Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Ballengee.
Hi Paige, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a mental health therapist and I started my practice, Holistic Therapy, and Healing, in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2016. The primary driver for starting this business was wanting to create a practice that has a holistic approach to treating clients and exists outside of the insurance medical model of care. When a person uses their insurance to cover the cost of therapy that therapist must make a diagnosis that becomes part of that client’s permanent medical record and will follow them throughout a lifetime. Often therapists have to bump up the diagnosis to something that will likely get coverage and from that point on insurance controls the entire process of therapy from start to finish, even what the therapist is allowed to charge. Having worked in insurance and Medicaid for many years before starting my business, I realized how important it was to create space for both therapists and clients that is solely based on what technique and approach are going to help the client heal and grow to their highest good. In existing outside of the insurance model, we retain total control and privacy over our approach and techniques. The practice currently consists of seven therapists and one prescribing nurse practitioner. We are all unified by a holistic approach to therapy which means that we dig deep under the surface of the symptoms to try and find the root cause of a person’s pain. We do also teach people how to cope with symptoms, but our approach overall is much deeper and more meaningful than more traditional Eastern approaches. We get to know every aspect of our clients’ lives from their relationships, childhood experiences, family, parenting, professional life, eating style and body health, confidence, self-worth, etc. We look at all these pieces and target different areas for change and growth in order to move the whole system in a positive direction.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Any business owner that surpassed the 5-year mark will tell you the road is fraught with challenges and obstacles to overcome. Like many business owners, the pandemic has been an absolute game-changer. We saw almost 100% of private practices in our area go virtual-only for sessions. While we are so grateful to be in a field where a virtual service is an option, I personally don’t usually enjoy virtual sessions! Virtual therapy can be really tough- We can’t control the space, we can’t control the privacy that the client has, and we can’t control distractions like emails popping up in the corner of the client’s laptop or their dog barking in the background, we can’t even control the Wi-Fi! As a result of my feelings about virtual sessions and overall. And my inherent stubbornness, we did not close for one single week during the pandemic. We very quickly figured out that our clients really needed us to hold physical space for them. It was almost amusing how many of our clients dressed up for sessions! So many of them reported to us that with working from home or being laid off, virtual schooling of their kids, and way too much time with their spouses, that therapy was the one place they got to go every week and they really looked forward to it and protected that time. Thank goodness therapy qualifies as an essential business! Today 2 years into a pandemic I feel really proud of how I navigated the business through a very unsettling and uncertain time. I’m sure there will be a million more challenges to face in the coming years, but my staff is so wonderful and holding space for their practice motivates me infinitely. I’ll do whatever I have to keep us strong and steadfast as a resource for our community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Holistic Therapy and Healing LLC?
Holistic Therapy and Healing is a private practice in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio that supports seven therapists and one prescribing nurse practitioner. As I wrote about in the above section, we are holistic in our approach and we operate outside of the insurance model as a self-pay practice. Our typical clients are professional individuals and families in the area that stand to greatly benefit from therapy but often don’t meet the criteria for a mental health diagnosis. They are highly functional, insightful, and intelligent individuals who are going through difficult life transitions like a divorce, the death of a parent, parenting struggles, working through past traumas, or have mental health issues like anxiety, ADHD, depression, PPD. Of course, I’m biased, but I genuinely believe we are the best practice in Cincinnati! We keep our rates really affordable despite being self-pay and out-of-pocket, but we give the most incredible care to our clients. My therapists are so talented and so invested in their people! They feel a genuine call to help others heal and grow. We are almost on an entire practice waiting list and it’s because of the phenomenal work they are doing with their clients. Since starting in 2016 I’ve done almost no marketing with the exception of having bios on sites like psychology today. Our business has been built through referrals alone. One of my favorite things about the changing stigma around therapy today is how much people want to tell their friends and family when they find a great provider. We rely on these kinds of referrals to continue to grow.
Since our creation, we have always focused on therapy in particular. For the first time, we are currently in the process of bringing a nurse practitioner prescriber on board. Sometimes with mental health care, medication is necessary in conjunction with therapy in order to move the client through a mental health episode and have a successful remission. I am so excited to have more control over the prescribing process. Our nurse practitioner has a warm and approachable personality. Gone are the days when clients will be afraid to talk to their primary care doctors about psych meds that they’re likely not feeling equipped to prescribe anyway! We are creating a membership-based program where at a very nominal cost our clients can have unlimited access and connection points with their prescriber. If side effects pop up from the medication, they need to change the dosage, add or subtract something, etc. They’ll have a direct line to her for those adjustments. In addition, our prescriber will be a direct part of our treatment team and that makes collaboration between prescriber and therapist easier than ever which means a higher level of continuity of care and better outcomes for our clients. To me, that’s how we add medication management and also continue with the holistic mission that’s so important to us.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My advice to novice therapists or students who want to own a practice one day is to join one that already exists and really learn this aspect of the business and practice before going out on your own. Private practice therapy is so different from agency therapy and private practice therapy where the cost is 100% out of pocket is so different than insurance paid therapy. We are providing therapy at the absolute highest level and our clients are paying for every moment of our time which really ups the expectations and pressure. Make sure you’ve got years of experience under your belt and are ready!
Pricing:
- $100-130 for an individual session with a master’s level therapist
- $40-60 for an individual session with a graduate student intern counselor trainee
- $150-160 couples and family sessions
Contact Info:
