so sweet. And uh, you know, I just love the idea and concept of talking to women and of course women business owners and you know, wisdom that can be extended. So I'm grateful to be here and obviously for your openness. And yeah, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01

I'm so excited for what you have to share today and where this conversation is going to go. So tell us a little bit about you, how you got started, all the things.

SPEAKER_03

Great. Well, I'll start off. I guess personally, I am uh almost 40, which honestly, like I say that because a lot of my journey and history and being a counselor, I couldn't wait to get to a point where I was older and people would respect me, quote unquote. Um, I started off in counseling pretty young. I think I was in my, you know, early to mid-20s, I would say. And I started off in like the addiction treatment center world, um, where people would come in and they sort of looked at me like, nah, we're gonna manipulate this girl, right? Like she's no, you don't know what you're talking about, you're too young. And I look back and I really didn't know what I was talking about, which is like maybe I did. I'm not giving myself like enough credit.

SPEAKER_01

There's something like for years of experience that you genuinely can't learn in a school.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, yeah, and it's so important for people who are like starting off like in a profession, in a business, where I talk to clients all the time where it's like they expect themselves to be 15 years down the road, that you should have the knowledge and the experience. And like, you know, I think some people really struggle with comparison. So I mentioned that to say trust the journey, trust the process, right? Like, I feel like God will open doors and lead you to where you need to be. So, all that to be said, I'll be 39 this year. Um, I love aging, I love wisdom. I think it's something to be embraced, and I'm very proud of the journey that I've found myself in, especially professionally. But I uh have been a counselor for 15 years. Um, I'm married. I uh have been with my husband. He's uh an amazing man, a very patient man. He drives me crazy, so I am also patient too. Um, but I'm a stepmom, and uh, you know, we've been together for just over three years. And I I mentioned before we started the episode and taping, right? That we dated for a short period of time before getting married. But that's a an adventure outside of here that juggling what I do and you know the business side that I have to take care of within where I want to be in that, plus personal life. Um it's a lot, right? So I think as women, we carry a lot anyway. There's a lot of responsibilities that we hold. Um, and it's great to have an awesome partner to be able to support you in your goals, and I'm very lucky for that. But it's a lot to balance personal and professional. So, you know, on the personal side of things, like I love to travel, I love to hike, um, working for myself and being able to make my own schedule allows for that. So I feel super blessed. But I love it. Here I am.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's amazing. Do you think kind of what you were saying of women? We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and kind of what we talked about, like right when I walked in the room as a therapist. Do you put even more pressure on yourself to kind of like balance things well or juggle it? Like I'm curious to good question.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, good question. You know, how I interpret that, I feel like you know, people come in here and it's so interesting, right? Because I pride myself and I think one of my greatest values is integrity. And so I really try to practice what I preach. Uh, I believe in authenticity, where come as you are, right? We know a mutual person, and so one thing I'll say about that person is we have so much fun in session, and we laugh, we joke, like our personalities. Like, I just show up in session, and I've had to come to learn that uh, you know, I think people come in here thinking, you've got no problems, right? Like, you're a counselor, you've been counseling for this period of time, you have the education, you have the background. You know all the things, so you must have no life problems, right? And I love giving them a reality check, right? Where it's like, well, hey, I like I've been to therapy myself. I struggled with these particular issues. I worked with a counselor for several years and had to overcome, and I still struggle sometimes. My marriage, I'm still not the most gracious, patient, generous, kind person I could be, just because you know. And so early on, I think that you know, it's such a learning curve and journey for people where it's like to find yourself and find your groove, especially within being a therapist, right? Because it's so relational and it's about a fit, right? When people come in here, like they're looking for somebody that they can really like spree spew their, you know, deepest life traumas and struggles onto, and who they feel safe and comfortable doing that with. So early on, I kind of felt like I was performing almost in session, right? Where it's just like I had to be a certain way or know all of the answers, right? And uh, I've just come to learn like that pressure, not just being a woman, but like I mentioned, I was young when I started counseling, right? Or much younger, yeah. I still think I'm young, but um, you know, I think the wisdom's come to grow with time that that pressure's just coming probably from insecurities I hold or belief systems that I hold. And like there doesn't need to be pressure to be perfect or show up or like balance things, I guess, quote unquote perfectly.

SPEAKER_01

I feel like imposter syndrome is a almost a buzzword at this point that gets passed around. And I this was just an Instagram post the other day. It was like, is it imposter syndrome or are you just a beginner? And I I think that is a important thing to realize. Like it's not just like that. You're bad at something, like there is still a need to be a beginner, yeah, and something and that is something almost like uncomfortable today. And obviously, I'm in a different season of life than you, like I'm I would say still pretty fresh out of college, like in my early twenties. It's you want to have what your parents have now at 40 in your 20s. You multiply that with like comparing like what people you may have only compared yourself to people in your neighborhood or in your town, and now you're compared to everyone on social media. Yeah, it's like there's almost not space to be a beginner.

SPEAKER_03

Exactly. So I love that. Well, and that is another form of pressure, right? Is like, like I was saying, you know, with imposter syndrome, there's this narrative that people hold that, you know, people are eventually gonna find out that I've got no clue what I'm actually doing, right? And well, when you think about it, like being a beginner, we need humility, right? Like it's okay that you have no idea what you're doing. I think people are more gracious than we give credit. Yes, and like we need to trust. I think like, and this is a great tool, and I'll just like dive into something that I use in therapy a lot. And honestly, I should trademark this. So don't be stealing my ideas out there, right? But I ask people, and sometimes I write this down like envision a triangle where fear's at the top, and in the corners, maybe trust. We'll write out the word trust and write out control in the other. Where there's a fear, usually there's a lack of trust, and we try to control it in some way so that that fear never comes true. But the solution is to trust. So whether that means surrender, trust in somebody else, trust in ourselves. Um, instead, you know, people try to control through people pleasing. Maybe they overcompensate in saying no or yes all of the time, not saying no. And uh maybe the fear ultimately is that, well, they're gonna think that I have no clue what I'm doing, right? Right. And so we've got to be able to identify obviously some facts and areas where it's like, okay, well, let me take a step back. One, how can I trust? But then, like, what belief systems do I hold about myself that are getting in the way of like ultimately me believing I can do this? Right. In addition, needing to remember everyone's a beginner, everyone started somewhere. I need to be humble in knowing that like it's okay to not know everything.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Right? Like, that's a whole other probably story, a topic for another time. Um, but I love what you said. Social media, I mean, we live in a world where comparisons already existed prior to social media, but even since becoming a therapist, uh, you know, the influence of social media, you know, has drastically impacted, you know, development, self-esteem, you know, it's like confidence really is taking like a major shot in people because it's so easily accessible to see what others know and what others are succeeding at.

SPEAKER_01

They're like performing. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03

How they're performing and what we're not. Yeah. Right? Right.

SPEAKER_01

That's so interesting. So do you primarily work with, I guess what age group do you primarily work with, or who's your day-to-day client?

SPEAKER_03

My demographic, right? Uh so I work with teen girls. Uh part of that is because I think, you know, teen boys are a little awkward, right? Uh developmental, you know, I'm a female and I think that maybe they need that male figure, not to say most of the time. And it's not to say if women are working with teens. Um, and then adults, male and female. Okay. So teen girls, and then any age of adult, but both genders. Cool. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

And then within your a private practice, but then you're attached to an organization. Or tell us a little bit about the business side of things, because that is something that at least I'm very uneducated on of all the different options. Yeah. And what that looks like.

SPEAKER_03

So great, great question. Yeah. So a lot of I have people who are students who come in and uh they're looking for internship sites, they're wondering what life postgraduation looks like. And so if I knew around graduation time, which I went to USF, University of South Florida, Go Bulls, I graduated in 2011. And if I knew that working in a private practice was even an option for internship sites, um, the potential to work here through gaining my licensure, right? I mean, like a thousand percent, I'd be like, sign me up, skip the treatment center, agency, the stress of those, you know, atmospheres. And I look back now, I'm so grateful for that experience. But truly, this setting, um, it really allows for you to be your own boss, set your own schedule, have work-life balance, set your own rates. Um, but there's so much value in gaining experience prior to coming to this place.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I think there's, you know, some misconceptions and expectations of private practice. Um, and when people get here, it isn't for everybody. And so having, you know, agency or treatment center or like whatever experience prior to coming to this space, and I promise I'll get to your question. Um, you know, there's so much value in gaining that experience and foundation and the hours and you know, uh being able to learn what your specialty is versus coming to a private practice, not knowing what you're doing, having to market yourself.

SPEAKER_01

There's just a lot more factors because you're a business owner at this point, which yeah, that is very different than just being a counselor or therapist.

SPEAKER_03

You're wearing multiple hats. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

You're balancing a lot more and right out of college. Getting your feet on the ground probably was the right next move. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And so for me, you know, my and again, like I'll totally answer your question. I'm sorry, I'm like diverting, right? You are totally fine. So I when I graduated from grad school, my internship site hired me, which was a treatment center. Uh, God closed that door. They did some layoffs. I was one of them. And within a weekend, I had an interview at another treatment center. Uh, worked there for two years. It was great when it was great. I am very grateful for my experience there. Yeah. And an opportunity happened where my mentor through my church at the time came to me and said, you know, hey, I've just been praying over, you know, some of what you've been sharing in your workspace and professional life. And uh, I know someone who runs a group private practice. It's a Christian counseling center. They're in South Tampa, they're affiliated with um our church, and they see the public, but you know, church members, you know, often go there and there's um, you know, discounted rates for church members, whatever. And she said, one of her addictions therapists who specialize in addictions, which that used to be my specialty, um, she said she left. And so their space she might be hiring, do you want me to connect you? And so um at the time I was getting my license through the state of Florida, and I didn't have private practice at all on my radar. Um, my my supervisor through licensure at the time suggested, hey, maybe think about it. Again, it's not for everybody, but maybe you would like it. Like I think that you have, you know, the vision, and um, I think that you would do well in it, and so think about it. And so this was the second sort of sign, I guess, that was brought to my attention to maybe consider it. Uh, so uh the woman who used to own uh Christian Counseling of South Tampa is the uh group private practice that I work for. She uh met with me and I had an interview with her, and she said, Well, like I would love to hire you. Um, you know, obviously this is like a faith-based practice, and you haven't worked in that environment. And so uh I want for you to pray about it and see if this is where you feel God's leading you to go. And um, the rest is kind of history. So it's a group practice where the umbrella uh, you know, essentially Christian Counseling of South Tampa has like an umbrella under a lot of counselors.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

Um, so we're 1099 contractors, but I'll be honest, for all my self-employed girlies out there, get you an LLC if you have a good CPA that will instruct you to do that, it'll save you on the self-employment taxes. And so although I was a 1099 uh within the group practice, I became my own business for tax benefits and purposes, but you know, that has benefits of its own anyway, right? Right. And so um being a 1099, like I said, I I've got my own office space, I set my own rates, um, and then I pay a split percentage towards Christian counseling in South Tampa. So rather than the overhead, that split percentage goes towards our office manager, marketing, rent space. Um, and if somebody went out completely on their own in private practice, they would be on their own in charge to pay for all of those business expenses. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You kind of have like the best of both worlds in a little in some sense.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I would say, right? Like I can I joke and say I can go on vacation and I know that someone's gonna answer the phones or respond to the emails without you having some hired assistant or I'm not having to do that myself and I can actually enjoy being in session, not worrying about missing potential new client calls because Kathleen, office manager, she's amazing and she takes such good care of all of the counselors here. Um, but I really trust that she's gonna be getting the job done. And so it's a huge like she's if anything, the perk that comes is if you've got a really great office manager that answers the phones, handles the finances. I don't have to have that conversation.

SPEAKER_01

Super nice, so nice, especially with what you do, because that in my opinion would be kind of awkward. I think and maybe that's just being a woman. But that's always like talking about money awkward part is you just don't want to be like, okay, and now you have to pay. Yes. And I have had to do it before.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, I have had to do it before. Like, let's say if if they're on vacation, or you know, I come in sometimes earlier than the office manager gets here. And my office hour, some days I stay later than a person's here. So having to take payment or when a card doesn't go through, I'm like, hey, we need a credit card, you know. And um, I typically tell people on first sessions, like, you know, scheduling and finances are two things that I prefer not to talk about because people get a little weird when it comes to finances. And I just want for us to like stick to the work and like that relationship, right? Like when you bring that part of business in, and again, like, could I do it a thousand percent? Like, I've got no shame, I'm pretty assertive, right? Um, but it's really nice within specifically my situation that I like don't have to.

SPEAKER_01

For sure. Have you had to raise your rates over the years?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

How did you know it was time to do that and what yeah led you to that?

SPEAKER_03

That's a great question. So we are self-pay, right? And we live in a world where mental health, I truly believe the stigma is still there. And mental health really, I saw a turn of events after COVID where people really started realizing, like, oh wow, I've been disguising my problems and avoiding through working so much. And now I'm home with my partner all the time, and we actually have problems, or I have high anxiety. And so post COVID, um, mental health has really been like I think respected a little bit more. Yeah. Um, but with that, more people want it, and I understand it's an expense that not all people can afford. It it's a level. Luxury, right? And it should maybe shouldn't be. I think there should be access to a lot of people. But with being self-pay, uh, we don't take insurance. And so part of that is a source of frustration for people, right? And I understand how expensive therapy can be. And, you know, it's a struggle for a therapist because you're in a business where you love people and you want people to heal, but it's also a business where it exerts so much mental and emotional strain to do what we do. And when you find a therapist who really cares, we spend that much more effort and thought thinking about our clients. In addition, getting certifications and trainings, and you know, it's like your individual value and all of the schooling you've done, right? You understand your value is high, but the empathy for people and where you feel bad, charging people a certain amount, especially if it's just a you know, self-pay place, that's a really difficult balance where obviously the business hat needs to come on, right? And I started off charging a certain amount, and I was told, again, I uh her name's Shannon, she was the old owner of CCST, I'll call it for short. And I remember coming on and she said, You work in South Tampa, people can afford to pay you. You need to trust and have confidence in yourself and in your skills that like you're worth charging that.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Like this number is not too high for what you're doing.

SPEAKER_03

It is not too high, right? And um, I was that amount until probably 2020. So I started CCST in it's been 11 years, so 2014. And for six years I charged the same amount. And it was because I felt bad. I obviously struggled with emotional boundaries because I was taking on, like, you know, oh, I don't want for them to dot dot dot. Um, and so it's been a learning curve for me that I remember uh again, there's a mutual person that we know, and I was raising my rate five dollars, and they said to me, like, are you kidding? Like, of course, I will pay five dollars more. You're worth so much more than even five dollars.

SPEAKER_01

Like, come on, right?

SPEAKER_03

And so again, we just work in this profession where because of the emotions that are involved, and like I love, I have grow to love my clients. They're so amazing. I'm so blessed to like have them. But I again that professional personal boundary has to be created where it's this is business, I do deserve the population and area. Uh, it's the going rate where you know inflation is a factor. Um, other people who have less years experience than me are charging more than I am. So what am I doing?

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I've noticed that in several industries. So obviously I'm planning a wedding, I'm getting married in a month. Yay. And I've noticed I was just telling my mom this this morning, where I'm like, the vendors that I'm using, the ones that are more like your age, like 40s and 50s, are so much better to deal with and so much more fairly priced than some of the vendors that I've acquired with that are closer to my age. And it's very frustrating because I don't I'm one of those people that I want to see the justification of the price. Like I'm not just gonna blindly assume that you're worth this number. Like I want you to prove it to me. Yeah, as you should. So it's an interesting phenomenon though, where I like I've seen other business owners my age just charge this number that they see someone else charging, but then they don't have the criteria to back it up.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So yeah, I mean, hey, boldness, good on them.

SPEAKER_01

If someone's paying it, I guess Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, like, I'm the same as you, and you know, another counselor who's a very good friend of mine, she's and uh I trust her with any client I would send her to, and anyone I would refer to her to. But we have this conversation a lot, right? Where even with me being in private practice for 11 years, you talked about imposter syndrome. It's like she supports me all the time of redirecting, and it's like you're worth so much more, right? And so where I think people that have been in this industry get kind of stuck in that way of thinking of like, oh, well, this is what's like maybe worked, or you know, the times where people have like this amount that like I've seen people be comfortable paying.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03

And like the next thing you know, I mean, like, we're almost in May, right? And I'm like, where is time? Again, I've been only I've been charging the same amount for six years. It's like you realize, like, whoa, wait a minute. I've got more expenses now, I'm married now, right? I've got a home with somebody, I've got stepkids where we do things. It's like life is very different than it was 11 years ago, right? And so again, great boldness and confidence for people just coming in. But like, if people are coming to me, I almost feel like, oh my gosh, they're paying this amount of money. Like, I need to make sure they're getting like absolutely everything to the penny, right, that they deserve for the dollars. I like honestly, even pennies, not even dollars that they're spending. Because it's a huge again, it's a huge investment. But like if you have a therapist that is so worth your time and money because of their experience, because of their again, credentials or expertise, uh, there's not a price that you can pay on experience, in my opinion, right? You know, if somebody in the wedding industry, right, were in the field for 30 years, it's like, all right, well, like, hey, I'll give you the money, like I'll take the chance and take the shot. But like, I mean, understandably so, I'd be kind of skeptical with the people coming in.

SPEAKER_01

Somebody just coming in, right? Yeah. It's almost a fear, it's such a hard balance too, because at the same time I'm in a place where I'm like, okay, I probably need to raise my rates a little bit. I've I'm at a place where the amount of people asking for my services are above what I have the time to fulfill. And I don't really want to be booking people in August. Like if someone's coming to me and they need a website, they probably needed it yesterday. Like people want my what I do, they want it fast. Yeah, but they don't want it done well. And so I'm like, okay, that to me is a telltale sign that's okay, it's time to raise my prices. But then what you were saying of like, okay, but this price is working because I'm getting all these inquiries. So it is such a fine balance because it's like there's almost back to the conversation of fear of okay, but what if I raise my rates and then no one books with me? Yes.

SPEAKER_03

Well, and that, you know, again, it's just fear, right? Because you raise such a good point, and I think business owners, especially therapists, right, should take this into consideration. Supply and demand, right? This isn't the first time that we've heard of this. And I think there's a psychology to humans. I don't quite know the research behind it, but one thing for sure, if you're on a wait list or if you're at a point where you're getting way more people than you know how to handle, that is your answer to raise your rate. Right. Right?

SPEAKER_01

It's the right in front of your face. Yes. Yep.

SPEAKER_03

And that was something for me.

SPEAKER_01

We can't make more time.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, exactly. Time is money. I like it is. Um, and of course, there's some times where money's not worth it, right? If like you're having to sacrifice time away from your family or at the sacrifice of your mental health, like to me, there's not a dollar amount um that I would put on that, but that's just my values. But like I had a point where I was on a wait list for like a month out, a month and a half out from accepting new clients. And um, you know, my office manager was like, What are you doing? Right? Like anyone who calls in is only gonna know like your new rate. They're not gonna know what these other people are being charged, right? And like from a business perspective, right? I mean, again, like if any of my clients listen to this podcast, right, it's like, okay, hate to be a spoiler alert, there probably are other people who are paying a different rate than you, right? But I think that that is business, right?

SPEAKER_01

You know, and that's not a bad thing. No, that's kind of just how the world works sometimes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And so for yourself, I mean, like you're a thousand percent spot on, right? It's like if you're getting to a point where you're so busy and you can look at evidence, like we have to look at facts. Yeah. Facts over fear. Right? It just is. And so to be able, I hope, uh, you know, for any, for yourself, for any business owner, to be able to say, okay, well, yes, I'm fearful that I'm not gonna get new business. And people are just gravitating towards that number and it's appealing, and that's what's gotten me in. It's like your price isn't what gravitated people towards you. No. Right? Your work is what got people to gravitate towards you. And I'm at a point, like word of mouth is probably the top way that I get new clients. And the trust from a person that we know who hears the work that I do is one of the most humbling, honoring things that I can experience, right? Right. So for people in your shoes, right, or or people just starting off business, it's like we've got to be secure in what we offer, the product you bring to the table, the work and commitment that you do, that's gonna show for the price tag.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Right. And like I think it's the insecurities, or for, you know, I struggled with a belief system for a large part of my life that I wasn't good enough. And in that belief system, it creeps up in all areas of your life, right? And thankfully, I'm past that. I had an epiphany moment one day where I was like, why am I still believing this? Right. Right. Um, but it still rears its ugly head, right? And some of those old narratives come up, and that's where my imposter syndrome or performance anxiety or like whatever in business come up, right? Um, but really needing to challenge those fears and insecurities with factual evidence, right? That like speak for itself because you can't challenge facts, right?

SPEAKER_01

Right. Right. And the thing with pricing too is you can always do someone a favor, like you can always discount your service for someone, but that doesn't mean you need to charge less for everyone, just you know, so and the reality is like some people can't afford it and they don't want to pay whatever the rate is.

SPEAKER_03

Um there's no harm in asking for a discount, whether you can afford it or not, right? Like rich people use coupons too, right? You know, it's like, hey, it is all good. Um, but like, yes, I think that there's no harm in asking.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And all right, that's all it needs to be. But having confidence, like I remember I was told by uh a mentor years ago that was in private practice at the time, it was when I first started, and she was like, you say what your rate is, and it's kind of like the mic drop, right? Where it's like, I'm just gonna put this here. There's not a, hey, this is what I charge, but you know, and all the explanations out of fear of scarcity or that they're gonna be turned away. It's like, hey, just be bold, be confident, know exactly, know your value, know your worth. And if they have a problem with it, it is on them to ask you at that point. But don't just lessen yourself from the start, right? Know your value from the start, and like that needs to be where you then work from.

SPEAKER_01

And I think right with counseling, people they may shop a little bit to try and find the right fit, but I don't think people are shopping for price. And this is something that I've talked about with a couple other business female business owner friends that I have. It's like I don't think people are shopping as much as we think that they are. Like, people are attracted to you for a certain reason, and that's kind of like what I try to go off of. Like, I like to build relationships, and I want someone to I want to be the first person someone thinks of when they are ready to have their branding redone or ready to build a new website. And it's probably never gonna be because I'm the cheapest option, because that's honestly just never gonna be true. Yeah. There's always gonna be a cheaper way to do it, and there's always gonna be a cheaper way to do therapy, yeah, which would be to not do it at all. So if someone's yeah, you know, that's not gonna be the deciding factor. Yeah, I guess is what I'm trying to get at.

SPEAKER_03

No, I always tell people, and like, you know, I believe mental health is a form of health, and I will die and go to my grave believing that. And I say that because a lot of people don't consider mental health health, but you'll never people don't price shop for doctors.

SPEAKER_01

If you had cancer, you're not gonna be like, well I think I could get a better cheaper options for cheaper. Yes. And you honestly you wouldn't want cheaper. No. Because you would think about your health. Yes. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03

But people pay for what they value. Yeah. Right? People pay for what they maybe trust, right? So, like, I very I do, but very rarely do I have consultation calls. I think that um because word of mouth is my primary form of business at this point, you know, people trust the other people who are referring them to me. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_01

So you're not having to do too, too much of that legwork. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So it's like they've already been told the deal. Maybe they've been told about my personality a little bit, or you know, hey, you'll be comfortable. And um, even with it being a Christian counseling center, like I see people who are atheists, I see people of like other religions. And it's because, yes, it's a Christian counseling center, but there's still ethics that we have to abide by, and I'm not going to impose or force my beliefs onto anybody. Right. So if there's someone telling their friend, hey, you know, it's like, trust me, they don't do this, or this is sort of their approach, um, like I they're not vetting me out. Right.

SPEAKER_01

They already know that. Yeah. Because they trust so and so.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

But um, it's not to say that the shopping around, like, it does happen, but like my husband works, he's a licensed home inspector now. Uh, whenever you're working in a field where you're providing a service for somebody, I think it's gonna be natural for people to shop around. And I always remember him telling me because he used to be in in home renovations, and he said, I would always be told this person said they found someone cheaper. He heard it all the time, even in home inspections, and it's like, okay, well, like eventually people came back to him. Yep.

SPEAKER_01

Because the job wasn't done right, exactly. Exactly. Going for the cheaper option, you're gonna end up paying more. Yes. Time and time again. Yes, yeah, and of course, there's exceptions, but like for the most part, genuinely. Let's be real. So, how long would you say it took you to get to the point where you're at now? Like coming into private practice, did you have existing clients? Because now you've you've had a wait list, you have full bookings, which is amazing. Thank you. But and and I guess a secondary question would be with your clients talking about you, that's all come naturally. Is there like a client referral incentive? Or tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_03

Sure. So I'll start with that. Um, there's not a client referral incentive, mainly because of HIPAA and confidentiality. So even if someone were to refer and say, oh, so and so, you know, referred me to you, you can't I can't confirm or deny that I know this person, right? And so if a if let's say client A refers client B, well, I can't go back to client A and say, hey, thank you so much, unless there's a release of information. Okay, right. Um, but in terms of referral sources, I have uh plat, you know, social media platforms. Find me at Heather the Therapist on Instagram. That's my little drop-in. Um, it's not fancy by any means, but I I post some fun things sometimes. And so uh social media is a platform to find people. Uh psychology today, it's like a therapy directory, right? You can search by your zip code and area, uh specialty you're looking for. Uh churches we affiliate with in the Tampa area. Um, they've we have partnerships with them. So our website, like there are other ways that I get clients, but there's no incentive other than church partnerships. Okay. Because we offer typically discounted rates. Right. Yeah, you mentioned that earlier from the church. Yes, through the church. Right. And sometimes a client, um, the church will pay a hundred percent of the fee, which is wonderful. Um, but that's something that if you are affiliated with a church and if they're uh partners with us, then they're given, you know, sometimes three sessions to it could be like 10, 12. It just depends on the need.

SPEAKER_01

But so are you affiliated with multiple churches? Are you able to say which churches they're sure?

SPEAKER_03

Uh just a couple. Um Watermark Church, uh, which I mentioned first because the pastor Tommy, this is like a I'm not a paid person, um, but he's incredible. And it's like you're sitting in theology class. He his way of pastoring is just uh not of anything I've ever experienced. Uh Grace Family Church, uh, they've got a couple locations, uh Lutz being the primary, and then South Tampa, I think being secondary. Radiant Church, they're all over the place. And so uh a lot of people um, you know, that we either do premarital with that multiple cli uh um clients, pastors, counselors, that most counselors see um a lot of people come from Radiant.

SPEAKER_01

So those are probably primarily non-denominational Christian churches, yes.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I would say Baptist churches too. Um we of course have people who come who are Catholic, right? But I don't think we have affiliation with any Catholic churches. Yes. I would say, yeah, that's I mean it's a good question, right? Um so what got me to a the point that I'm at, you know, I truly believe a couple factors. Uh one is I started at CCST in 2014. Um, my specialty at the time was an addiction specialist. So I think that that specialty really limited me because you can't see addictions clients in this level of care for obvious reasons. Right. You can't just have like a bi-weekly check out if they're coming in, if they're still actively drinking, it's like, all right, well, this clearly isn't the degree and level that maybe would help you, right? And so starting off, I had like probably way fewer clients because of that specialty. I would see people, let's say, if they went to treatment, so there have were a few people that after um I worked with them at the old treatment did come and continue working with uh in the private practice, which was awesome. Um, but now fast forward, you know, my specialty is in. Trauma. I use a lot of attachment theory within trauma and then impacts of childhood emotional neglect as being, you know, one of like a primary focus of trauma. It's not to say spiritual trauma is also part of that. Obviously, different backgrounds of trauma. And I see much more, but that is like I would say what is marketed, like what I market myself as. Of course, if someone's going through relationship stuff or life transition, like, yeah, they're fit. They're a fit as well. Um, but I think that finding a specialty and something I was passionate about working with got me to the point that I am. Different uh routes of certifications and trainings got me to a point where it's like that definitely benefited me being busier. Um, I I hate to say it, but within a group practice, there's other counselors people can choose from. And so I found that in 2020, there were some people who left the practice. Their life was moving on, I think relationships at the time, but it freed up from them not being an option. And so kind of less options allowed for people to then like work with me and choose me, which then led them to say, Oh, to their friends, hey, like I work with Heather, right? Um, so so many different factors. Uh, of course, pricing at some point, like that probably did play a part. Um, you know, everybody here in the office, they have different prices. You know, some charge more, some charge less, some have different experience, different knowledge, different expertise. Um, but I would say all those factors played a part. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I love that. I it's a very honest answer, which I really appreciate because it you your answer is very straightforward.

SPEAKER_03

It's just some of it was me, some of it wasn't. Right.

SPEAKER_01

Time, people, and circumstance. Yeah, like it just all came together to the place that you're at now. And I think we can get so I guess I know I myself get caught up in this, and I see it in other people where you think there's like some secret sauce or some thing that will, if you just do this, like you're gonna get booked out, or you're gonna, and it's like the reality is it's just the day in and day out, and just yeah, one by one. Like you know, you just time moves forward and you little by little work on your business, work on your practice, and you've gotten better as a therapist and better as a business owner, and now you're seeing the fruit of that.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, and thank God, you know, it's like I do believe God has opened doors, closed doors, and you know, there are things, of course, within our control, and then there's just factors within people's success. Like I was having this conversation earlier with someone that works in sales, and they that not good enough narrative comes up whenever they're not making a sale, and it's like this calculation of like, oh, well, what more can I be doing? And this must be the reason, and this must not have worked. And it's like, well, maybe sometimes people just don't want what you're selling.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Maybe it's actually very simple.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's it. And it's got nothing to do with you cracking a code, right? There's just other valuables, right? And so again, I keep going back to belief systems, but I always tell people, like, be very careful and mindful, especially in business, or when you're trying to like get to a point of success and whatever that looks like for you. It doesn't need to be monetary success, but you know, to be able to say, Hey, like, I am doing enough. Yep. Right. And like, not just automatically, because I think that's a very childlike response naturally. Like as kids, if something were going on in our environments, we thought, well, what did I do? Right? Like, did I not make good grades? Did I upset mom? Like, you know, they're fighting. Could I have done something like that?

SPEAKER_01

So there's a lot of like action consequence. Yeah, you're learning that. That's very fresh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So like our minds naturally take kind of go personal, where it's like, okay, well, like me. It must have been me. And so just as encouragement, it's like sometimes it's not you.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

It can be, right? But like sometimes it's not.

SPEAKER_01

Sometimes it's not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And discerning that's important.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah. Well, this has been such an amazing conversation. Thank you. Thank you so much for already. I know. We've been chatting for over an hour. Wow. I know.

SPEAKER_03

See, we're we're two chatty people. That's what happens.

SPEAKER_01

No, it's amazing. This has been truly such a good conversation. I feel like I've gotten so much from it. Oh, good. I am confident that anyone who listens to it will as well. Well, thank you. Where can people keep up with you? I know you mentioned your Instagram. I'll link it all in the show notes as well. But just one more time, give us the lowdown.

SPEAKER_03

Sure. So if you want therapy, I am located in Tampa. I do not provide out of state counseling because of licensing restrictions, but I do provide virtual. So if you're in the state of Florida, you can find me at, I think the website would be best ccstcounseling.com. Look for Heather. And my Instagram is Heather the Therapist. Perfect. And that's basically it, right? I'm sure you could find me and Google me somewhere else.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Perfect. Thank you. Well, thank you so much. You're welcome. Not ready to say goodbye. Me neither. Follow along on Instagram at flourish.foundry to stay connected day to day or join my email list for freebies, new episode updates, fun links, and more.