Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa McGee, MA, LPC-S.
Hi Melissa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always enjoyed listening to others’s stories and providing support. Even as a teenager, I would sometimes have to tell my parents I would be home late because someone needed me to talk. That grew into pursuing psychology and counseling in college. I was afraid to start out on my own as a therapist, so I decided to be a teacher and then school counselor. I loved working in the education field because there were always students and staff to support whether it was teaching those with learning disabilities, being a counselor for students with emotional disorders, or general high school guidance and social/emotional counseling. It has always been important for me to streamline all the paperwork and other tasks required so I can spend maximum time with students. Along the way, I realized that the other task requirements were getting too large and my frustration rising, so I took a risk. I have to say it was one of the bigger risks I have taken in my life, moving from a salary with benefits job to being self employed and opening my own mental health therapy practice. I had great support from friends and family and built some of my practice during my final semester of school counseling in 2017 by the referrals of an overloaded and gracious therapist in the field.
I am so grateful I took the leap and have continued to take more leaps as I grew in my individual counseling skills and supervision skills to build the group practice I have today. I had already been a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor (LPC-S) while a school counselor, so that other school counselors with the additional LPC Associate license could benefit from lower cost supervision from a school counselor who understood the roles that counted toward their LPC license. In my current practice, LPC Supervision has become one of my favorite things. I see them each for 2 one-hour meetings and 1 two-hour group meeting per month. I think group supervision has become their favorite thing as it is a time we talk through scenarios, update on counseling techniques and ethical guidelines and laws, and have guest speakers about services in our area and alternative therapies. The teacher in me from the beginnings of my career come out as I love to facilitate learning with them and with myself! This collaboration allows me to learn things too!
As I continued to assist newly licensed LPC Associates, many of them have been school counselors but also some have been wanting to start their own practice. For the school counselors, I require them to see at least one client in my office for true clinical work to be sure they feel prepared for the world of clinical counseling in case they want to take the leap from school counselor. This is a critical requirement I have because I didn’t have any clinical/in office experience when I took the leap to be a therapist in private practice. I want to ensure they are confident in their abilities should they choose that path. Many of them have grown to love it, and have even stayed working a few hours with me once they have upgraded their licensure and no longer need me for supervision. Thus, my solo practice grew into a group practice. For LPC Associates who are seeking supervision as they are building their own private practice, I can offer them the tools I learned along the way to build my practice. The funny thing about going to college to become a counselor is that you don’t take any business classes. So, when I started my practice I built it based on the expertise of other therapists who had done it and a few workshops and videos from facebook therapist groups. I now give the gift of that learning and hard work to my supervisees.
As I have grown and streamlined practices as a LPC Supervisor and employer, I have also made efforts to grow in my own personal pursuits and applying those in the therapy space. I began taking art classes during my last years in education and then began expanding this love for art into the therapy office as I found workshops that used art as a way to move from the logical and “chatter” side of the brain into the intuitive side. This process combined art and therapy. I was able to help clients use art to process pain by a variety of mediums. I also offered a few videos during the summer for clients to try while I would be out of the office on vacation as a way to check in with themselves. Art is such a mindful activity that allows us to be creative, take risks, use our physical bodies, and connect with ourselves. I also recognized that my own love of being in nature (especially the beach and the mountains among the trees) helped me to feel calmer and even experience epiphanies about life. My travels have taken me around the world, allowing me to gain perspective for myself as well as offer those insights to clients. While on the beach I find my chest relaxing and my nervous system calm. Moving amongst trees, walking in snow, and noticing nature in the mountains gives me calm and perspective. I often recommend these activities to clients and have also created short reels to remind clients the importance of movement and getting in nature. I believe that modeling these forms of self care are valuable to my clients and LPC Associates alike.
On my journey of learning myself as well as how I can offer myself to help others, I found that my connection with others extended beyond general human connection. A fellow therapist offered that I might have empath qualities. The more I researched, the more I realized that my ability to understand others on a deeper level and experience other’s emotions/physical sensations in my own body resulted in what I experienced as fatigue and exhaustion. I was literally carrying other’s wounds and pain to ease their load. I found I had been doing this with family and friends and now expanded that to the therapy office. I read a lot and took some courses that helped me to realize I didn’t have to carry that backpack everywhere all the time. Rather than letting my heart be fully open to all, I learned to visualize a protective shield around myself when there were those with emotions I couldn’t carry at that time. I learned how to identify and shed emotions in my body that weren’t mine. While this concept is foreign to many, it has made a huge impact on my capacity to help others. It has also resulted in attracting female clients with empath qualities so I can teach them the skills to set their energetic and physical boundaries leading to healthier lives.
After taking yoga classes many years ago for fitness, I started realizing the impact on my own mental health. I found that yoga was the one place that I could quiet my mind from all the busyness, to do lists, and chatter. I decided I would like to offer this to my clients. In 2023 I graduated from the 200 hour yoga teacher training at Sunshine Yoga Shack and started integrating some of the breath work, as well as creating short videos with poses for clients to align and let go of what no longer served them. Through the yoga teacher training I also learned about Reiki, which has been another game changer for client recovery from trauma. I have completed Reiki levels 1 and 2. I have been practicing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) since 2018 to help clients move out of their trauma into more fulfilling lives. EMDR is one of the gold-standard practices especially for those suffering from PTSD symptoms and is helpful for a variety of other concerns including Anxiety and Depression which I also treat. I am now integrating all of these modalities to best serve my clients. I am also currently studying the Trauma Conscious Yoga Method that integrates yoga with Internal Family Systems, somatic work, and other modalities to treat the whole person. I am so excited to learn more things to assist clients in processing trauma through their bodies, as I find many clients prefer this to talk therapy or the traditional EMDR method that requires some verbal responses and a more brain awareness of processing versus body processing. This more somatic approach helps clients not be so easily activated into fight/flight/freeze and stay more in a calm nervous system state.
Maintaining my own individual therapy practice as I grow my group practice and help other LPC Associates grow professionally and possibly into business has been an incredible journey. I can see myself expand and trust a little more each time I learn new things about myself and others. I see my own life experiences and understanding of myself often results in attracting those I can most understand, especially those who have empath qualities and anxiety.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Challenges will always be present with growth. As many therapists out there, I have struggled with the fear of not being good enough. While I love to see my clients grow and heal, sometimes it is easy to go back to thinking that I am not providing enough or not providing the right tools to help them grow faster or rescue them from their pain. I have learned through time that everyone is on their own journey, and that I need to only worry about bringing the best version of myself. This includes working on my own wounds and healing from my own pains so that I can provide the best space for them to heal and grow. It is so important for me to do my own work whether that means going to therapy, going to yoga classes, maintaining my own physical health, or having a Reiki session.
I have also started to realize that maybe not everyone is the right fit, that I work better with teenagers 16 and older and tend to have women struggling with trauma and anxiety gravitate to me. I don’t have to be able to serve every client; there are plenty of therapists out there. We can all serve from the best part of ourselves based on our own experiences and training to give the best treatment to those clients whose needs fit the best.
When COVID hit in 2020, I decided to pivot and begin offering all therapy sessions online. This was a challenge as I had not been used to this model. I was used to helping my clients by co-regulation in the office setting, providing in person EMDR sessions and using other modalities to treat trauma where I could see body language and facial expressions clearly. It turns out that I now prefer to be in office one day a week and spend the rest of my time offering therapy online. During COVID, offering online therapy allowed me to travel some and offer flexibility in my schedule. Clients didn’t have to worry about the commute to therapy or the health related concerns of COVID. This obstacle turned into something I now view with gratitude for how it changed my practice. It also opened up my office space for my LPC supervisees to practice once businesses reopened. And there is the bonus that I now can spend more time with my fur babies.
As I mentioned before, one of my biggest challenges was jumping from a salary and benefit position to the unknown of self employed therapist. Again, a challenge presented with growth. I didn’t make as much money for awhile, didn’t contribute to a retirement fund for a few years, and took out a loan. But now I look back and can see that it worked out and I can now afford to do the things I like to do and invest in my future.
I have been noticing another challenge for growth, feeling the nudge to continue to expand my group practice. Again, that is scary in ways because it means more people to manage and pay and bigger bills. But I also recognize that each time I have expanded a little, we are able to help support more people. And that is what our world needs.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Cultivating Minds, PLLC?
Cultivating Minds primarily offers individual therapy and couples therapy, both in office and virtually (for the state of Texas). We have several fully licensed therapists as well as LPC Associates who offer counseling age 12 and older. Many insurance plans are accepted and can be verified through the client’s contact of their insurance company. By seeing a LPC Associate, clients are able to received quality counseling at a lower cash pay price, making counseling more accessible.
We offer therapy that is accepting and a safe place for all, regardless of identity or background. We seek to understand, respect, and support all of our clients. As humans are unique, each therapist has their own unique personality and style. We offer free 20 minute consultations to make sure you are getting the right fit.
Our team offers therapy that is trauma informed, understanding that many symptoms are the result of past traumas whether those experiences were big or small. Therapists use a variety of techniques to not only support current concerns but also address prior life experiences that may be impacting current life.
Our therapists are committed to your wellness, gently guiding you to fulfilling your passion and purpose. Melissa offers yoga and Reiki sessions to support the therapy process, assisting clients in healing mind, body, and spirit. Art and nature are also offered as healing and supportive modalities.
For new therapists seeking a supervisor for LPC Supervision, please contact Melissa. Supervision is done virtually for 2 one-hour sessions and a two-hour group supervision session offered once a month for collaboration with other newly licensed therapists.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
For those who know me, risk taking is not me! I have been timid since I was a kid and grew up with parents who were budgeters and stuck with what we could be “sure” about. Taking the risk of starting my own business is something that no one in my family had done. Everyone worked for someone else. I have to say that due to being a small risk taker I probably haven’t built my group practice as much as I could have or offered as many alternative therapy options like retreats or integrating yoga and reiki. Often these require more of an investment so risk taking is involved. I hope that I continue to grow and challenge myself that I may become more comfortable with growing my risk tolerance.
Pricing:
- Individual Therapy Session, Yoga Session, or Reiki Session with Melissa (45-60min): $125-150
- LPC Supervision: $360/month
- Individual/Couples Therapy Session with LPC Associate (45-60 min): $60-75
- Individual/Couples Therapy Session with other LPC Therapist: $75-110
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cultivating.live
- Instagram: @melissamcgeelpc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultivatingmindscounseling
- Youtube: @melissamcgee
Image Credits
Profile picture credit to Bee the Joy Photography. The chakra stones are taken by B Cole via Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@ba_cole. The other photos are my own.
