Daily Inspiration: Meet Rachael Reed M.A., LPC, LMFT

Daily Inspiration: Meet Rachael Reed

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Empower and Elevate slowly started as an idea with my best friend (Julie Pate who is a part of E&E) sitting in a therapy room and having lunch together. This was during a season of life when we both worked in a residential treatment facility thinking about how we wanted to continue working together as friends, but also to provide the best client experience and care. Working in an agency setting is a different type of grind that is difficult to explain and you truly have to love the work that you do. Navigating that specific role came with unique challenges, however, it truly put into perspective the importance of living authentically and making choices towards living within our values.

Opening this private practice was a step in choosing myself but also balancing. I remember slowly making small steps toward my goal. The first was working with our talented web designer for branding and the second was subletting my first office space. I took a huge leap of faith prior to having a baby by getting a permanent office location that encompassed the services that we provide and decorated it to match our brand/personality. As a small business owner, these investments can feel overwhelming but encouraging at the same time. It gave me a much-needed balance to show up for my family and also being able to feel refreshed to work with the clients in our practice.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a business from scratch can be a daunting task! There are a lot of moving pieces that you have to juggle in order to become successful. Along the way, I was navigating maternity leave and setting up the structure of my business were the challenges that stand out to me.

The nature of owning a business means there is always something that has to get done. Learning to set boundaries within yourself of knowing when to take time for yourself has been vital. I’ve had to learn a new structure of what needs to be done for the upcoming week in order to prevent potential burnout.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Empower and Elevate is a counseling practice centered around our core values. Our mission is to provide a comfortable environment where clients are able to be their authentic selves and feel safe. As a whole, we value authenticity, collaboration, curiosity, inclusion, and transparency.

Therapy is not a one size fits all approach where we offer individualized care based on your own personal and unique goals! The therapists in our practice have a variety of specialties. We support our clients to become unstuck regardless of their specific circumstances and include the following areas of expertise: depression and anxiety, eating disorders, PTSD, trauma, family and life transitions, and coping with grief/loss.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Book: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are (2010) By Brené Brown.

Headspace App- Practicing Mindfulness & Meditation.

Planner- Michael Hyatt, Full Focus Planner; This has helped tremendously map out my “Ideal Week”.

Tiffany Roe- Affirmation’s Deck and Coping Skills Deck; very practical for building skills in conjunction with therapy.