I was tickled to find Professional Counselor Joseph R. Sanok sitting in the audience of my workshop at the American Counseling Association’s annual conference. 
I had been following Joe’s work, listening to his podcasts, and reading his posts for quite some time.
So when he introduced himself I knew immediately who he was.
As you might imagine, when he asked to interview me for his blog, Practice of the Practice, of course, I said “YES!”
There we sat on a shady lanai overlooking sunny Honolulu chatting and laughing and exchanging our stories.
We had so much fun that I though we should title the interview “Hangin’ in Honolulu.”
Wisely and with a nod to the search engines though, Joe had a different idea.
Oh! The focus of the interview?
Should I Start a Blog?
I love that I have this opportunity to introduce you to my e-friend and his fabulous blog in this podcast interview Should I Start a Blog?
When you stop by to check it out, I hope you’ll let him know that I sent you. (And, then, of course, let me know how I can help you jump start your blog!)
Oh, my goodness! Just listened again to Joe’s podcast and laughed as much as I did the first time! That was so much FUN!
During our conversation, we were talking about building a private practice being primarily about good customer service and relationship building. There’s no better place to do that online than on your blog!
That’s what my participants in BlogStart for Therapists are mastering this week as they are learning how to get more comments on their blogs.
What a great interview! I am definitely sharing this, especially with my students. Community work, strengthening clinical skills, web presence, blog postings, consistency… The whole interview was really great. It’s nice to hear your voices. 🙂
Thanks, Camille! You mean my syrup-y, Southern voice? 🙂 I appreciate you taking time to drop in!
I think when people see professionals like yourself managing blogs, presenting at conferences, and running a private practice, they either think it must be easy or it’s totally impossible. You really helped shine an honest light on the incredible effort required and a way to make it all possible. Thank you.
Camille, as you know . . . those things come together with lots of baby steps . . . one at a time. They don’t initially all come together at once. I just pick something that I take a fancy to, commit to it, follow through, and polish it. When one piece gets polished and put in place, then sometimes . . . I’m able to pick something else, commit to it, follow through, polish it up, and put it in place. And, then . . . if I’m able to maintain those two (balls in the air!) and I take a fancy to a third thing . . . I commit to it, etc.
More often than I would like . . . I drop balls. And, it’s just been within the last few years that I’ve come to believe that I am designed that way . . . to drop balls. I think that’s God’s way of reminding me that I’m human – not perfect, not meant to be God – just designed to be fallable. That’s me! I get it now. I don’t always like it but I’m learning to not just live with it but to lean into it when that happens.
Systems help. Information helps. Support systems help. Knowing my strengths and weaknesses help. Experience helps. Training helps. There are lots of things that help. It’s not always easy. It’s rarely impossible. And, most of the time . . . whether the balls are in the air or bobbling publicly on the ground . . . I still remember that I am so blessed to be joyfully touching lives, changing the world, all the while making new friends on my own sweet schedule. I can’t imagine doing anything else this meaningful or this fun – ever!
Being in private practice! It’s the best thing I’ve ever done! And, if you’re up for an adventure and have the stomach to fail before your succeed . . . you’re gonna love this!
I thought this was great! I think that one thing that makes you trustworthy is that you aren’t afraid to spit it out – you say what you mean when it comes to what is and isn’t going to either make you a good clinician or help your practice. When you said that not working in an agency makes you a lesser clinician I just thought, wow, that’s a woman who knows what she wants to say and isn’t afraid of offending all of the people who come onto the scene and don’t have any of that experience. I also appreciate that you were honest that you don’t like certain aspects of what it takes to get where you have gotten. Consistency in blogging is such a barrier to so many people, and technophobia as well!
While I have my own doubts that my blog will EVER get the kind of following you have because your niche was so barren and hungry for a real contender, I do eat up every word of every post and try to actually take your advice! 🙂
Kat, I’m going to have to go back and listen to that podcast again because I didn’t think I said “not working in an agency makes you a lesser clinician.” Did I really say that?!
I do think that having agency experience (torturous though it can be) does afford you experiences that can be incredibly valuable in private practice and can’t be replicated elsewhere. If I said “lesser clinician,” I’m cringing right now.
I do find gifts sometimes come in ugly packages. And, I can be blunt, I know. I do think it’s important to lean into (rather than whisper) our values; but I’m just as open to entertaining different views and reconsidering my own. Sometimes I just need someone to loan me a different set of eyes.
Kat, it’s hard for me to believe that you are even being sincere about having doubts about the numbers you can attract to your blog. (I tried to go back just now to see if you had archives to tell how long you’ve been blogging.) But, if you are serious about those doubts, I would encourage you to lean into those as long as you need to lean into them. And, then . . . when you no longer need to lean into them . . . choose to let them go.
Here’s the deal . . . . There’s really a tiny little fraction of people working in mental health fields and even fewer who are wanting to go in to private practice. I’ll give you the fact that mine was a niche that was begging for a contender.
But, Kat Mindenhall! When you are ready . . . you need to start telling yourself the TRUTH. There’s not a human on the face of this earth that doesn’t need to learn to do relationships BETTER – whether they / we know it or not. Your potential audience outweighs mine by legions. And, if you think there’s 10 psychotherapists out there regularly posting AMAZING CONTENT in support of those people . . . well, PLEASE tell me who they are!
You, my dear . . . WHEN . . . YOU . . . ARE . . . FINISHED leaning into your doubt . . . and . . . WHEN . . . YOU . . . ARE . . . READY to step into your truth . . . will find that your blog can beat my blog any old day and . . . in the ways that you are already stepping into that truth and into your purpose I see the ways you are changing the world already.
I love that you are eating up every word of every post! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And, I love having you in my own back door supporting me and a lot of other therapists, too, in your own way. I appreciate you and what you bring to our tables.
YOU are one hell of a pep-talker! I guess those are doubts, funny how they present themselves as just the plain ol’ truth. “Tamara’s blog does so well because she’s a powerhouse and doesn’t have Psychology Today and HuffPost articles competing with her little ol’ blog posts. Plain and simple.” It never occurred to me that I was expressing a doubt! Ha! I will LEAN into that, as you say, and wear that crap out. I think doubts are safe places to hide from the uncomfortable truths of what your fears are and where you need growth. They come dressed as simple messengers but really it’s a Trojan horse.
And if you did say lesser practitioner, if those were even your exact words (now I’m not so sure now), I understood the context even if I wouldn’t have phrased it that way myself. When you have had agency experience that puts you in the kinds of crises and forces the kind of systemic navigation that you cannot manufacture. It definitely gives you a basis of preparedness for those situations in private practice, that, like you say, only maybe come up once in the lifetime of a career. I often find myself feeling like I could have used another ten years in agency work! And I do think that regardless of what your path is, you have a duty to make yourself the best practitioner that you can be. I think that’s what we are all here for, and sharing what makes us each tough as nails in our own way illuminates the many ways to be your best in private practice.
Now on to figure out what my truth is so that I can step in it, um, I mean, into it…
You make me laugh so hard, Kat, that my ribs hurt! Part of the time stepping “in it” really is gold. It’s just stinky gold!
On a different note, I hope you are writing a book or two. Are you? (Blogging is a great platform for that, too, you know.) But, you do have a vivid vocabulary . . . “Trojan horse” . . . and, of course, stepping “in it, um, . . . into it.” I’m envious that you can pull those metaphors out so easily. I want to read your posts and your books!
Well you are very kind! There are so many things on my list to step in, and a book could definitely be one!
🙂 OK, folks! You heard it first right here!
Tamara,
What an awesome community and podcast! I LOVED talking with you, hearing your approach, and all of your encouragement.
It’s amazing how when you start focusing on growing it almost always starts quickly!
I’m wondering how many people are blogging or doing other online marketing?
Oh, that’s a great question, Joe!
Let’s see if we can get some folks to weigh in here!
Ohh, that’s a great question, Joe! Let’s see if we can get some folks to weigh in here!
By the way, I noticed we can’t see your smiling little face here. Here’s how you can go set up a gravatar right now. Don’t worry! It’s really easy to do and then will help you build brand (and face) recognition as well as good old networking even quicker!
I am Joe – I am trying to blog more consistently. I’m active in social media. And I’ve been doing Adwords for a few months. It takes a lot! 🙂