This holiday season, I have much to be thankful for. A healthy family, loving parents (not everyone has that), and a growing business.
On Thanksgiving Day, I was surprised at how many clients took a minute to send me a message thanking me for my commitment to helping them feel better emotionally. Warmed my heart. All my clients are important to me, and I have a very special job helping people’s lives to improve and in some cases for their relationships to heal!
Upon reflection, I am just very thankful not only for my clients, but for my business growth and ability to service more clients, giving more love and healing… Around our family’s Thanksgiving table, we each reflected upon what we are thankful as well as what we appreciate about each other. In that vein, I want to share what I am thankful for regarding my work team and therapist associates.
Yes, I am thankful for my business team…
My daughter Rachel has been crushing it this year! She has taken over nearly all the financial aspects of my Relationship Repair Shop brand, becoming its first CFO 🙂 This was no small order since we added four new locations and tripled our client base during 2019! Rachel is getting ready to graduate in May with a degree in Economics and Business from the University of Maryland.
Did you know we have recently added three new associates?
- Tristin Malone is accepting new clients in Upper Marlboro
- Rolonda Williams is accepting new clients, primarily at the Maple Lawn office
- Darrius Humphrey is accepting new clients, primarily at the Laurel office
I am excited to see how each of these new therapists will develop themselves and their career during the coming year!
Now for my therapists who have been working with me during the past year, I am thankful for you also… each of you have special gifts and add to our practice team in different ways.
Tyra Berger grew almost a full-time practice in Upper Marlboro this year! She has done more training and work specializing in Couples Therapy and she is quick to get things done. Tyra is always pleasant and helps other team members with questions. She is calmer than my Type A personality and might be the yin to my yang here at the Laurel office…which I appreciate about her.
Gail Bowles has grown a busy client base in Annapolis, with a focus on helping individual clients with resolving grief and relationship problems. Gail has taken the initiative to become a PREPARE facilitator and she is our Imago specialist. Gail is just wonderful at making clients feel hopeful, special, and cared for. She is patient and takes the time to listen … she is especially good at answering the phone with care and compassion.
Krista Zerby started her new practice in Pikesville after graduating and getting her license this fall. She does a remarkable job working with children, individuals with mood disorders, and helping couples to resolve conflict. Krista is very detail-oriented with her work, which is much appreciated – and I can always have a good laugh with Krista.
Terrie Tyrie started in Maple Lawn this spring, can’t believe she has a pretty full client base over at Capital Women’s Care, where we just started a collaboration earlier this year. Terrie was very instrumental with developing methods for responding to new client leads this year and has been helping to train some of our new therapists.
Chana Johnson finished out her internship and completed her licensure this year, then started up one of our locations in Owings Mills. Chana is gifted at assessing the needs of her clients and inspiring people to move ahead in their lives. She also completed additional training this year in the Gottman method, and… If I have a question about the business, Chana is one of the people I ask for ideas!
Sophia Rizvi is very supportive of her clients and has developed a part-time client base for evening/weekend hours just since summer! She has a gift with her individual clients, helping them with improving self-confidence and strategies for reducing anxiety. Sophia is also great with staying on top of things and noticing the details, and she is great with setting her boundaries for a positive work-life balance.
My interns are awesome, especially when you consider they are still wrapping up their classes while seeing clients and doing co-therapy with Dr. Stephanie… Anne-Marie James-Henry has taken on many challenges with her clients and she has been helping many clients to complete their therapy goals. She has a special gift with helping teenagers and young adults, something I admire about her. Domenica has taken the initiative to help with planning out a new website coming in 2020 and has a special gift for Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. Domenica is also very detail-oriented and helps me to learn new things and stay on my toes!
My husband has coped with me getting just a little stressed out while navigating all this new growth. So, I must thank him for dealing with me and for reviewing all my business ideas and plans!
So, that’s it. This holiday season, I hope that you also go around the holiday table for Christmas or Hanukah discussing what you are thankful for and what you appreciate about the other members of your family!
I hope you are thankful also for yourself and for whatever gifts have come your way in 2019. Possibly even for your trials and crisis, especially if you have already been able to see how you have turned your crisis into something wonderful. I have several clients who had this kind of change in 2019. Crisis converted into triumph, saying “things are better than they ever were in our marriage, in our family.”
If you are not there, trust me when I tell you that there will be a time in the future when you will be able to see how your crisis of today taught you lessons and helped you transform into a wiser, smarter, better person with more coping skills and relationship strategies… and more empathy for the difficult experiences that others might be going through.
