Reflections From Year One

It’s hard to believe that Embodied Self Counseling opened one year ago as of this month.  So much has changed during that time! In the last year, this practice has grown from nothing.  I built my first website. I taught myself about marketing, SEO, and building a financially viable private practice.  I learned how to brand myself and my business. I blog (sometimes). My office has transformed into a place I find comfortable and inviting (and hope you do too!).  I’ve invested so much time and energy into building something I was excited about.  

And you know what?  I am excited about it!  I love being my own boss and setting my own schedule.  I love being a boss with my finances.

But most of all, I LOVE getting to be a therapist!  I love that I get the privilege to sit across the room and join my clients in their journey.  I LOVE getting to tell somebody for the first time that they can be fully recovered from an eating disorder.  I love love love getting to see one of my clients take huge monumental steps towards growth, even if they don’t recognize the significance of it at the moment.  And I love getting to be a witness to the brave act of vulnerability each time I come to work.

I won’t lie. There have been times during this adventure that have been really hard. Starting a business is never going to be easy and I definitely felt that first hand. Some days I still feel it. It can be lonely, isolating, frustrating, and scary. It has been in those times though, that I’ve seen just how important leaning on your support system can be. Whether that was seeing my own therapist, leaning on friends and family, or even connecting with others in the same boat as me, It couldn’t be more obvious to me how important having those support systems are during this process. And even more than that, I’ve seen how important it is to be open and vulnerable about how hard this process is with that support network.

The hard stuff aside though, stepping back and taking in this past year for all that it has been almost surreal. To take a real look at how far I have come in this adventure, how much I have grown, and how impacted I have been by the people that have entered my life. From colleagues to clients, family, and friends, each has had a special role on my journey.

I am overflowing with gratitude and excited to see what year number two will bring!