Businesses in Bloom: Therapists & Wellness Businesses Stories of Success

Rachel Fintzy is a psychotherapist who works in private practice and at UCLA Santa Monica, with a focus on psychoneuroimmunology. In this interview Rachel talks about her client population, her niche, how she built up her private practice, and the therapeutic workshops she leads around Los Angeles. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb75.

Dr. Carla Naumberg is a therapist with a private practice, and also a writer. She’s based out of Boston, MA. In this interview, Carla talks about mindfulness in parenting, publishing two books, and building her practice. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb74.

Mike Bundrant is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming trained therapist and the co-founder of iNLP, an online teaching program. In this interview, Mike talks about building a busy and successful business, his marketing strategies, and breaking down a very complex subject into online learning modules. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb73.

Dr. Audrey Sherman is a psychologist based out of Fort Myers, Florida. She sees clients in her private practice, writes a blog, leads workshops, and has written two books. In this interview, Audrey talks about how she built her practice, how she divides her working time, and what initially drove her to become a psychologist. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb72.

Dr. Candida Fink is a psychiatrist and author living in New Rochelle, NY. She’s built a busy private practice (primarily around child psychiatry and bipolar disorder), has written two books, and blogs at Psych Central. In this interview Candida talks why she became a psychiatrist, her advocacy work for children and families, and some recent changes in her field. You can get the show notes for this episode at http://julietaustin.com/bb71

Gabe Howard is a writer, speaker, and mental health activist based out of Columbus, Ohio. In this interview Gabe speaks about his own mental illness and how it was diagnosed in the emergency room. He talks about his recovery, his career as a writer and speaker, and how he balances his time as both an advocate and a business owner. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb70.

Charlie and Linda Bloom teach couples therapy classes together, using their long marriage and work relationship as both support and material for their classes. Charlie and Linda are both psychotherapists, based out of Santa Cruz, California. In this interview, the Blooms talk about working together, authenticity in relationship, and building a successful therapeutic business in a competitive market. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb69.

Sharon Martin is a licensed clinical social worker with a private psychotherapy practice in San Jose, California. She also writes, speaks, and contributes to the media on topics related to emotional health and relationships. In this interview Sharon talks about becoming a licensed social worker, keeping up a busy blog, and writing and marketing her eBooks. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb68.

Clinton Power is a relationship therapist based out of Sydney, Australia. He currently runs a private practice with two associates, focused on couples’ therapy. Clinton is also the founder of the online directory Australia Counselling, and co leads the Mind Body Training Institute with Juliet Austin. In this interview, Clinton discusses his life before becoming a therapist and how he has grown and maintained a successful private practice. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb67.

Dr. Rebecca Jorgensen is a therapist and founder of several therapy and training businesses. From her home in Baja, California, Rebecca sees intensive clients over several-day sessions and leads online trainings and supervisions for other therapists, utilizing the EFT method (emotionally focused therapy). In this interview, Rebecca talks about how she has grown her practice and online business, and offers insights to new therapists. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb66.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz is a psychologist based in Boulder, Colorado who specializes in EMDR and somatic therapy. She runs a busy private practice, keeps up a blog, teaches yoga, and has published a book on complex trauma. In this interview Arielle discusses how she built up her practice, how she balances her time, and her use of social media to advertise. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb65.

Dr. Robert Puff is a clinical psychologist based out of Orange County, California. He’s the author of 13 books and the host of The Happiness Podcast, a highly ranked self-help podcast. In this interview, Robert discusses how he built a successful practice in one of the wealthiest counties in the US, his strategies for staying passionate about his work, and how he has adapted his business model across a thirty-year career. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb64.

Melissa Ferrari is a couples’ therapist based out of Sydney, Australia. She runs a busy practice, holds weekend intensive sessions, hosts a radio show, and keeps up a popular Facebook page. In this interview, Melissa discusses how she became a psychotherapist, her approaches to marketing and social media, and how she balances her working life with her personal life. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb63.

Dr. David Grand is a psychotherapist and author based out of New York City. He developed brainspotting therapy and has built an organization dedicated to teaching this technique to other therapists and clients. In this interview, David talks about his business ethos, his private practice, and how the Brainspotting method has changed over the past decade. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb62.

David Emerson is a yoga instructor and former social worker based out Brookline, Massachusetts. He is the founder and director of Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Brookline Massachusetts, and teaches yoga to traumatized youth twice a week. In this interview, David talks about his work at the Trauma Center, the science behind yoga and trauma recovery, and the invitational style of trauma-sensitive yoga that he’s helped to create. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb61

Dr. Jonice Webb is a clinical psychologist and writer living in Lexington, Massachusetts. She’s one of the few psychologists who concentrates on emotional neglect in childhood. In this interview Jonice talks about building her private practice, blogging weekly at Psych Central, writing books, and leading online recovery courses. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb60.

Donald Altman is an international mindfulness trainer and speaker and a best-selling author. He’s also been a comic book writer, a psychotherapist, and a Buddhist monk. In this interview, Donald talks about writing, leading mindfulness workshops, and building a private practice. He offers tips on writing, publishing, and balancing a workload. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb59.

Dr. Stephanie Moulton Sarkis is a counselor, family mediator, and writer based out of Tampa, FL. In this interview she discusses her area of specialization, ADHD, and how she has built a successful practice around it. Stephanie offers tips on writing, networking, and maintaining a work-life balance. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb58.

Sarah Plummer Taylor is a counselor, yoga instructor, life coach, and ex-marine. In this interview Sarah discusses how she went from marine to yoga instructor and how she built up a successful practice based out of her home in Denver. She also talks about writing a book on resiliency using both research and personal narrative from her deployments to Iraq. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb57.

Dr. Stan Tatkin is a psychotherapist who works with couples. He and his wife founded the PACT Institute (Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy) which treats couples and trains other therapists in their active, psychobiological approach to conflict resolution. Dr. Tatkin also leads couples’ retreats, teaches at a CA state university, writes books, and speaks at conferences. In this episode of Businesses in Bloom, Stan explains how he came to be fascinated by couples therapy, and how he’s built a successful career around it. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb56

Jodie Gale is a Soul-Centered Psychotherapist and Eating Psychology Specialist who lives in Sydney, Australia. In this interview she talks about her own experiences in psychotherapy, which led her to return to school to become a therapist. She’s had successful practices in the UK and Australia, and currently has a long client waiting list in Sydney. Jodie also discusses her business practices and how she splits her time as a therapist, blogger, and full-time mum. To get the show notes for this episode go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb55.

Dr. Jenny Brockis is a healthy brain advocate based out of Perth, Australia. After careers as both a nurse and a general medical practitioner, she began her own business mentoring, public speaking, hosting workshops, and writing. Her focus is neural health and cognitive behavior. In this interview Jenny discusses why she left her medical practice to go it alone, why she’s fascinated by the human mind and its interactions, and how she has built up her new business. To get the show notes for this episode go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb54

Andrea Brandt is a psychotherapist based out of Santa Monica, CA. She has over 35 years of professional experience, has written several books, and travels the US leading training sessions for other therapists. In this episode of Businesses in Bloom, Andrea discusses how the therapy profession has changed throughout her career, and how she came to specialize in anger and passive-aggressiveness. To get the show notes for this episode to http://julietaustin.com/bb53

Based in Ohio, therapist Jamie Marich discusses the path that brought her to therapy and how she developed “Dancing Mindfulness,” a modality that incorporates movement and mindfulness. Jamie also specializes in EMDR. Besides seeing patients in her private practice, Jamie travels globally to lead certification trainings. She is also the author of several books on EMDR and one she wrote on Dancing Mindfulness. To get the show notes for this episode, you can go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb52

Barbara Whitfield is a psychotherapist, writer, and medical marijuana activist. In this episode, she discusses the injury, near death experience, and long recovery that brought her to the therapeutic profession. She talks about writing ten books and working with her husband, Charles Whitfield, also a therapist. To get the show notes for this show go to http://julietaustin.com/bb51.

Amy Lewis Bear is a therapist who specializes in emotionally abusive relationships. Based in Atlanta, GA, she has a private practice, both in house and via tele-therapy. In this interview, she talks about writing and promoting her book, “From Charm to Harm,” and on working in a highly specialized therapeutic niche. To get the show notes for this show go to http://julietaustin.com/bb50.

Wendy Behary is a psychotherapist based in New Jersey. She works primarily with narcissists, using Schema Therapy. In this interview, Wendy discusses how she became involved with Schema Therapy and how she built a successful private practice. She talks about her books and international teaching engagements. To get the show notes for this show go to http://julietaustin.com/bb49.

Dr. Mari Swingle is a neurotherapist and behavioral specialist who lives and works in Vancouver, BC. In this interview, Mari talks about her method of neural treatment, which uses EEG technology to diagnose and work with mental illness, stroke, and other physiological disorders. She discusses building a busy clinic with her father, and the speed of technological change in her field. To get the show notes for this show go to http://julietaustin.com/bb48.

Mary Wong is a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner based in Toronto, Canada. She owns a private practice of ALIVE Holistic Health Clinic, and has recently published a book. In this interview, Mary explains how she came to become a Chinese Medicine practitioner, how she built up her business, and some of the challenges of introducing eastern medicine to western health care professionals. To get the show notes for this show go to http://julietaustin.com/bb47.

Dr. Trevor Cates is a naturopathic physician living in Park City, Utah. In this episode of Businesses in Bloom, Trevor explains how she came to study naturopathy through her childhood health concerns and the holistic treatment she received. She discusses becoming Dr. Spa and running a private practice while writing a book, marketing her own skin care products To get the show notes for this episode go to http://julietaustin.com/bb46.

Amy Weintraub is a yogini based in Tucson, Arizona. She’s the founder of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute and the author of several books including, Yoga Skills for Therapists: Effective Practices for Mood Management and Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieving Suffering Through Yoga. In this episode of Businesses in Bloom, Amy discusses how she became a yoga instructor, and from there, a trainer and educator around yoga’s benefits to the mind and body, specifically using yoga as a way to help with depression.To get the show notes for this episode go to http://julietaustin.com/bb45.

Dr. Michael Stein is a cognitive behavioral therapist who specializes in exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. In this interview, he talks about building a busy private practice in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Stein explains the modality of exposure therapy, which he says is not well understood in the wider therapeutic community. To get the show notes for this show go to http://julietaustin.com/bb44.

Dr. Christina Hibbert is a practicing psychologist, author, Internet radio show host, and mother of six. In this interview, Christina explains how she came to practice grief and loss counseling, through her own experiences with death and depression. She discusses how she balances her private practice, writing (blogs and books), family life, and public speaking engagements. Christina has become the authority on post-partum depression and other women’s mental health concerns in the greater Flagstaff, AZ area. To get the show notes for this show go to http://julietaustin.com/bb43

Dr. Jill Stansbury is a naturopath and ethnobotanist, living in Battle Ground, WA. In this episode, she discusses her career as a naturopath, and her private clinic and apothecary. Jill talks about public speaking, traveling to South America on research field trips, and building her business through community engagement. To get the show notes for this episode, go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb42.

Robin Shapiro has 35 years of experience as a psychotherapist and social worker, specializing in trauma therapy. In this interview, she discusses how she came to the profession, the various trauma therapy technologies she uses with clients, and how the profession has changed during her career. Robin lives in Seattle, Washington, and has written two books and edited and contributed to two others. To get the show notes for this episode, go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb41

Laurie started in the field of social work 27 years ago then went back to psychology and graduated as a doctorate in psychology. In between those times, she took training for sexual therapy which she loves talking about and realized that it’s easy for her to deal with it so that’s why she specialized on it. And now Laurie is a successful business woman having clinics and staffs working for her. Let’s hear from her exciting story on how she got into this business and became successful on her practice. To get the show notes for this episode, go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb40.

Dr. Leslie Korn has an international naturopathic practice. In this interview, she discusses how she came to the field of natural healing, through her own illness and healing in Mexico in the 1970s. She returned to the US for several graduate degrees in health and wellness, and then began to split her time between the US and Mexico. Leslie explains how she has been able to travel, teach, and write while keeping a private practice and a pro-bono clinic in rural Mexico. To get the show notes for this episode, go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb39.

Lawrence Mitchell is a health coach who runs his own business, bringing wellness programs to stressful corporate offices in the UK. In this interview, he discusses how he came to the wellness industry, built up his business, and how to de-stress a corporate exec. Lawrence explains his philosophy around health and wellness, and offers advice to folks starting a new business. To get the show notes for this episode, go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb38.

Parijat Deshpande is a perinatal wellness expert, counseling women through high-risk pregnancies. In this interview Parijat explains how she came to this work; after her own high-risk pregnancy (which kept her bed-ridden for weeks) and the very premature birth of her son, Parijat started a new business, dedicated to helping women and their partners navigate high-risk, high-stress pregnancies. Parijat talks about the difficulties of switching niches—in her case, her career stopped with her pregnancy—and the lack of information readily available on high-risk pregnancies. She explains how she’s grown her business, and what technologies have helped this process. To get the show notes for this episode, go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb37

Dr. Chris Bjorndal is a naturopath who treats patients through orthomolecular psychiatry paired with mindfulness training and other mental health counseling modalities. In the following interview, she discusses her own diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and how Western medicine failed to treat her. After a suicide attempt left her in a coma, Chris decided to look elsewhere for treatment and found an orthomolecular psychiatrist. Eventually, Chris went back to school for naturopathy and began a practice with her husband. Chris talks about building her practice in Edmonton, Alberta, through patient referrals, professional networking, social media, and print and online writing. Dr. Bjorndal also shares some of the challenges of being a naturopath in a society where convenience and pharmacology are cultural standards. To get the show notes for this episode go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb36

Robert (Bob) Taibbi is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and author from Charlottesville, Virginia, with 42 years of experience, primarily in community mental health. In this interview, Bob tells how he successfully transitioned from community mental health to private practice work. He provides advice on how to set up a private practice, including the importance of finding a niche as a therapist and having a clear web presence that emphasizes your strengths and style of work, so clients know what to expect. He shows how having multiple sources of income helped facilitate his transition to private practice work, while also strengthening his career. Bob also shares his checklist for a successful first session, which is crucial to helping and keeping clients. To get the show notes for this episode to go http://www.julietaustin.com/bb35

Pam Dyson is a play therapist who was once an early childhood educator. In this interview, she describes her play therapy practice and the consultations and trainings she gives to other therapists. She shares the challenges she had in building a successful practice in St. Louis and then having to do it all over again when she moved to Plano, Texas. Pam is a great example of someone who has achieved success by working hard, being strategic in her marketing, and having multiple revenue sources. To get the show notes for this episode, go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb34

Yolanda von Hockauf is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist in Vancouver, BC. She has built a child, couple and family therapy clinic called the Vancouver Couple and Family Therapy Institute (VCFI) with her business partner, Dr. Veronica Kallos-Lilly. In the interview, Yolanda describes how they built this clinic with 10 associates. Yolanda was a therapist in Dr. Sue Johnson's (developer of Emotion Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)) first research study of couples therapy in the 1980's. She has been practicing EFT since the early days. Yolanda and Veronica were also early trainers in EFT. VCFI offers workshops in the EFT model for couples. Yolanda and Veronica also train therapists in EFT in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.   To get the show notes for this episode go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb33

Dr. Jonathan Prousky is a naturopathic doctor in Toront0, Canada whose passion is helping people with mental health issues. He utilizes a range of natural treatments to help his clients. Dr. Prousky's philosophy is that his patients need to take an active role in their health as opposed to being passive and expecting a pill to fix their problems. He has built his practice primarily by speaking and writing. Dr. Prousky has also recently completed a Masters degree in counselling. He will soon be offering counselling services as well as naturopathic services. To get the show notes for this episode to to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb32

John Sovec is a psychotherapist who works with LGBT teens and their parents, particularly in the coming out process. John shares that he chose this niche because he saw a need. He discusses the issues LGBT teens face and how he built and sustains his private practice without taking insurance. Listen to this interview to hear more of his inspiring journey as well as his business strategy. To get the show notes for this show go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb31

Kelly Covert discusses the life coaching business she started with her partner, Maggie Quinn calledStrong Body Whole Heart. We spent a large part of the interview discussing how Kelly and Maggie decided to go into business together and the pros and cons of having a partner. Kelly then describes her business and the services she offers. Towards the latter part of the interview, Kelly shares the challenges she and her partner have encountered and their long-term goals for their business. To get the show notes for this episode go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb30

Nutritional therapist, Amy Love has an online business offering coaching and online programs to people who want to live a healthier lifestyle. She has been travelling around North America in an RV with her husband as they run their business. Amy's passion for health stems from her struggles with chronic illnesses from a young age. Eventually, she was able to improve her health substantially with alternative healing methods and diet changes. Amy has a popular blog and a community of over 200,000 followers. You can get the show notes for this episode here: http://www.julietaustin.com/bb29

Dr. Janet Sasson Edgette has 30 years experience as a psychologist. She is the author of 6 books - 3 focused on adolescents. One is directed towards therapists and the other two are geared towards parents. Dr. Edgette began her work in a treatment center for teens and found that the manner in which many professionals were working with teens was not effective. She finds that teens respond best using a personalized approach where the therapist uses their humanity. Listen to the interview to find out more. To get the show notes for this episode go to http://www.julietaustin.com/bb28

Dr. Alain Desaulniers is a chiropractic doctor in Vancouver, BC. He comes from a family of more than 43 chiropractors spread over 2 generations! Chiropractic work has become a lifestyle for his family. Alain didn't originally decide to be a chiropractor, but he does remember being told by his parents as he was growing up to make sure that whatever he did, it served a bigger idea than just himself. Dr. Desaulniers candidly discusses the mistakes he made when he first began his private practice and how it led to him doubting his self-worth. Fortunately, he stuck with it and now runs a busy office with an associate. To get the show notes for this episode go to http://julietaustin.com/bb27

Dr. Jonathan Prousky is a naturopathic doctor in Toronto, Canada whose passion is helping people with mental health issues. He utilizes a range of natural treatments to help his clients. Dr. Prousky's philosophy is that his patients need to take an active role in their health as opposed to being passive and expecting a pill to fix their problems. Dr. Prousky has recently completed a Masters degree in counselling. He will soon be offering counselling services as well as naturopathic services. To get the show notes for this episode go http://julietaustin.com/bb32

Dr. Ellyn Bader has been practicing couples therapy for over 30 years. In this interview, she describes the evolution of her work as a couples therapist. She also discusses how she and her therapist husband, Dr. Peter Pearson, founded the Couples Institute and the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. Dr. Bader discusses the challenges and rewards of building a private practice with associates as well as her online training programs for therapists. To get the show notes for this episode go to: http://www.julietaustin.com/bb26