Meet Jessica Taylor | Licensed Professional Counselor & Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
I think that the habits that have helped me succeed in business are also ones that I try to teach to my clients. As a therapist, I know that automatic negative thoughts about ourself, our work, and our success are bound to come up. A lot of people experience “imposter syndrome” in their career, where they feel as though they are not good enough to be where they are. But I know that the more power I give these thoughts, the more frequently and intensely they are going to come up. Buying into negative thoughts about myself and my career is only going to hold me back from future success. I don’t always need to see things as “sunshine and rainbows,” because that wouldn’t be realistic, but instead of letting myself feel defeated about things out of my control, I instead focus on gratitude and taking action on the things that are actually in my control.

What should our readers know about your business?
I own Thrive Counseling, which is a small private therapy practice in South Denver. Our licensed therapists treat children, teens, and adults. We offer individual and couples counseling as well as a few groups.

What I think sets us apart is our dedication to excellent customer service. We are passionate about providing thorough speedy communication to our potential and current clients. When speaking to a potential client, I make sure to take my time in answering any questions and making sure that they are getting matched to the therapist that matches their personality and needs. We know that seeking out a therapist can be anxiety-provoking, which is why we try to make it as simple as possible.

I am most proud of how dedicated our therapists are to providing the best care possible to their clients. When hiring new therapists, I am of course concerned with their competence level in providing care, but I also focus on personality. I assess how comfortable I am speaking with them and ask myself: “I would it feel if this person were my therapist?” We do not use a “blank slate” approach; we let our clients see our true selves.

As with any business (I think) there are ebbs and flows of feeling really good about where we are and then finding myself wanting to ruminate about things that are stressful, but also out of my control. The biggest lesson I have learned is that I just focus on what is in my control, such as providing amazing client care and supporting my employees, things will get back on track. Also, I have my degrees in psychology. No part of me ever thought I would have a business with employees. So things like marketing and accounting do not come naturally to me. I used to do everything I could to avoid facing them, but now I really enjoy getting creative with marketing. Still working on getting to a point where I like accounting!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a mom with two little ones under four, so I unfortunately do not get out as much as I would like! But there definitely a few places we frequent, because they are family-friendly.

Every time we are craving tacos, Cochino is the first place that comes to mind. We used to walk to the one in Englewood when we lived near there, but now we love the location near Sloan’s Lake, because that is our favorite place to get our son to work off his wiggles by riding his bike around the lake. Speaking of near Sloan’s Lake, The Edgewater Public Market is also the perfect place to spend a few hours on Saturday. I love all of the little shops and Black Box Bakery and Happy Cones Co are two of our favorite food stalls.

Lastly, we love to get a drink or an ice cream cone at Union Station. It is such a cool place architecturally, and my son is obsessed with trains, so it meets all of our needs!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It sounds cliche, but I literally would not be where I am today had I not met Erin Carpenter. She founded Thrive Counseling over ten years ago and then mentored me and trusted me to take over the business almost two years ago. I am so thankful that she saw abilities in me that at the time, I did not see in myself.

Website: www.thrivecounselingdenver.com

Instagram: @thrive.counseling.denver

Facebook: Thrive Counseling

Yelp: Thrive Counseling