For a long time, I was good at a job that was slowly turning me into someone I didn't like. I spent more than eight years in corporate marketing, eventually leading teams, until I could clearly see who that world wanted me to become. I didn't want to be her.

What I did want had been there all along. I've always been the person people call when everything falls apart, and somehow managed to keep a level head. Plus, I felt privileged to be on their, “this-person-can-remind-me-who-the-hell-am” list. That was one of many reasons I went back to school to become a therapist.

Grad school didn't leave room for a full-time job, but I still had years of marketing experience in my back pocket. Building websites and offering branding consulting for therapists let me use both, and prove that you can make a good living without turning healing into a product. Right now I'm in practicum, seeing my first clients while running this business. I'm not just imagining what it takes to hold both — I'm doing it, every week.

Maybe that's why therapist clients so often tell me, "You really got me." My onboarding feels a lot like an intake session for your practice. I ask a lot of questions, listen closely, and build from what I hear. And I won't optimize the humanity out of your work to make it sell.

When I'm not doing any of that, I'm probably at a live show (Hayley Williams, if you’re seeing this for whatever reason — OMG hi!! Huge fan of EDAABP) or buried in a book. I live in Nashville with my partner and our puppy, Botavius, tracking my reading habits in charts and tables (yes, really), and spending a lot of my spare time digging into social justice and systemic issues. If it feels right, I'd love to hear about your practice. And if you're not sure you need a website at all, take the quiz. I'll tell you honestly.