Meet Lindsey Phillips | Therapist

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

Hi Lindsey, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Prior to starting my business, I worked in a variety of mental health settings and always for a company. In those settings, it was apparent that there were a lot of unnecessary tasks, endless meetings, and redundant paperwork. I came to view these chores as distractions from what really mattered…providing really great therapy to clients. I figured that starting my own private practice would allow me to focus on my clients. By eliminating the unnecessary tasks, I’d be able to provide better therapy which would translate to improved outcomes for my clients.

Turns out my hunch was correct. Spending less time on distractions allows me to be more present in sessions. It allows me to spend more time thinking about the direction of therapy for each individual client. I also have time to look into research on various treatments and educate myself about emerging and proven techniques. As a result, my clients get better services and are able to progress further. Starting my private practice allowed me to emphasize what matters most to me-clients growing, improving, and thriving in their lives.

What should our readers know about your business?
Our practice focuses on helping adults and adolescents who experience anxiety and/or depression. We use Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) which is an evidence-based treatment to reduce symptoms and help our clients live better lives. We emphasize not just talking with clients about their problems, but in addition, we take the extra step to develop concrete plans for how to improve the issues they are dealing with (using CBT to guide our work). One of our goals is that clients leave every session feeling like it was useful. We also strive to make our clients their own therapists. We want to give them the skills, tactics, and tools to work on problems independently and feel confident they can tackle issues that may arise in the future. The other thing that sets up apart is that we have a sense of humor. When appropriate, we bring levity to sessions and like to share a laugh with our clients.

Our practice has gone through several iterations over the years. We’ve had to revamp and problem solve quite a bit. As therapists, we didn’t get any training in marketing or running a business in graduate school, so we’ve had to rely on educating ourselves in these areas. We also learned to collaborate with experts in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), accounting/taxes, and social media. They’ve been wonderful in sharing their skills to support our business.

I think the main thing that’s been helpful in overcoming challenges is being stubborn. When something is not working, it’s very easy to get discouraged. Instead, we lean into stubbornness and keep chipping away at the problem until we have a way to overcome it. That is not always a straight-forward process, but it’s the persistence and determination to figure it out that’s ultimately helped us overcome barriers.

Every year we feel more and more connected to the Fort Collins community. We like for people to understand we’re a small, local private practice that’s invested in our clients. It’s just Ben and I that are the owners and therapists at Evolve Counseling Services. We genuinely care about each individual that comes to us. Clients will never feel lost in the shuffle of a larger organization or that their therapist doesn’t really seem to care about them. I think people can feel that we consider it a privilege to serve our clients.

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?
Ben and I both love Fort Collins and the surrounding area. If you’re a beer drinker, there are so many fantastic breweries, and it seems like new ones are always popping up. It’s fun to visit the well-known breweries like New Belgium or Odell, but I really like seeing the smaller ones too like Funkwerks, Equinox, or Verboten (in Loveland).

If you’re into hiking, there are a ton of options. We’ve taken family and friends to Horsetooth Rock, Grey Rock, and Devil’s Backbone.

Boating on Horsetooth Reservoir is always a great time.

For outstanding Mexican food, we take folks to La Buena Vida. We also really enjoy Domenic’s and The Whiskey Steaks.

We also really love taking people to Estes Park to grab a drink at the Stanley Hotel and maybe stick around for their ghost tour.

It’s also really fun to spend some time in Old Town Fort Collins. We love popping into the local shops, grabbing a drink at the Sunset Lounge in the Elizabeth Hotel, or seeing a comedian at the Comedy Fort.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am a very cautious person by nature. I don’t take a lot of risks, and I usually need to be sure about something before I dive in. I contemplated starting a private practice for several months back in early 2018. I kept going back and forth on the uncertainty of it all. Would I get any clients? Could I actually build a sustainable business? Would I make enough money to pay the bills? I was in a stable job that was very secure so thinking about leaving that stability was scary.

My husband, Ben was incredibly supportive throughout this process. He always came from the position that if private practice was something I wanted to do, I should go for it. With patience, he listened to my endless obsessing. He thought through the logistics and helped me come up with solutions. He was OK with us taking a financial hit if it meant I got to do something more fulfilling. Not once did he express any doubts or concerns. His support is what gave me the courage to try.

The best part about all this is that Ben is also a therapist. About 18 months after I started the practice, he came onboard full time and is now a co-owner. It’s been a wonderful experience to work with him. We took the practice I built and through our teamwork have elevated it to something we’re both very proud of. I’m so grateful to him and excited to see where our efforts take us in the future.

Website: https://evolvecounselingnoco.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/evolvecounselingftcollins/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvolveCounselingServicesNoCo/

Image Credits
Arianne Autaubuo