If you are lucky, you get one class in grad school that focuses on sexual health and how to help clients navigate the various topics around sexual health. Therapists talk about sex without clients all the time and many feel unprepared. In this episode, Sarah Watson, the founder of Simple Sex Education, shares her experience in working with clients and how therapists can feel more comfortable and competent in this area. Sarah Watson is a licensed professional counselor, AASECT certified sex therapist, and sexuality educator. Sarah has a therapy practice located in Michigan, where she works with individuals and couples struggling with relationship and sexual health issues. Sarah provides online workshops, retreats, courses, coaching and consultation about sexual health. Sarah is very passionate about providing a safe and caring environment to discuss and process sexual and mental health issues. Sarah spends her “down” time with her family, listening to podcasts, reading, and enjoying her family farm in northern Michigan where they have two miniature donkeys named Burrito and Taco!OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Simple Sex Education Email List Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageDestination Continuing Education Facebook communityCounseling Community Instagram

During this episode, Jennifer Agee, LCPC (she/her) discusses how therapists can craft a simple and effective elevator pitch to grow their practice, network or share what they do when others outside the field ask. Jennifer shares 3 questions to use as your guide. TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:Creating an effective elevator pitchOFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramSouth Africa Entrepreneurial Innovators Retreat Feb. 4-10, 2024

Dr. Laura Chackes, Psy. D. explains what therapists need to understand about treating Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB’s). The most common BFRB’s being Trichotillomania, aka hair pulling, and Excoriation, aka skin picking.Laura Chackes, founder and owner of The Center for Mindfulness & CBT in St. Louis, is a licensed psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with OCD and body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs). Dr. Chackes is a leading expert in the treatment of BFRBs such as skin picking and hair pulling. She has been running treatment groups for children, adolescents, and adults in St. Louis for over 10 years, and teaches courses online to adults with BFRBs, as well as to train therapists how to treat these disorders. Her mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy approach has led hundreds of BFRB sufferers to long-term symptom relief.Dr. Chackes is also a fierce advocate working to spread awareness of BFRBs in order to reduce the shame and isolation that comes from the public's lack of knowledge of these disorders. Her Facebook group, Overcoming Skin Picking and Hair Pulling: Help for BFRBs, has connected over 4000 BFRB sufferers, parents, and therapists to learn more about how they can best support one another.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Dr. Laura Chackes Online Training for Therapists Jennifer Agee coaching pageDestination Continuing Education Facebook communityCounseling Community Instagram

Rick and Monique Elgersma have for 30 years been partners in life and partners in business. Since 2015 they have been co-therapy specialists. They’ve experienced ups and downs like any couple and sought counseling. They noted the difficulty of both of them feeling heard, understood, and respected at the same time! Alas, Co-Therapy was born.Rick and Monique share the reason they have chosen to own a practice built using co-therapy, the practicalities like scheduling and billing and how to maintain a healthy work-life business when you are married and business partners. Counseling together with clients certainly creates balance in the counseling room and reduces bias. Co-Therapy makes certain that no one will get ganged up on or feel left out of the counseling process. And, Co-Therapy is more creative and collaborative, a true “round table” equality-driven effort in the counseling room. Three years ago they added the enneagram to their efforts for clients, and have since become enneagram experts and coaches.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Real Connections Counseling Podcast listeners receive 10% discount on retreat registrationJennifer Agee's coaching pageDestination Continuing Education Facebook communityCounseling Community Instagram

Laurie Belanger, LCSW shares how to use science to create felt safety in your office for your clients. Often in grad school, we hear of things like polyvagal theory but are never taught how to use what we know about the brain and body to help our clients regulate and co-regulate. Laurie M Belanger LCSWR has been providing services to children, adults, and families for over 20yrs in Western NY.  She is passionate about serving the needs of families coping with multi-layered, complicated concerns.  Laurie has a strong interest and background in trauma, sensory development, chronic pain, adoption, mental health, and neurodiversity. She is an approved EMDR Consultant through EMDRIA, and was professionally trained in TBRI®️ (Trust Based Relational Interventions) by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development.Laurie currently provides individual and family therapy and professional consultation in her private practice setting in East Amherst NY.  She includes access to some of the most up-to-date trauma therapies and supports in her practice.  Included in this is The SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol), a Polyvagal informed, evidence-based therapeutic tool designed to reset the nervous system and return it to safety. OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Laurie Belanger website Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageDestination Continuing Education Facebook communityCounseling Community Instagram

Gabriel Valdez, owner of Nerdalert Solutions & Web Therapia, has established himself as a leading authority in private and group therapist marketing. In this episode, we discuss:The importance of having a website that is HIPAA and ADA compliant.Google My Business 101 - what you need to know.On page SEO as a part of consistent ranking and conversion.Gabriel specializes in SEO and online presence that gains results. With his diverse skill set as an entrepreneur, therapist marketing expert, user experience and user interface specialist, business strategy coach, and ADA & HIPAA compliance specialist. Gabriel offers a range of invaluable marketing talents.Driven by his nit-picky, OCD, and intuitive nature, Gabriel possesses a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of effective marketing strategies. Hisknowledge of online technology allows him to precisely target specific audiences, delivering the exposure therapists desire with excellent results. Having served clients from various business backgrounds, Gabriel’s digital marketing services have proven effective in diverse industries.Gabriel’s guidance empowers therapists to unlock their full potential, navigate the digital landscape effectively, and achieve exceptional success. Whether seeking assistance with SEO optimization, website design, business strategy, or ADA & HIPAA compliance, Gabriel’s expertise positions him as a trusted partner in helping therapists flourish in their practices.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Nerdalert Solutions website WebTherapia websiteCounseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageDestination Continuing Education Facebook communityCounseling Community Instagram

Paige Weber, LPC shares openly about living with dyslexia. Paige shares about the 3 types of dyslexia, strengths of dyslexia and accommodations that can help. Paige is a Licensed Professional Counselor and received her Master’s degree in Mental Health from Mid-American Nazarene University. Paige also has a certificate from the University of Kansas Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities program. With an extensive background in working with inpatient mental health programs before graduate school, she is well-versed in navigating mental health systems. Paige often uses these tools with parents of special needs children who are navigating services, advocacy, and those experiencing caregiver fatigue.Paige also has experience and training in issues related to anxiety, childhood trauma, adult trauma, emotional regulation, family dysfunction, parents with special needs children, adult children of alcoholics who have experienced abuse and neglect, and working with neurodiverse populations. Paige is a therapist for those who have a deep desire to understand who they are and their patterns of relating and want to do deep psychological work. Depth work is clinically done using a psychodynamic and family systems framework. Paige is an integrated clinician who pulls from Internal Family Systems, EMDR, Mindfulness, Emotion Focused Techniques as well as Somatic Experiencing.  Paige has also been a professional speaker for the last decade in the areas of neurodiversity, trauma, and psychological topics.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Paige’s website Made by Dyslexia websiteCounseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageDestination Continuing Education Facebook communityCounseling Community Instagram

Erin Coram, LMFT shares her professional and lived experience in helping survivors of intimate partner abuse/violence. Erin discusses misinformation, what to look for in the therapy room and the long-term impacts to health. Erin is a licensed marriage and family therapist and owner of a group practice in Indiana. Erin has been in practice for over 20 years beginning her career in Community Mental health, then becoming a clinical director of a residential facility community outreach for at-risk adolescents. Erin then launched her private practice Indiana Family Therapy Center, Inc. in 2008. In 2020, Erin teamed up with her business partner to open another group practice, Voyage Counseling, LLC. Erin also works with an adoption agency supervising the completion of home evaluations for adoption. In 2022, Erin launched Embrace for Impact, LLC where she provides coaching, consulting, community groups, retreats and speaking engagements. Embrace for Impact was born out of a passion for entrepreneurial healers and therapists with their own trauma stories. After a personal journey of owning her story of abuse and violence in her previous intimate relationship, she recognized the need for a place where healers can step out of the shame of secrecy of abuse and into the light of the strength within that it took to survive.  During this journey, she also discovered the high correlation between trauma and chronic illness and the additional complexity of treatment needs when trauma meets physical illness or injury.  As a type 1 diabetic who suffered extensive physical injury from assault requiring multiple surgeries and hospitalizations, she is passionate about educating our mental health and medical professionals about the complexity of working with victims/survivors of intimate partner violence and trauma.  These patients require patience, humanity, authenticity, safety and agency at the highest level to reduce the risk of re-traumatization/revictimization through medical interventions.  Erin empowers therapists to step into and own their stories and embrace their beautiful kaleidoscope of trauma and resilience to amplify their impact on the world. Being a therapist and a survivor of intimate partner violence does not make you a fraud or incompetent, it makes you human and capable of connecting in a very attuned way.  Erin is a member of and a fierce advocate of the LGBTQ community.  Erin is also a mother of two, a wife and a chronic illness warrior.  Erin believes that it is through the owning and sharing of our own pain and healing journeys and the connections we make with others that we can have a profound impact on the world.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Erin’s website Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community Instagram

Tiffany Cutrone, LCMHC, LCAS shares how bad advice in grad school created her struggle of finding her unique voice as a therapist. After stepping into authenticity, her practice grew and burnout decreased. Listen and learn what you need to know to find your voice as a therapist. Tiffany is the owner of Rising Tide Counseling, based in Jacksonville, North Carolina. As a neurodivergent queer woman, her work focuses on serving the communities that she is a part of. Tiffany strives to empower the LGBTQ+ community and women to find meaning, heal from trauma, and create a life of authenticity filled with genuine and healthy relationships. She is also passionate about supporting graduate students, interns, and provisionally licensed clinicians on their journey in this field.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Tiffany’s website Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Becca Gerlach, LCSW discusses working with transgender clients as a cisgender therapist, and working with parents of kids or teens in this process.  She shares how to offer support, space for parents to grieve if that’s part of their process while supporting the client, how to help clients who have non-supportive parents, and finding supportive resources.Becca is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of experience in the mental health field.  Her work has focused on helping those who struggle the most; those with significant trauma.  Becca is currently working toward her Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work. Becca has also completed additional training and is an advanced alcohol and drug counselor, sensory-based trauma therapy, psychedelic integration therapy, and is WPATH certified.  After four years as a clinical director for a non-profit program, she took a turn away from the behavioral focus and now owns her own practice working primarily with young adults.Becca offers parent coaching for parents of transgender, questioning, and gender non-conforming kids and teens. OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Becca’s website Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Danica Wolf, MSW (she/her) discussed the importance of resilience and practical, simple steps to begin to strengthen resilience for yourself and your clients. Danica is the Chief Operating Officer at Simplified SEO Consulting, where she is responsible for overseeing the SEO Specialist Team and providing support to clients. She is also the primary instructor for the company's 12-Week Done-With-You SEO Intensive Training and the quarterly SEO Mastermind cohort. Danica has a passion for business strategy and writing, and has over a decade of experience in academia, having served as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the MU School of Social Work and the Lincoln University Department of Social Work. In addition to her work at Simplified SEO Consulting, Danica also owns and operates Harmony Birth Services, a full-spectrum doula agency. In her free time, Danica enjoys music, exploring local parks and trails, and crafting. She is a lifelong learner, self-described business strategy nerd, and a talented writer and content strategist with a passion for helping others achieve great results through SEO.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Danica’s website Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Cindi Miller, LMHC (IN), LCMHC (NC) is an eating disorder specialist and shares her knowledge and expertise on what is needed to assess for eating disorders and the down side of referring out too quickly. Cindi is a mental health counselor licensed in North Carolina and Indiana. She is a coach at heart and was a collegiate volleyball coach for 7 years prior to becoming a therapist. This is where Cindi’s passion for mental health and exploring the roots of perfectionism began. She saw countless athletes struggling with body image, poor relationships to food and exercise, and full blown eating disorders. Cindi then began working in a residential and PHP treatment center to further her education around eating disorders and is a loud and persistent advocate for body acceptance, reducing shame and stigma around body size, and educating on the dangers of eating disorders and their parallels to “being healthy” and diet culture. Cindi also provides psychoeducation and coaching around anxiety, depression, burnout, boundaries, and perfectionism to athletic departments, teams, corporations, and individuals.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Barbara Beck, LMFT discusses what clinicians need to understand about narcissistic abuse. She describes what narcissistic abuse is, the difficulty for clients to accept that it is abuse, the complications of deciding rather to stay or leave the relationship, the aftermath of leaving and the healing journey and how to support your clients through it all. Barbara is a therapist in the Kansas City area. In addition to individual therapy, she offers a weekly support group for survivors and has an upcoming healing retreat. OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Barbara’s website Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Kimberly Shultz, LPC-MHSP discusses the benefits and risks of self-disclosure. Knowing when to disclose, when not to and how much is an important line therapists need to navigate in a healthy way for their clients. Kim and Jennifer share their experiences with self-disclosure and the lessons they have learned along the way.  Kimberly has been working in the mental health field for about 15 years,  specializing in trauma and grief. She is a private practice owner in Cool Springs, TN and the founder of Serenity Nature Retreats.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Kimberly’s Serenity Nature Retreats website Counseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Kelly Lynch, EMT, LCSW discusses what therapists need to know about brand marketing. Kelly provides clear and actionable steps to begin identifying and curating your brand. Kelly Lynch is an EMT, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Life Coach, Personal Fitness Trainer, and Nutrition Coach. She has been supporting humans through their journeys and challenges for over 20 years, beginning as an EMT in 2002, and moving into the mental health field in 2009. Kelly launched her private practice, Turning Point Wellness, in 2014, and specializes in Acute Stress and Post Traumatic Stress Injuries in EMS professionals.Kelly launched The GRIIT Project in 2022, and offers performance and business coaching through her transformational coaching system of GRIIT. With the five pillars of GRIIT – Growth, Resilience, Identity, Integrity, and Training – she teaches good therapists how to become great, and to build better lives and businesses through authenticity, alignment, and abundance.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Kelly’s website - download FREE PDF, order workbook or coachingCounseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Rebecca Love, LCSW (She/her) discusses the importance of understanding countertransference and its impact on your work with clients as well as yourself. This is one of the most important issues to understand in your work with clients and is rarely discussed.  Rebecca Love is an entrepreneur and army veteran from Sacramento, CA. Her passion for helping others began as a medic in the Army and inspired her to pursue a career in the mental health field. After working as a therapist in correctional institutions and a large group practice, Rebecca decided to open her own private practice in November of 2020. She is now the clinical director for three associates and the practice is growing. Her love of the work of therapy and of teaching has made clinical supervision a natural fit for her. In addition to cultivating her growing practice, Rebecca is a doctoral candidate in psychology. She is an avid reader and enjoys traveling and being outdoors. Rebecca is an advocate for the LGBTQ population, a certified grief therapist, and hopes to soon start a non-profit that provides critical intervention to suicidal clients who lack resources for specialized outpatient care. She is the mother of three and lives at home with her husband and youngest child. She is a licensed social worker in California, Colorado, South Dakota, and Rhode Island. OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Rebecca’s website, mention this podcast for a 20% discount in support group for clinicians, additional BIPOC discounts are also availableJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Jennifer Agee, LCPC shares 5 simple techniques to teach your clients to help manage their anxiety symptoms.  Belly BreathingExerciseMindfulness and MeditationFlying Markers5 Senses Grounding TechniqueOFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Jennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Victoria Rodriguez, LPC, CCTP, NCC and I discuss what you need to know about choosing a clinical supervisor. We share what questions to ask and how to screen for the right fit. Victoria (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice in Louisiana who specializes in health anxiety and medical trauma. As a PhD student at the University of New Orleans and adjunct instructor at Nicholls State University, she researches and presents on community mental health and creative interventions for trauma treatment.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Victoria’s websiteCounseling Community TikTokJennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

Jamie Roberts, LMFT, and I talk about the importance of understanding the nuance of neurodiversity, the validity of self-diagnosis and leading with authenticity. In grad school, we are taught how to check the boxes of diagnosis but Jamie shares the importance of secondary questions and how listening to people with lived experience can help you become a better clinician, partner or friend. Jamie Roberts is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, as well as the author of the book Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety, a practical guide to manage stress, ease worry and find calm. Jamie is the founder of Equilibrium Counseling Services, a teen and young adult mental health center in Southern California.  ECS is a place where all identities and brains are celebrated, with the goal of building confidence in identity, and reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Jamie is the Neurodivergent Therapist throughout social media and is an active speaker on Neurodivergent and Teen topics, from ND Affirming training for graduate-level therapists, to Autism and ND Advocacy groups, as well as podcasts and documentaries on later in life diagnosis. Jamie has been diagnosed with ADHD, and actively shares her experiences with her later-in-life diagnosis.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Jamie’s offer: Offering 5 exercises from my recently published book Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety when listeners join our mailing list.Jennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023Portugal Marketing Retreat October 2-7, 2023

During this episode, I talk with Patrick Casale, LCMHC, LCAS (he/him) about suicide. Patrick and I share our experiences as therapists and as individuals who have struggled with suicidal thoughts. We are raw and honest in this conversation and hold nothing back. We share what has been helpful for us in our journeys and how you can help clients when they express suicidal thoughts. Patrick is the owner of All Things Private Practice and Resilient Mind Counseling. Patrick works as a Private Practice Coach and Strategist, and is also a Group Practice Owner, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Planner, and Podcast Host. He has been featured on Private Practice Startup, Abundance Practice Building, Therapy Reimagined, Not Your Typical Psychotherapist, Selling The Couch, and Modern Therapists.Patrick is a passionate advocate, reducing shame and stigma of mental health, as well as impostor syndrome. Patrick helps mental health entrepreneurs break the mold, work through their fears and insecurities, and to embrace their authenticity.OFFERS & HELPFUL LINKS:Patrick’s websiteFree Private Practice Start Up Guide Jennifer Agee coaching pageCounseling Community Facebook communityCounseling Community InstagramAlaskan Cruise: Experiential Therapeutic Intervention Training for Therapists June 3-10, 2023