Today we’d like to introduce you to Katy Alaniz.
Katy, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I was quite young, I saw the flaws in mine and my friends’ families. Don’t get me wrong; I love the hell out my family. No way I would’ve ended up where I am without them propping me up constantly. However, I remember distinctly thinking after sleepovers with friends thinking “adults seem so unhappy, and they don’t talk to each other the right way. I don’t get why anyone gets married, because that seems miserable”. From a young age, I could feel tension when I walked into rooms, and I think I was sick to my stomach throughout my whole childhood because of it. It wasn’t until I was in the 6th grade, that a peer told me that my idea of, “telling grownups what to do so that they’re happier” was actually a real job; something she called “a shrink”. Mind. Blown. I had never heard of a therapist or counselor or treatment or psych meds before. I asked my mom to buy me a copy of ‘Psychology for Dummies’ immediately, and I’ve been studying human behavior and psychology ever since. I never once deviated from my plan to become a mental health therapist. 21 years later, here I am. 🙂
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had a lot of privilege along the first half of my journey. My parents and other loved ones sacrificed a lot in order to get me through my 4-year degree; I came out of that with student loan debt, sure, but less debt than a lot of my peers. After college, I knew that I had to get a Master’s degree in order to do anything with my Psych degree, and I knew I was on my own, financially, for the cost. I couldn’t handle the pressure, and stayed away from school for two years. I got pregnant in 2009, right when I had no job and no health insurance. I was living with my best friend, Kady, and we couldn’t even afford our rent, much less a baby. We had both had our hearts broken recently and didn’t know what the hell we were doing. We invited my baby’s father to move in with us, and that started a whole new chapter of my life. One amazing baby girl, multiple physical/mental traumas from the birth, one wedding, one house bought, and one very bad case of postpartum depression later, I found myself in my Master’s degree program, studying Professional Counseling. I had a full-time job, was going to school on weekends, and had a new baby and husband very quickly. It wasn’t necessarily a recipe for success, but somehow, we made it work.
Please tell us about the business.
The Wakeful State came about from the needs I heard about at networking events I went to as a therapist. It was heart-breaking to hear about people who really needed mental healthcare, but weren’t close enough to an office, or couldn’t leave their home because of disabilities or extreme anxiety. I created my private practice to be completely online. This way, I could serve anyone who lives in Texas, not just people who happened to be mobile and live in the Dallas area. It was also important to me to keep overhead costs low. Without an office rent to pay for, I’m sometimes able to offer clients a lower rate than they might find elsewhere, which makes me feel that I’m giving back in some small way. Over the years that I worked toward getting licensed to practice, I gained experience working with adolescents, eating disorders, parenting skills, LGBTQ+, first offenders, couples, and the kink and polyamorous communities. I am extremely proud to serve those that have the same issues that I’ve once dealt with; I believe that there’s a lot of power in the phrase, “I totally understand”, and it means a lot more coming from someone who actually understands.
Actually, understands what it feels like to be a woman, grappling with her sexuality later in life. Understands what it feels like to be ostracized for living in a larger body. Understands how, as soon as coming out as polyamorous, you will be vilified and labeled as a slut. Understands how bad depression can get, and the terrifying thoughts that run through your mind on a daily basis. Truly understands how hard motherhood can be, not to mention trying to parent a daughter when you’ve had an eating disorder since the age of nine. I believe these struggles, as well as my oftentimes irreverent therapy style, is what sets me apart from some other therapists that I’ve known.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood has to be camping out on the trampoline in our backyard, and waking up to watch the sunrise. I didn’t do this all the time, but something about getting out of the space where I felt a lot of tension and just sleeping outdoors gave me the most amount of peace in my childhood.
Pricing:
- Initial 1 Hour Consult: $120
- Ongoing Therapy Sessions (50 min): $100
- Therapy Animal Support Consult/Letter: $130
- In-Home Therapeutic Organization/De-Clutter: $150/hour
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thewakefulstate.com
- Phone: 972.204.5860
- Email: katy@thewakefulstate.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/theweightytherapist/
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