How Mental Health Intersects With Building A Values-Based Business With Alex Mufson

1 00:00:00,066 --> 00:00:05,138 If you have ever been considering possibly going to a residential center, 2 00:00:05,672 --> 00:00:08,775 maybe for yourself, maybe for your child, 3 00:00:09,142 --> 00:00:11,945 and let's say that you're just been struggling 4 00:00:12,045 --> 00:00:16,816 and maybe maybe your child has been going to intensive outpatient for a while. 5 00:00:16,816 --> 00:00:20,720 And it just doesn't seem to to work, doesn't seem to help. 6 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,091 And yet the thought of trying to go to a residential center, 7 00:00:25,592 --> 00:00:28,862 one, it's daunting to find one to do. 8 00:00:28,862 --> 00:00:30,864 You find one that's in your insurance. 9 00:00:31,531 --> 00:00:34,067 And three, when do you have the time? 10 00:00:34,067 --> 00:00:35,902 And there's so many obstacles. 11 00:00:35,902 --> 00:00:37,003 And so if you're a parent 12 00:00:37,003 --> 00:00:40,473 and maybe you've been trying to do your research on residential 13 00:00:40,740 --> 00:00:44,944 and you can't find anywhere, you're finally to the point where, 14 00:00:44,944 --> 00:00:48,548 yeah, I think we need to take my child to the residential center. 15 00:00:48,548 --> 00:00:50,784 But I don't know where. I don't know how. 16 00:00:50,784 --> 00:00:54,521 Or maybe maybe you have a child or a loved one 17 00:00:54,521 --> 00:00:59,192 that's currently in a residential center and they're getting ready to be released. 18 00:00:59,192 --> 00:01:00,660 And then what? 19 00:01:00,660 --> 00:01:06,566 Well, I have a very special guest that she is the founder and CEO of Aspen 20 00:01:06,566 --> 00:01:12,505 Growth Coaching and the title of this episode is How Mental Health Intersects 21 00:01:12,505 --> 00:01:17,310 with Building a Values based Business with Alex Mufson. 22 00:01:17,477 --> 00:01:22,015 And she is going to be talking about her company working with people 23 00:01:22,048 --> 00:01:23,383 who are either getting ready 24 00:01:23,383 --> 00:01:26,953 to go into residential or maybe need to go, but they don't know, 25 00:01:27,187 --> 00:01:31,758 maybe they should, maybe they shouldn't, or they work with people 26 00:01:31,758 --> 00:01:34,661 who are being released from a residential center. 27 00:01:35,128 --> 00:01:36,362 Coming right up. 28 00:01:36,362 --> 00:01:39,299 Oh, rebound day. 29 00:01:39,599 --> 00:01:41,868 Oh, things we cannot change. 30 00:01:42,102 --> 00:01:44,771 It's over the past weekend. 31 00:01:45,338 --> 00:01:46,840 Welcome to the Mental Health Today show. 32 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,742 My name is John Cordray and I'm a licensed therapist 33 00:01:49,742 --> 00:01:52,378 and I am the host of the Mental Health Today Show. 34 00:01:52,712 --> 00:01:55,381 And I'm so glad that you are here. Welcome. 35 00:01:55,815 --> 00:01:58,351 If you are new, I really appreciate you. 36 00:01:58,351 --> 00:02:00,420 Make sure you subscribe and follow the show. 37 00:02:00,420 --> 00:02:01,955 Will love to have you in. 38 00:02:01,955 --> 00:02:03,022 Some of you have been listening 39 00:02:03,022 --> 00:02:07,427 for a very long time and I never want to ignore you at all 40 00:02:07,660 --> 00:02:11,431 and want to thank you so much for being a part of the show for so long. 41 00:02:11,531 --> 00:02:13,666 Well, like I mentioned at the very beginning, 42 00:02:14,100 --> 00:02:17,103 I have a very special guest and I can't wait to talk about this 43 00:02:17,103 --> 00:02:20,573 because this is a huge issue for so many people. 44 00:02:21,007 --> 00:02:24,244 And that is what if you have been to treatment 45 00:02:24,444 --> 00:02:27,780 and it doesn't quite work And maybe 46 00:02:27,780 --> 00:02:31,618 the next step, the traditional next step might be residential. 47 00:02:31,618 --> 00:02:34,220 And then it's like, well, where do you go? Where do you start? 48 00:02:34,587 --> 00:02:37,223 And maybe some of you might have a loved one 49 00:02:37,223 --> 00:02:39,359 that's in a residential center right now 50 00:02:39,559 --> 00:02:41,661 and maybe they're getting ready to be released. 51 00:02:41,661 --> 00:02:45,932 And then you're wondering, oh my gosh, now what what are we going to do now? 52 00:02:46,232 --> 00:02:51,838 Well, Alex, she is a founder and CEO, like I mentioned, of Aspen Growth Counseling. 53 00:02:51,838 --> 00:02:56,009 And that's a company that really pushes the limits of mental health 54 00:02:56,009 --> 00:02:59,345 care and brings I love this brings 55 00:02:59,345 --> 00:03:02,348 the magic of residential treatment home. 56 00:03:02,649 --> 00:03:06,486 And she also supports already highly successful 57 00:03:06,486 --> 00:03:12,392 people who feel out of alignment and to radically reprioritize their lives 58 00:03:12,392 --> 00:03:17,897 and move forward with intention through private mindset Mentorship. 59 00:03:18,698 --> 00:03:22,235 Alex holds a bachelor's degree in a feminist studies 60 00:03:22,235 --> 00:03:27,207 and is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in clinical treatment, 61 00:03:27,674 --> 00:03:31,010 advocacy and coaching settings for 15 years, 62 00:03:31,644 --> 00:03:34,614 always pushing the limits of conventional treatment. 63 00:03:34,647 --> 00:03:39,586 Alex is known for encouraging her clients and her team to be curious 64 00:03:39,586 --> 00:03:42,655 and to look for insight and inspiration 65 00:03:42,889 --> 00:03:45,558 and unlikely places who I love that. 66 00:03:45,858 --> 00:03:47,660 Alex, welcome to the show. 67 00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:49,162 Thank you so much for having me. 68 00:03:49,162 --> 00:03:50,897 I'm so excited to talk to you today. 69 00:03:50,897 --> 00:03:54,634 Oh, I am too, because this is this is an issue. 70 00:03:54,634 --> 00:03:59,138 This is a big issue in we're going to be talking about residential treatment 71 00:03:59,539 --> 00:04:02,575 and maybe someone's listening to this. 72 00:04:02,575 --> 00:04:06,512 So maybe it's a maybe a parent that's listening to this 73 00:04:06,512 --> 00:04:08,881 and they have a child that it's really struggling 74 00:04:09,182 --> 00:04:12,652 and they're trying to decide maybe they they need to take their child 75 00:04:12,652 --> 00:04:14,821 to a treatment, a residential treatment center. 76 00:04:14,821 --> 00:04:16,022 But that's daunting. 77 00:04:16,022 --> 00:04:19,459 Or maybe it's maybe it's an adult that's listening to this. 78 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:22,795 And they are in residential 79 00:04:22,795 --> 00:04:26,232 or maybe recently released from a residential treatment center. 80 00:04:26,232 --> 00:04:28,568 And they're wondering what's next. 81 00:04:28,568 --> 00:04:32,472 Well, I'm really excited about this because your company, 82 00:04:32,472 --> 00:04:35,875 the Aspen Growth Coaching Company, that's exactly what you do. 83 00:04:35,875 --> 00:04:39,379 You help these individuals who are struggling either 84 00:04:39,379 --> 00:04:43,316 about whether they go into residential or when they're released from residential. 85 00:04:43,316 --> 00:04:46,052 And I would love to learn more about that. 86 00:04:46,286 --> 00:04:50,823 So first, let's start with your company and then I want to start with you, 87 00:04:51,257 --> 00:04:53,960 and I want you to tell me a little bit about who you are 88 00:04:54,127 --> 00:04:58,531 and how did you get involved with the the Aspen Growth coaching? 89 00:04:59,866 --> 00:05:01,234 Well, that's a big question. 90 00:05:01,234 --> 00:05:02,869 So I'm excited. 91 00:05:02,869 --> 00:05:05,571 So Aspen Growth Coaching I founded two years ago, 92 00:05:05,571 --> 00:05:07,974 and I think you hit the nail on the head when you said 93 00:05:08,641 --> 00:05:13,579 we're we're offering options to people who are either considering residential 94 00:05:13,579 --> 00:05:16,182 or maybe they don't even have residential on the table. 95 00:05:16,649 --> 00:05:20,720 Maybe they just know what's happening in the home isn't working. 96 00:05:21,054 --> 00:05:24,290 But we're really dedicated to keeping people in their communities 97 00:05:24,891 --> 00:05:27,493 and in their families, if at all possible. 98 00:05:27,860 --> 00:05:32,465 And then if they do need to enter a residential treatment center, great. 99 00:05:32,465 --> 00:05:34,500 There are wonderful interventions out there, 100 00:05:34,834 --> 00:05:36,669 but that should only happen once. 101 00:05:36,669 --> 00:05:42,542 So I spent the better part of a decade working in residential treatment. 102 00:05:42,542 --> 00:05:46,646 And what I noticed was there were some key things that really worked 103 00:05:46,946 --> 00:05:48,381 in these treatment centers. 104 00:05:48,381 --> 00:05:51,884 And it wasn't always that our in the office with the clinician, 105 00:05:52,318 --> 00:05:57,256 it was this magic of experiential learning and real time 106 00:05:57,256 --> 00:06:02,028 responsiveness and the deep relationships that are formed in a residential setting 107 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:06,032 that were taking people to the next level in their insight. 108 00:06:06,499 --> 00:06:09,902 And then when they left, they just didn't have that anymore. 109 00:06:09,902 --> 00:06:14,040 They're just walking into our traditional, you know, maybe once a week outpatient, 110 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,378 maybe a support group or, you know, an AA group or something like that. 111 00:06:18,578 --> 00:06:20,713 And it just wasn't translating. 112 00:06:20,713 --> 00:06:23,015 Their success that they found in residential wasn't 113 00:06:23,015 --> 00:06:25,051 translating to the home. 114 00:06:25,051 --> 00:06:28,621 And I also saw a lot of people, especially young people, entering 115 00:06:28,621 --> 00:06:30,523 long term residential treatment 116 00:06:30,523 --> 00:06:34,260 only because there weren't the right resources available for their community, 117 00:06:34,494 --> 00:06:38,664 but they were safe enough that they could have stayed in their community. 118 00:06:38,664 --> 00:06:42,602 So I spent a long time researching and working 119 00:06:42,602 --> 00:06:46,038 and I was an assistant clinical director at a treatment program 120 00:06:46,038 --> 00:06:50,810 for a long time and wondering, how can we capture this magic and 121 00:06:50,810 --> 00:06:54,647 how can we repurpose it and bring it home for people and ask for growth? 122 00:06:54,647 --> 00:06:57,049 Coaching is my answer to those questions. 123 00:06:58,050 --> 00:07:00,052 Well, I think that's really cool. 124 00:07:00,052 --> 00:07:03,523 I mean, a lot of this what you're going to be talking about 125 00:07:03,523 --> 00:07:07,660 comes from your experience of working in a residential 126 00:07:07,660 --> 00:07:12,932 and what better, better foundation for you because you've seen 127 00:07:12,932 --> 00:07:16,636 what it was like in the residential, you've seen things that worked well 128 00:07:16,936 --> 00:07:20,072 and things that didn't quite work well could have been better. 129 00:07:20,339 --> 00:07:25,912 And so now you're you're looking at this this opportunity to help people. 130 00:07:26,112 --> 00:07:28,347 Maybe what I love here's what I love. 131 00:07:28,848 --> 00:07:32,685 Not only do I love the fact that Aspen growth coaching helps 132 00:07:32,852 --> 00:07:37,423 people who who transition from a residential treatment center 133 00:07:37,490 --> 00:07:41,627 in trying to get them integrated back into their home and in their community. 134 00:07:42,128 --> 00:07:46,332 But what I also love is the fact that maybe, just maybe, 135 00:07:46,833 --> 00:07:51,604 someone is not maybe doesn't need to go to a residential treatment center, 136 00:07:52,171 --> 00:07:55,675 but the traditional method is maybe if someone goes to counseling 137 00:07:55,675 --> 00:07:59,579 and it gets worse, then they go into intensive outpatient 138 00:07:59,912 --> 00:08:02,682 and that doesn't seem to work. And maybe 139 00:08:02,682 --> 00:08:06,452 then they go into partial hospitalization and that doesn't really work. 140 00:08:06,452 --> 00:08:11,290 And the parents are at their wit's end and they don't know what to do. 141 00:08:11,290 --> 00:08:14,760 And usually the traditional method is, well, if all this doesn't work, 142 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,663 then the next step is residential treatment center. 143 00:08:18,331 --> 00:08:21,868 You just described so many of our clients perfectly. 144 00:08:22,535 --> 00:08:25,238 Yeah, but maybe that's not quite needed 145 00:08:25,238 --> 00:08:28,374 because there is there is a bridge there. 146 00:08:28,374 --> 00:08:31,143 There's a gap between the community. 147 00:08:31,577 --> 00:08:32,411 Do it. 148 00:08:32,411 --> 00:08:36,516 Everything, all the traditional methods maybe that are not working. 149 00:08:36,516 --> 00:08:41,354 And so the the thought is, well, if you're getting help at home 150 00:08:41,354 --> 00:08:45,224 and it's not getting any better, then you need to go live somewhere 151 00:08:45,224 --> 00:08:46,158 and go to a treatments 152 00:08:46,158 --> 00:08:49,996 or not that I'm saying anything wrong with residential treatment centers. 153 00:08:49,996 --> 00:08:52,164 There's a wonderful it's great service, 154 00:08:52,532 --> 00:08:56,002 but what I'm saying is there are some people who are not necessarily 155 00:08:56,335 --> 00:08:59,672 they don't need to go to a residential care system next step. 156 00:08:59,972 --> 00:09:03,075 And so I see Aspen growth coaching as that next step. 157 00:09:03,910 --> 00:09:04,310 Yeah. 158 00:09:04,310 --> 00:09:06,546 And I think it's not about saying 159 00:09:06,546 --> 00:09:09,982 are these things that we have done for a long time wrong. 160 00:09:10,149 --> 00:09:11,551 It's not a right or wrong. 161 00:09:11,551 --> 00:09:13,185 All of these can exist together. 162 00:09:13,185 --> 00:09:16,722 It's about asking new questions, what is working? 163 00:09:16,722 --> 00:09:20,092 And now that we have the level of technology available to us, 164 00:09:20,493 --> 00:09:23,195 can we reimagine how we provide 165 00:09:23,496 --> 00:09:26,532 the services that do work really well in residential? 166 00:09:26,732 --> 00:09:30,503 And so creating a dynamic treatment team, creating real time 167 00:09:30,503 --> 00:09:35,041 feedback, creating deep relationship is completely possible 168 00:09:35,308 --> 00:09:38,811 with the level of technology that we all just have in our phones. 169 00:09:38,811 --> 00:09:42,915 Now, that wasn't there 30 years ago when residential treatment 170 00:09:42,915 --> 00:09:46,619 became that much more of a part of our society. 171 00:09:46,953 --> 00:09:48,287 It just wasn't available. 172 00:09:48,287 --> 00:09:51,891 So again, this isn't about saying that's not good. 173 00:09:51,891 --> 00:09:54,060 It's about asking a whole new question. 174 00:09:54,427 --> 00:09:57,496 Are there things that we can do to get these same 175 00:09:57,496 --> 00:10:01,901 beautiful services to people in an entirely new framework? 176 00:10:01,901 --> 00:10:03,469 Oh, I love that. 177 00:10:03,469 --> 00:10:04,437 I love it. 178 00:10:04,437 --> 00:10:09,842 So, Alex, before we get deeper into what you do with at Aspen Growth 179 00:10:09,842 --> 00:10:14,180 Coaching, I want to learn a little bit about you and kind of your story. 180 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,884 Can you tell us a little back story of you and and maybe maybe going back 181 00:10:18,884 --> 00:10:23,789 to when you decided, you know, I want to pursue to become a therapist 182 00:10:23,923 --> 00:10:28,294 and then then how did you get involved in founding Aspen growth? 183 00:10:28,294 --> 00:10:30,896 Like when was that moment where you thought, hmm, 184 00:10:31,030 --> 00:10:33,165 you know what, I think I'm going to do this. 185 00:10:33,165 --> 00:10:34,266 That's a great question. 186 00:10:34,266 --> 00:10:36,669 So I always laugh 187 00:10:36,669 --> 00:10:40,473 when people ask me this question because the root seems very natural to me. 188 00:10:40,706 --> 00:10:43,275 But it doesn't necessarily seem natural on paper. 189 00:10:43,275 --> 00:10:47,046 So you mentioned I have a degree in feminist studies as an undergraduate. 190 00:10:47,046 --> 00:10:48,047 That's true. 191 00:10:48,047 --> 00:10:51,751 And I did what all feminist studies majors do, and I started a horse 192 00:10:51,751 --> 00:10:55,821 training business, which is not the typical path. 193 00:10:55,821 --> 00:11:00,693 And I, I really spent the better part 194 00:11:00,693 --> 00:11:05,364 of my twenties as an animal behaviorist, primarily horses, also dogs. 195 00:11:05,631 --> 00:11:10,236 And where this idea really came from actually stems 196 00:11:10,469 --> 00:11:12,905 all the way from that part of my life. 197 00:11:13,239 --> 00:11:17,843 And the reason is because I entered the animal behavior world. 198 00:11:18,310 --> 00:11:18,911 Really. 199 00:11:18,911 --> 00:11:20,246 I didn't have this language for it 200 00:11:20,246 --> 00:11:23,282 at the time, but very much from a systems perspective. 201 00:11:23,282 --> 00:11:26,519 The clinicians listening to this will understand what that means. 202 00:11:26,852 --> 00:11:31,724 And I was always sharing with people your horses coming 203 00:11:31,724 --> 00:11:34,794 with all these behaviors, but 204 00:11:35,361 --> 00:11:38,564 how are you influencing the relationship? 205 00:11:38,564 --> 00:11:41,400 So instead of centering the horse, which again, 206 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,904 to the clinicians in the room, the horse was the identified patient, 207 00:11:45,438 --> 00:11:48,174 and I said, I don't think so. 208 00:11:48,307 --> 00:11:51,143 Like, let's look at the system, let's look at you 209 00:11:51,310 --> 00:11:53,913 and let's see how the relationship is really 210 00:11:54,213 --> 00:11:57,450 creating the horse to express themselves in a certain way. 211 00:11:57,450 --> 00:12:03,289 So while I'm doing this, my clients who were amazing started saying, Oh, 212 00:12:03,856 --> 00:12:06,826 I think actually I'm bringing this to the table 213 00:12:06,992 --> 00:12:11,397 because frankly, when my horse is around you, all is well. 214 00:12:11,831 --> 00:12:14,200 But when they're around me, not so well, 215 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,336 The family therapist in the room will will be appreciating this. 216 00:12:17,636 --> 00:12:20,372 So they started asking me for 217 00:12:21,373 --> 00:12:23,375 I mean, they were basically asking me for therapy. 218 00:12:23,609 --> 00:12:27,012 And I said, you know, I'm your 24 year old horse trainer. 219 00:12:27,012 --> 00:12:30,382 I don't think that's appropriate that I provide those services. 220 00:12:30,783 --> 00:12:35,888 But when enough people asked, I started thinking to myself, okay, well, 221 00:12:36,422 --> 00:12:41,494 if your client keeps requesting a service, how should I pursue that? 222 00:12:41,494 --> 00:12:44,697 And this actually intersected with a time in my life in which 223 00:12:44,997 --> 00:12:49,969 I had a very mysterious brain disease, which sounds very dramatic. 224 00:12:49,969 --> 00:12:51,137 And it was rather dramatic. 225 00:12:51,137 --> 00:12:55,508 And I was having these random brain hemorrhages and I had no idea. 226 00:12:55,508 --> 00:12:56,275 I still don't know. 227 00:12:56,275 --> 00:12:59,145 I have I have more information now than I did then. 228 00:12:59,445 --> 00:13:02,782 But I was looking at my life and I was thinking, 229 00:13:03,048 --> 00:13:05,918 okay, how am I going to handle the fact that I'm having these 230 00:13:05,918 --> 00:13:11,023 very extreme experiences while also being a pretty extreme athlete at the time? 231 00:13:11,023 --> 00:13:13,759 So those things don't really work well together. 232 00:13:14,093 --> 00:13:19,498 And so I entered therapy myself when I was, I don't remember 24, 25, 233 00:13:19,865 --> 00:13:24,870 and that was so profoundly helpful to me 234 00:13:25,171 --> 00:13:28,674 in living with the fact that I had 235 00:13:29,475 --> 00:13:32,444 and have an undiagnosed brain disease 236 00:13:32,745 --> 00:13:37,850 that I was like, Wow, this therapy thing really, it really works. 237 00:13:38,017 --> 00:13:39,318 And I guess this thing 238 00:13:39,318 --> 00:13:42,988 that these people are asking me to do, if it can be that powerful in my life 239 00:13:43,289 --> 00:13:48,427 to really set me on the path to live with that kind of extreme 240 00:13:48,961 --> 00:13:52,531 unknown, I think we all don't know when we're going to die. 241 00:13:52,531 --> 00:13:54,166 We all don't know what's coming next. 242 00:13:54,166 --> 00:14:00,039 But not everyone is confronted with that in that very real and visceral way. 243 00:14:00,039 --> 00:14:01,841 And I think those that are listening 244 00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:06,078 who have understand what I'm saying when when death is very close 245 00:14:06,278 --> 00:14:09,815 and you realize that you have to live with that knowledge, that it's very close. 246 00:14:10,049 --> 00:14:13,619 So therapy was wildly impactful to me 247 00:14:13,886 --> 00:14:18,257 and being able to process that and make meaning of that. 248 00:14:18,991 --> 00:14:23,329 And so I started thinking to myself, This therapy thing is not that bad. 249 00:14:23,829 --> 00:14:26,465 And these people are asking me for this service. 250 00:14:26,465 --> 00:14:28,901 And I think they think I could be really good at it. 251 00:14:29,301 --> 00:14:33,372 So all of that to say I entered a master's in social work 252 00:14:33,873 --> 00:14:38,844 program and I pursued that and everyone knows you have to do 253 00:14:38,844 --> 00:14:41,947 field placements and practicum for these clinical degrees. And 254 00:14:43,148 --> 00:14:44,416 I live in 255 00:14:44,416 --> 00:14:47,887 pretty rural Montana, so there was not a lot of options 256 00:14:48,254 --> 00:14:51,957 and I stumbled upon a therapeutic boarding school, 257 00:14:51,957 --> 00:14:56,161 which is residential treatment and honestly, without any 258 00:14:56,462 --> 00:15:01,467 intentionality to it, it was simply near my house or close enough. 259 00:15:02,334 --> 00:15:05,404 I knocked on the door and asked for a field placement 260 00:15:05,738 --> 00:15:08,974 and in the process I ended up 261 00:15:09,808 --> 00:15:12,578 developing an animal centered therapy program 262 00:15:12,578 --> 00:15:17,216 that built on my my animal experience and my new found clinical experience. 263 00:15:17,216 --> 00:15:21,654 I progressed up the ranks and I spent some time as an assistant clinical director. 264 00:15:21,921 --> 00:15:27,426 And all of that coalesced with my own story that I've mentioned of, 265 00:15:27,426 --> 00:15:31,163 you know, really undoing my whole life 266 00:15:31,163 --> 00:15:34,833 to try to find meaning and make sense 267 00:15:34,833 --> 00:15:38,437 of the very real and extreme chronic illness that I was living with. 268 00:15:38,437 --> 00:15:42,274 So all of that worked together to inform me 269 00:15:42,274 --> 00:15:46,512 that there is some magic out there that isn't being captured 270 00:15:46,512 --> 00:15:48,113 in our mental health community. 271 00:15:48,113 --> 00:15:53,852 And I think that there are places that are very clear disruptors. 272 00:15:53,852 --> 00:15:56,922 And so Aspen Growth coaching was born. 273 00:15:57,222 --> 00:16:00,726 I obviously had started an animal behavior business 274 00:16:00,726 --> 00:16:03,062 in my twenties, so it's comfortable with that. 275 00:16:03,062 --> 00:16:06,865 I like to joke my first business was when I was three years old, 276 00:16:06,865 --> 00:16:11,236 I announced to my mom that I was the CEO of a company in South America. 277 00:16:11,236 --> 00:16:14,707 I had an assistant and our product was that 278 00:16:14,707 --> 00:16:17,409 we had the last remaining wooly mammoth. 279 00:16:17,943 --> 00:16:19,511 Some people have an imaginary friend. 280 00:16:19,511 --> 00:16:22,014 I had an imaginary company and wooly mammoth. 281 00:16:22,381 --> 00:16:25,017 And so I always say like, well, Aspen growth 282 00:16:25,017 --> 00:16:28,020 coaching is not my first or second company. 283 00:16:28,420 --> 00:16:31,123 And then growing up, I had some very small 284 00:16:31,357 --> 00:16:34,960 and real businesses that did not involve wooly mammoths. 285 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:39,164 And so entrepreneurship is something that clearly I've been interested in 286 00:16:39,164 --> 00:16:42,668 since I was three and did not know the word entrepreneurship. 287 00:16:42,968 --> 00:16:46,638 And so now I'm just loving having this beautiful business 288 00:16:46,638 --> 00:16:51,477 where I get to work with, frankly, outstanding providers 289 00:16:51,777 --> 00:16:55,881 and explore this intersection of how does entrepreneurship 290 00:16:56,181 --> 00:17:00,085 live with values based business and really support 291 00:17:00,085 --> 00:17:03,789 a changing tied in in mental health and our mental health community. 292 00:17:03,822 --> 00:17:07,026 So it's honestly just a privilege to be along for this ride. 293 00:17:07,026 --> 00:17:08,927 I love it so much. 294 00:17:08,927 --> 00:17:13,332 Well, I like how you just mentioned that you're along for the ride 295 00:17:14,366 --> 00:17:16,135 and, you know, that's 296 00:17:16,135 --> 00:17:19,772 usually what happens when things develop 297 00:17:19,772 --> 00:17:23,842 organically in what you just mentioned was very organic. 298 00:17:23,842 --> 00:17:27,413 My who in the world would have thought that when you went and knocked on the door 299 00:17:27,746 --> 00:17:30,849 of the residential center, fast forward years later 300 00:17:30,849 --> 00:17:34,319 that you would be the founder and CEO of your own coaching business. 301 00:17:34,686 --> 00:17:36,789 You know, I actually do. 302 00:17:36,789 --> 00:17:39,691 I would be the founder and CEO of another business 303 00:17:39,691 --> 00:17:42,294 because I was leaving my animal behavior business 304 00:17:42,594 --> 00:17:46,265 and I was very intentional about learning along the way 305 00:17:46,832 --> 00:17:51,670 that that little kid who owned a wooly mammoth was never far from my heart. 306 00:17:52,004 --> 00:17:56,008 So I think, you know, when you say that, I'm like, I actually did know 307 00:17:56,241 --> 00:17:59,078 that I would have another company and I actually know that I will 308 00:17:59,078 --> 00:18:03,782 probably have more because I love building values based businesses. 309 00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:06,185 I didn't know what it was going to be. 310 00:18:06,185 --> 00:18:11,323 And I think that one of the beautiful lessons of all of this 311 00:18:11,323 --> 00:18:16,862 and really stemming from chronic illness is that we get to assign 312 00:18:17,229 --> 00:18:22,534 meaning to things that happen in our life and they don't have to just happen to us. 313 00:18:22,534 --> 00:18:24,169 So obviously 314 00:18:24,169 --> 00:18:28,006 a lot of that story that I just told you frankly was painful and unpleasant. 315 00:18:28,474 --> 00:18:32,010 And I learned through 316 00:18:32,010 --> 00:18:36,482 my own process that I get to attach whatever meaning I want to. 317 00:18:36,482 --> 00:18:38,650 It now doesn't mean that it didn't suck. 318 00:18:39,084 --> 00:18:41,753 It just means that how I move forward with it 319 00:18:41,753 --> 00:18:46,291 so, you know, me sitting here on this podcast is part of attaching that meaning. 320 00:18:46,291 --> 00:18:49,228 I would never have had all of this opportunity 321 00:18:49,461 --> 00:18:53,098 to have exactly this business and be exactly this person 322 00:18:53,398 --> 00:18:57,102 without both the highs and the lows that happened in that story. 323 00:18:57,569 --> 00:18:58,904 Well, and that is so true. 324 00:18:58,904 --> 00:19:03,575 And, you know, the fact that you are struggling with with really 325 00:19:03,942 --> 00:19:08,580 a lot of unknowns, didn't you mention that it's an undiagnosed brain disease? 326 00:19:09,448 --> 00:19:12,451 So, yes, I've had a number of brain hemorrhages. 327 00:19:12,451 --> 00:19:18,323 I also about 13 years into the process of searching for some answers, 328 00:19:18,323 --> 00:19:21,994 I was diagnosed with advanced stage endometriosis. 329 00:19:21,994 --> 00:19:24,997 And I do take every opportunity I can to talk about that 330 00:19:25,297 --> 00:19:30,002 because I do think, though they don't exactly know how that kind of unmanaged 331 00:19:30,302 --> 00:19:34,706 advanced stage disease is likely what contributes to the brain episodes. 332 00:19:35,007 --> 00:19:38,210 And for anyone who doesn't know, one in 333 00:19:38,277 --> 00:19:42,247 the estimates are between one in eight and one in ten people who are assigned 334 00:19:42,247 --> 00:19:46,051 female at birth have endometriosis and it takes an average of 335 00:19:46,652 --> 00:19:49,588 in the United States approximately ten years to receive 336 00:19:49,588 --> 00:19:53,792 an accurate diagnosis and often much longer to get treatment. 337 00:19:53,792 --> 00:19:57,863 And that is a product of a lot of systems 338 00:19:58,096 --> 00:20:01,066 of oppression that intersect with our medical community. 339 00:20:01,066 --> 00:20:05,370 And I do know for sure that I have that now. 340 00:20:05,370 --> 00:20:09,274 I'm three surgeries in and probably I know I have another in January 341 00:20:09,675 --> 00:20:12,844 and it's so important because the more I speak out about this, 342 00:20:13,178 --> 00:20:15,681 the more people come to me and ask questions. 343 00:20:15,681 --> 00:20:20,052 And I've actually helped now dozens of people get accurate 344 00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:25,657 diagnostic tics and accurate surgeries just from me being public about it. 345 00:20:25,657 --> 00:20:28,360 Like, that's not my job, that's not what my company does. 346 00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:32,998 But I just talk about it really openly and how the medical community didn't 347 00:20:33,232 --> 00:20:35,400 serve me for all of those years. 348 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,371 And it it led to a lot of damage to my body. 349 00:20:39,371 --> 00:20:43,809 And so talking about that man, the stories that people bring to me are incredible. 350 00:20:43,809 --> 00:20:47,012 And honestly, a little bit on repeat because I hear the same sort 351 00:20:47,012 --> 00:20:50,215 of medical gaslighting happening over and over. 352 00:20:50,215 --> 00:20:52,050 And so if anyone's listening to this 353 00:20:52,050 --> 00:20:54,920 and you have a lot of pain and people are telling you 354 00:20:55,220 --> 00:20:59,691 that it's not real or that you're crazy or it's part of being assigned 355 00:20:59,725 --> 00:21:03,962 female at birth, it's not, I believe you and you're welcome to reach out. 356 00:21:04,129 --> 00:21:06,131 And there are resources out there that can help you. 357 00:21:07,432 --> 00:21:07,733 There you 358 00:21:07,733 --> 00:21:10,435 are writing that wave again, not a ride away. 359 00:21:11,003 --> 00:21:12,904 I'm on it, so I might as well write it. 360 00:21:12,904 --> 00:21:14,072 Right? Exactly. 361 00:21:14,072 --> 00:21:15,974 And you didn't sign up for it? 362 00:21:15,974 --> 00:21:18,810 No, but I mean, we're all a product 363 00:21:18,810 --> 00:21:21,546 of our intersecting privileges 364 00:21:21,847 --> 00:21:25,651 and systems of oppression and disadvantages. 365 00:21:25,651 --> 00:21:28,920 And I was born with a lot of privilege 366 00:21:29,121 --> 00:21:32,724 and though I also have challenges in my life, 367 00:21:33,091 --> 00:21:37,896 part of my mission to share that privilege that I do have is by speaking out 368 00:21:37,896 --> 00:21:41,033 on all of these issues and creating a company 369 00:21:41,366 --> 00:21:45,070 that is not only great for our clients, but really can set a model 370 00:21:45,070 --> 00:21:49,675 for how employees can be treated and how we can 371 00:21:49,675 --> 00:21:53,712 sort of question the status quo of capitalism in our companies. 372 00:21:53,712 --> 00:21:56,748 Because really, capitalism can be great 373 00:21:56,748 --> 00:22:00,552 if we're assigning value to really beautiful 374 00:22:00,552 --> 00:22:04,823 things like mental health care and your quality of life for employees. 375 00:22:04,823 --> 00:22:08,460 And so all of this intersects for me in a way that I'm just 376 00:22:08,460 --> 00:22:11,196 grateful to have platforms like this to share that privilege. 377 00:22:11,863 --> 00:22:12,731 Well, that's excellent. 378 00:22:12,731 --> 00:22:17,469 And I love the fact that you are open with your struggles in a way 379 00:22:17,469 --> 00:22:21,106 because I think that's a great example for others to follow. 380 00:22:21,106 --> 00:22:23,508 You're not hiding it. You're not hiding behind it. 381 00:22:23,975 --> 00:22:25,544 You know, you're moving forward. 382 00:22:25,544 --> 00:22:28,180 You're doing some amazing things. 383 00:22:28,180 --> 00:22:31,183 And I think that is just a great example. 384 00:22:31,216 --> 00:22:33,552 So I hope I hope people will reach out to you 385 00:22:33,852 --> 00:22:35,554 if they're struggling with that. 386 00:22:35,554 --> 00:22:37,823 I think I think it's one of those 387 00:22:38,256 --> 00:22:40,892 it's one of those places where you get to define the meaning. 388 00:22:40,892 --> 00:22:46,898 And, you know, I, I as we all have, I've had struggles and crazy things happen 389 00:22:47,299 --> 00:22:52,104 since that very first brain hemorrhage when I was like 24 or something. 390 00:22:52,371 --> 00:22:55,440 And I have remembers to think moments 391 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,910 where I've been able to sit back and say, you know what? 392 00:22:58,910 --> 00:23:02,347 If I can assign meaning to something like that 393 00:23:02,781 --> 00:23:05,751 and really, truly believe that it is one of the best things 394 00:23:05,751 --> 00:23:08,653 that has ever happened to me, because I wouldn't be 395 00:23:08,887 --> 00:23:13,191 I wouldn't be the CEO of Aspen Growth Coaching and know the incredible people 396 00:23:13,191 --> 00:23:17,229 that I know and have amazing team like I do, for instance. 397 00:23:17,229 --> 00:23:18,797 That's just one of the blessings. 398 00:23:18,797 --> 00:23:22,934 Had I not had that experience or have that experience of chronic illness. 399 00:23:22,934 --> 00:23:27,572 So because I can see that, trust me, it doesn't make the pain any less. 400 00:23:27,572 --> 00:23:32,310 The physical pain is still there, but it certainly makes it easier 401 00:23:32,310 --> 00:23:36,782 to live with and and move forward with. 402 00:23:36,782 --> 00:23:40,152 And so I have been very grateful for that. 403 00:23:40,318 --> 00:23:44,022 And I acknowledge that a lot of privilege goes into being able 404 00:23:44,022 --> 00:23:47,692 to even have the time and space to do therapy 405 00:23:47,959 --> 00:23:51,930 and think about these things in the way that I'm thinking of them. 406 00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:54,065 So it's all an intersection, right? 407 00:23:54,065 --> 00:23:56,735 And we're just trying to pass it forward a little bit. 408 00:23:57,135 --> 00:23:58,503 Yeah, I love that. 409 00:23:58,503 --> 00:24:04,342 Now, you mentioned you mentioned the values based business and some people 410 00:24:04,676 --> 00:24:08,313 that are listening to this may not know exactly what does that mean? 411 00:24:08,647 --> 00:24:10,782 Can you explain that a little bit for us? 412 00:24:10,782 --> 00:24:11,950 Awesome question. 413 00:24:11,950 --> 00:24:14,553 You know, I think I think a lot of the time 414 00:24:14,553 --> 00:24:19,024 when we think about businesses, we think about profit margins, right? 415 00:24:19,024 --> 00:24:21,593 Like that's kind of a business makes money. 416 00:24:22,060 --> 00:24:25,564 And I, I do try to make money in my business 417 00:24:25,564 --> 00:24:29,067 and we do actually have extremely high profit margins. 418 00:24:29,067 --> 00:24:30,268 And I'm very public with that 419 00:24:30,268 --> 00:24:34,706 because I don't think those profit margins are an accident. 420 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:39,377 Values based business means that everything from the the product. 421 00:24:39,544 --> 00:24:43,248 So for us, it's, you know, remote coaching 422 00:24:43,248 --> 00:24:47,385 and, you know, dynamic treatment teams, that's our product. 423 00:24:47,552 --> 00:24:50,455 But going into delivering that product, 424 00:24:50,455 --> 00:24:54,693 we have to have both values in the deliverable 425 00:24:54,993 --> 00:24:59,564 and how the team experiences working in the business. 426 00:24:59,564 --> 00:25:04,202 So my contracts are incredibly 427 00:25:04,803 --> 00:25:09,541 thought out to the point where it's it's, it's as empowering for the person 428 00:25:09,541 --> 00:25:15,514 signing the contract as an employee as it is to the business, to the choices 429 00:25:15,514 --> 00:25:19,951 as to who we work with and how we work to our pricing. 430 00:25:20,552 --> 00:25:23,355 And, you know, we are certainly not by any means 431 00:25:23,355 --> 00:25:27,425 we're not cheap because we are niche services, but 432 00:25:28,426 --> 00:25:29,995 in comparison to a lot 433 00:25:29,995 --> 00:25:33,598 of our competitors, we're incredibly affordable 434 00:25:33,832 --> 00:25:38,336 and so finding all of these moments where you can make choices 435 00:25:38,336 --> 00:25:41,873 that aren't just about profit margins but are about people, 436 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:47,946 I believe that if you prioritize people and you prioritize your values, 437 00:25:47,946 --> 00:25:51,449 and in this case, one of our main values is is service. 438 00:25:51,750 --> 00:25:54,452 And really that is not just service 439 00:25:54,452 --> 00:25:57,489 to our clients, but service to everyone we interact with. 440 00:25:57,822 --> 00:26:01,893 When we when we lead with this, I think we really escape 441 00:26:01,893 --> 00:26:06,464 a lot of competition that people find in business building 442 00:26:06,464 --> 00:26:11,603 because they're so focused on am I better than, am I better than my competitors? 443 00:26:11,603 --> 00:26:13,672 And I'm making more money than our competitors. 444 00:26:13,672 --> 00:26:18,076 And instead of doing that, just really saying like, look, this is 445 00:26:18,076 --> 00:26:20,946 these are our values and being super authentic 446 00:26:21,246 --> 00:26:22,948 and how you present that even 447 00:26:22,948 --> 00:26:26,518 in those moments where it's easy to get caught up in just comparison, 448 00:26:26,785 --> 00:26:30,622 but instead lead with values, lead with values, lead with values. 449 00:26:31,089 --> 00:26:35,093 I think you escape a lot of competition because we're not competing. 450 00:26:35,093 --> 00:26:39,798 We do something that I think is unique, both because of the service 451 00:26:39,798 --> 00:26:43,668 and because of the the love behind it, right? 452 00:26:43,668 --> 00:26:47,672 Like if we're like completely driven by this connection 453 00:26:48,039 --> 00:26:53,511 and these values, even if someone offered exactly the same service, 454 00:26:53,511 --> 00:26:58,383 it wouldn't feel the same, and therefore it wouldn't even be competition. 455 00:26:58,383 --> 00:27:00,452 It would just be another option. 456 00:27:00,452 --> 00:27:03,588 So values based business is really moving away 457 00:27:03,588 --> 00:27:07,859 from the idea that, you know, company and businesses. 458 00:27:07,859 --> 00:27:11,930 KING And into the idea that the people 459 00:27:11,930 --> 00:27:16,334 every everyone from the client all the way to, 460 00:27:16,668 --> 00:27:19,871 you know, the assistant who is not ever going to meet 461 00:27:19,871 --> 00:27:25,610 a client is important and that we're modeling our values every step of the way. 462 00:27:26,211 --> 00:27:28,346 How I love that. I absolutely love that. 463 00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:32,283 So what you're you just said the values based business 464 00:27:32,283 --> 00:27:36,354 that Aspen growth coaching values is 465 00:27:36,621 --> 00:27:40,291 everybody is worth worthy in has value 466 00:27:40,692 --> 00:27:43,361 from the client to the assistant. 467 00:27:43,361 --> 00:27:47,599 I would say our team has so much autonomy 468 00:27:47,799 --> 00:27:51,469 in their day, in their practice, in, 469 00:27:51,569 --> 00:27:55,240 you know, where they're where they're spending their time. 470 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,610 An example is so our employees 471 00:27:58,910 --> 00:28:04,149 that are clinical or coaching specialties, so sobriety coaches 472 00:28:04,149 --> 00:28:08,553 all the way to clinical coaches, they they have a full time job. 473 00:28:08,620 --> 00:28:13,391 But that full time job has a lot of flexibility within it. 474 00:28:13,525 --> 00:28:17,896 They work no more than 20 client facing hours, which a lot of our patient 475 00:28:17,896 --> 00:28:22,567 therapists are seeing 35 clients a week or more. 476 00:28:22,567 --> 00:28:25,103 So we cap clinical facing hours at 20. 477 00:28:25,103 --> 00:28:28,740 So then everyone's like, well, what is the rest of the full time job? 478 00:28:29,340 --> 00:28:32,277 First of all, I don't care if you're working 40 hours like 479 00:28:32,277 --> 00:28:36,948 this isn't about, you know, the old labor union, you know, 40 hour limit. 480 00:28:37,449 --> 00:28:42,520 Instead, we set quarterly growth goals that are both your personal growth goals 481 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,423 and how you're growing the company and it's outcomes driven. 482 00:28:45,690 --> 00:28:49,561 And so this is just one of those changes where if someone 483 00:28:49,561 --> 00:28:54,999 wants to do their sessions, you know, 20 hours could be spread in, say, three days, 484 00:28:54,999 --> 00:28:59,671 and then they need to take a few days off because they got to go handle something. 485 00:28:59,671 --> 00:29:03,308 But then their their quarterly growth goal is going to be fine 486 00:29:03,541 --> 00:29:07,712 because you have the whole quarter to work on it like great goal of your life. 487 00:29:07,712 --> 00:29:10,582 Like don't be just chained to a schedule. 488 00:29:10,782 --> 00:29:14,018 We have an unlimited PTO policy, which I know a lot of companies 489 00:29:14,385 --> 00:29:17,756 are working with now in that it involves 490 00:29:17,756 --> 00:29:20,792 the whole team stepping up and supporting each other. 491 00:29:20,792 --> 00:29:24,562 And I hire in a way that I trust the people that I hire. 492 00:29:24,763 --> 00:29:29,968 And I actually think the harder thing is to get people to take PTO at my company. 493 00:29:30,268 --> 00:29:33,438 Then to turn them to say, Hey, hey, you've, 494 00:29:33,705 --> 00:29:37,942 you've gone overboard on this unlimited PTO because everyone loves 495 00:29:38,143 --> 00:29:42,213 what they're doing and feels so motivated and inspired that I'm like, 496 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,984 Hey, I appreciate that, but you got to take some time off. 497 00:29:46,317 --> 00:29:47,952 You got to take care of yourself. 498 00:29:47,952 --> 00:29:52,223 And and I'm regularly we use an app to do our clinical consult 499 00:29:52,223 --> 00:29:54,592 because I'm all about not having meetings. 500 00:29:54,592 --> 00:29:55,894 If you don't need to have meetings 501 00:29:55,894 --> 00:29:59,164 and I'm more likely to have to say like, Hey guys, turn the app off. 502 00:29:59,564 --> 00:30:01,666 Like, I hear you. 503 00:30:01,666 --> 00:30:03,334 I'm on this app too. 504 00:30:03,334 --> 00:30:06,037 And like, tell them they have to stop consulting. 505 00:30:06,271 --> 00:30:09,674 Then I am encouraging people and that's just because everyone's 506 00:30:09,908 --> 00:30:12,410 getting to do what they feel they're great at. 507 00:30:12,677 --> 00:30:16,281 And when you feel like you're great at doing something, you want to do it. 508 00:30:16,714 --> 00:30:18,750 And that is at the core. 509 00:30:19,050 --> 00:30:22,320 What is modeling healthy engagement to the families that we work with? 510 00:30:23,154 --> 00:30:25,790 I love it because when you take care of your employees, 511 00:30:26,424 --> 00:30:29,928 your employees are going to take care of the families and the clients. 512 00:30:29,928 --> 00:30:31,963 Of course, how could we expect 513 00:30:32,297 --> 00:30:35,667 how could we expect to heal family systems if ours is broken? 514 00:30:35,767 --> 00:30:37,769 Yeah, I love it. Love it. 515 00:30:37,769 --> 00:30:41,806 So, okay, let's do a kind of a recap here, because our time is 516 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,541 I mean, I can't keep talking forever. 517 00:30:43,541 --> 00:30:46,811 I know this is fun, but let's do a little bit of recap. 518 00:30:47,111 --> 00:30:52,317 So Aspen Growth coaching, it's really to help on the client side, 519 00:30:52,851 --> 00:30:57,889 whether it's families, because what's the age range that you start with? 520 00:30:58,389 --> 00:30:59,424 It's a great question. 521 00:30:59,424 --> 00:31:02,093 And again, we go back to that horse thing. 522 00:31:02,093 --> 00:31:06,698 The identified patient is often the young person in a family system 523 00:31:06,698 --> 00:31:11,736 that doesn't end up being our only client, nor is it always our longest client. 524 00:31:11,736 --> 00:31:15,440 We love it if the young person launches and doesn't need us anymore. 525 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,344 But perhaps the parents want support in managing that launch. 526 00:31:19,344 --> 00:31:20,478 That's that's great. 527 00:31:20,478 --> 00:31:23,047 It doesn't have to be because you call this about your 15 year 528 00:31:23,047 --> 00:31:26,417 old that only the 15 year old is receiving services. 529 00:31:26,417 --> 00:31:29,954 In fact, it shouldn't be so we are fully remote. 530 00:31:29,954 --> 00:31:33,925 So under 12 years old gets a little bit tricky 531 00:31:33,925 --> 00:31:38,062 as far as being fair to them that it is not an in-person. 532 00:31:38,062 --> 00:31:40,465 We can't offer that sort of tactile experience. 533 00:31:40,965 --> 00:31:45,803 And, you know, if someone is 19 and not in a developmental place where 534 00:31:45,803 --> 00:31:49,807 they're able to utilize remote services that also wouldn't be appropriate. 535 00:31:50,174 --> 00:31:53,177 As far as the older end, the sky's the limit. 536 00:31:53,177 --> 00:31:56,948 Anyone who wants to participate, we have, you know, a few 537 00:31:57,215 --> 00:32:00,752 signature packages, but the full circle involves 538 00:32:00,752 --> 00:32:03,621 that whole dynamic treatment team effect where we're 539 00:32:03,655 --> 00:32:06,758 we're treating the whole family, not just the individual. 540 00:32:06,758 --> 00:32:11,162 And then we have some parent intensives and an independence accelerator for 541 00:32:11,429 --> 00:32:14,832 the young person who's trying to launch and just needs a little extra support. 542 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,937 And then from there, people often stay with us for 543 00:32:19,938 --> 00:32:21,472 years because we are fully remote. 544 00:32:21,472 --> 00:32:24,842 You can move, you can go to college and we can grow and ebb 545 00:32:24,842 --> 00:32:28,646 and flow our services with you well, and you bring up a good point. 546 00:32:28,646 --> 00:32:31,616 You're remote and you're also coaches. 547 00:32:31,616 --> 00:32:36,988 So so the coaches, even though they may be clinically trained, 548 00:32:37,422 --> 00:32:40,158 they're not necessarily state licensed, 549 00:32:40,325 --> 00:32:44,028 which then they're not bound to that particular state. 550 00:32:44,095 --> 00:32:44,629 So that. Right. Yeah. 551 00:32:44,629 --> 00:32:49,834 So most of our coaches have some sort of clinical masters. 552 00:32:49,834 --> 00:32:50,868 Not all of them 553 00:32:50,868 --> 00:32:54,505 have chosen to pursue licensure, though some at some point in their career have. 554 00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:00,144 Our chief clinical officer is actually pursuing a side right now. 555 00:33:00,144 --> 00:33:01,746 So pretty advanced level. 556 00:33:01,746 --> 00:33:06,150 We also have some nonclinical professionals such as sobriety coaches. 557 00:33:06,150 --> 00:33:09,220 We have ADHD skills coach, you know, that kind of thing. 558 00:33:09,587 --> 00:33:12,991 And there's a reason why we don't we don't only value, 559 00:33:13,291 --> 00:33:15,460 you know, traditional clinical knowledge. 560 00:33:15,493 --> 00:33:18,463 The other thing that is distinct is, like I said, 561 00:33:18,463 --> 00:33:21,799 our mission is to get people back to life and in their communities. 562 00:33:21,799 --> 00:33:23,968 So we are very forward focused. 563 00:33:23,968 --> 00:33:29,207 So all we can do and do do quite a bit of, you know, trauma support 564 00:33:29,207 --> 00:33:32,810 and trauma informed work and that the stuff that you would often 565 00:33:32,810 --> 00:33:37,382 see in the office that's very available to our team and I'm glad that we have 566 00:33:37,382 --> 00:33:43,154 that skill set, but we're always keeping an eye on how to get back to life, 567 00:33:43,621 --> 00:33:48,893 get active, turn that insight into action so that we're not just processing 568 00:33:49,260 --> 00:33:53,831 and, you know, staying in one place clinically over and over and over. 569 00:33:53,831 --> 00:33:55,366 Instead, we're like, cool, 570 00:33:55,366 --> 00:33:57,402 how are we going to apply that to getting back to life? 571 00:33:57,402 --> 00:34:00,571 We're very forward focused, and that's a big reason 572 00:34:00,571 --> 00:34:03,941 why a lot of these people who have been trained as clinicians 573 00:34:04,275 --> 00:34:08,713 choose to join this team is because they really like that action orient 574 00:34:09,013 --> 00:34:12,417 and to say, okay, let's get back to life, let's do this. 575 00:34:13,284 --> 00:34:15,787 Yeah. So that's really cool. 576 00:34:15,787 --> 00:34:17,355 So does that mean then? 577 00:34:17,355 --> 00:34:20,391 Okay, so anybody that's in the U.S. 578 00:34:20,391 --> 00:34:22,794 can take advantage of this that they if they need to. 579 00:34:22,827 --> 00:34:24,362 We've actually had international. 580 00:34:24,362 --> 00:34:27,465 Wow. So what you're saying is you're global. 581 00:34:27,465 --> 00:34:31,536 So if someone because this podcast reaches all over the world as well people listen 582 00:34:31,569 --> 00:34:32,670 all of the world. 583 00:34:32,670 --> 00:34:36,674 So if someone is in a different part of the world, not just the country 584 00:34:36,674 --> 00:34:39,377 but the world, you have a young person in Scotland right now. 585 00:34:39,377 --> 00:34:42,213 We've had people in the UK, we've had people in Tokyo. 586 00:34:42,914 --> 00:34:44,549 Our only constraint is time zones. 587 00:34:44,549 --> 00:34:47,285 So if we can make it work, we make it work nice. 588 00:34:47,285 --> 00:34:48,186 That's great. 589 00:34:48,186 --> 00:34:50,521 So then really quickly. 590 00:34:50,521 --> 00:34:51,989 So that's the client side. 591 00:34:51,989 --> 00:34:55,393 So if a young adult or an adult 592 00:34:55,726 --> 00:34:58,729 or a parent is curious about, well, maybe, 593 00:34:59,030 --> 00:35:03,501 maybe my child or my loved one, maybe they don't need to go 594 00:35:03,501 --> 00:35:06,971 to a residential, but they need something, they need to reach out to you, 595 00:35:07,271 --> 00:35:10,341 what would be the best way for them to reach out to you? 596 00:35:10,942 --> 00:35:14,912 We have a website w ww dot aspen growth coach income 597 00:35:15,046 --> 00:35:17,215 and there is both a contact form 598 00:35:17,215 --> 00:35:21,119 and a really brief application that just lets us get to know you. 599 00:35:21,119 --> 00:35:24,722 And then you'll speak with either me or our admissions team 600 00:35:24,856 --> 00:35:28,326 to get to know you a little better and then we can put together a team for you. 601 00:35:28,860 --> 00:35:29,527 Oh, that's awesome. 602 00:35:29,527 --> 00:35:31,729 Very quick, very simple. 603 00:35:31,729 --> 00:35:33,698 This go to the website. Even. 604 00:35:33,698 --> 00:35:36,734 I would imagine you're okay if a parent has questions 605 00:35:36,734 --> 00:35:39,570 and maybe they don't know if this is right for them. 606 00:35:39,937 --> 00:35:40,738 We'd love that. 607 00:35:40,738 --> 00:35:43,774 We spend a lot of time doing some education because, you know, 608 00:35:43,774 --> 00:35:47,712 there are times where the answer is yes, you do need a residential stay. 609 00:35:47,712 --> 00:35:51,782 Remember, it's not about saying that one thing is better than another. 610 00:35:51,782 --> 00:35:54,418 It's making sure that people are getting the services that they need. 611 00:35:54,418 --> 00:35:59,557 And so if we spend time with a family and realize that, in fact it would be 612 00:36:00,224 --> 00:36:03,861 safer for them to be in a residential treatment center, 613 00:36:03,861 --> 00:36:07,031 we are absolutely going to support them to find the resources 614 00:36:07,031 --> 00:36:10,334 they need to choose that and explain how we differ. 615 00:36:10,334 --> 00:36:15,239 Usually that is because there's a need for a safe container 616 00:36:15,740 --> 00:36:18,342 that the household cannot accommodate. 617 00:36:18,743 --> 00:36:19,810 Nice. 618 00:36:19,844 --> 00:36:24,415 And then, okay, so they reach out to you, ask questions. 619 00:36:24,415 --> 00:36:27,451 You or somebody on your team will be happy to talk with them. 620 00:36:27,785 --> 00:36:31,522 So that's the client side, the provider side, the coaching side. 621 00:36:31,923 --> 00:36:36,360 If someone is a professional right now and they're interested 622 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,698 in working for Aspen in growth coaching, do they go to the same website? 623 00:36:40,698 --> 00:36:43,601 Is that kind of the same similar is there a place on there for them 624 00:36:43,801 --> 00:36:47,004 to look into possibly applying? 625 00:36:47,538 --> 00:36:50,908 Yeah, so they can just utilize our contact form there. 626 00:36:51,142 --> 00:36:54,579 We love having letters that explain 627 00:36:54,579 --> 00:36:58,316 why you're drawn because we're so mission and values 628 00:36:58,316 --> 00:37:02,253 oriented that we want everybody on the team to feel that way. 629 00:37:02,253 --> 00:37:06,424 So yeah, a cover letter or a resume, it can come straight to me, which is just 630 00:37:06,757 --> 00:37:10,194 Alex at Aspen Growth Coaching or our business team 631 00:37:10,194 --> 00:37:13,898 admissions at Aspen Growth Coaching and it'll get to the right people. 632 00:37:14,298 --> 00:37:16,400 Nice. I love the personal touch. 633 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,002 Yeah, of course. 634 00:37:18,002 --> 00:37:19,804 So, Alex, that's great. 635 00:37:19,804 --> 00:37:20,871 This is amazing. 636 00:37:20,871 --> 00:37:23,841 It's very personal approach and I love that. 637 00:37:23,941 --> 00:37:28,145 And not only for the client side, but for the provider side too. 638 00:37:28,179 --> 00:37:29,013 That's really cool. 639 00:37:29,013 --> 00:37:33,618 So one of the things that I like to ask all of my guest 640 00:37:34,352 --> 00:37:39,423 and I talk a lot about self-care and it's so important that 641 00:37:39,423 --> 00:37:43,794 we care for ourselves because we're givers and we give a lot and, 642 00:37:43,861 --> 00:37:47,999 and lots of people who listen to this show are givers and they give a lot. 643 00:37:48,432 --> 00:37:50,501 But when we give a lot, it's hard. 644 00:37:50,501 --> 00:37:55,506 Sometimes We tend to give too much and we need to focus on ourselves as well. 645 00:37:55,506 --> 00:37:56,941 And that's part of our health. 646 00:37:56,941 --> 00:38:01,412 So I'm curious, what are some things that you like to do 647 00:38:01,412 --> 00:38:03,547 for self care for yourself? 648 00:38:04,415 --> 00:38:06,517 That's a great question. 649 00:38:06,517 --> 00:38:11,789 I actually am very passionate about this idea plant based diet. 650 00:38:11,789 --> 00:38:15,459 I think that's the number one foundation that a lot of us can start with. 651 00:38:15,993 --> 00:38:19,463 I lift a lot of weights with a lot of intentionality. 652 00:38:19,463 --> 00:38:21,799 It's it's a non-negotiable in my life. 653 00:38:22,033 --> 00:38:25,069 I have regular acupuncture treatments. 654 00:38:25,069 --> 00:38:27,605 I'm incredibly dedicated to that. 655 00:38:27,605 --> 00:38:31,509 I've been through a lot with my body, and acupuncture has been a huge game changer. 656 00:38:31,809 --> 00:38:34,011 Those are my three physical pillars. 657 00:38:34,412 --> 00:38:37,515 And then as you maybe heard in the background, at times 658 00:38:37,748 --> 00:38:43,220 I have my five dogs and four horses that I love taking care of. 659 00:38:43,220 --> 00:38:48,959 I live in rural Montana on 20 acres with my partner and we spend a lot of time 660 00:38:49,460 --> 00:38:54,065 just kind of remembering and grounding with the world around us. 661 00:38:54,065 --> 00:38:54,965 We have enough space. 662 00:38:54,965 --> 00:38:58,235 We have a lot of privilege there and that we have space around us 663 00:38:58,235 --> 00:38:59,470 with beautiful mountain views. 664 00:38:59,470 --> 00:39:03,307 So hikes and walks on the lake and spending time 665 00:39:03,574 --> 00:39:06,510 and remembering that we're pretty small 666 00:39:06,877 --> 00:39:11,649 and that that is a really big part of my mental health 667 00:39:12,016 --> 00:39:14,685 myself, is to not get so caught up. 668 00:39:15,219 --> 00:39:17,521 And then for anyone listening sleep. 669 00:39:18,255 --> 00:39:20,925 So all of that all those plants that you're 670 00:39:20,925 --> 00:39:23,761 eating, the water that you're drinking and the acupuncture you're doing, 671 00:39:23,994 --> 00:39:25,896 it's not going to work if you can't get sleep. 672 00:39:25,896 --> 00:39:29,867 So making sure that that's a priority is a fundamental in my life. 673 00:39:30,301 --> 00:39:31,836 I love that. You mentioned sleep. 674 00:39:31,836 --> 00:39:33,704 That is so important. 675 00:39:33,704 --> 00:39:35,706 Oh, my gosh. Can't live without it. 676 00:39:36,207 --> 00:39:38,275 But it's like the first thing to go, right? 677 00:39:38,275 --> 00:39:39,110 You're right. You're right. 678 00:39:39,110 --> 00:39:43,013 And I think so often we don't think about how much sleep we need. 679 00:39:43,013 --> 00:39:44,882 And because it's not something 680 00:39:44,882 --> 00:39:48,452 that we think about is self-care, but it absolutely is. 681 00:39:48,452 --> 00:39:50,020 Sleep is so important. 682 00:39:50,020 --> 00:39:52,790 Well, Alex, thank you again for coming on. 683 00:39:52,790 --> 00:39:55,259 And like I said, we can go on and on and on. 684 00:39:55,259 --> 00:39:58,028 I can just tell you, I know we're fast friends. 685 00:39:58,028 --> 00:39:59,330 That's right. That's right. 686 00:39:59,330 --> 00:40:01,465 So I just wanted to thank you again. 687 00:40:01,465 --> 00:40:04,902 And for those of you who are listening, either if you're interested 688 00:40:04,902 --> 00:40:10,875 in working as a coach, reach out to Alex and her team at Aspen Girls coaching. 689 00:40:11,142 --> 00:40:15,646 If you are a family member or a loved one, or maybe you're an adult and you're 690 00:40:15,646 --> 00:40:19,083 just thinking, well, I probably need something more, 691 00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:21,919 but I don't know if I need residential treatment, 692 00:40:22,119 --> 00:40:27,057 then contact the Aspen Girls coaching and just look at their website first 693 00:40:27,057 --> 00:40:30,795 and then as you can tell, it's very personal. 694 00:40:31,128 --> 00:40:35,433 And so when you contact them, someone's going to get back with you 695 00:40:35,433 --> 00:40:40,638 and it's going to be a very casual and personal experience. 696 00:40:40,905 --> 00:40:43,941 So I want you to make sure you look into that. 697 00:40:44,408 --> 00:40:46,210 That was beautifully said. Thank you. 698 00:40:46,210 --> 00:40:47,778 Oh, yeah, you're welcome. 699 00:40:47,778 --> 00:40:51,582 So just want you to for those of you who are listening, remember 700 00:40:51,582 --> 00:40:53,117 to keep working on your mental health. 701 00:40:53,117 --> 00:40:56,987 And like Alex said, we're we're small in this world 702 00:40:57,221 --> 00:40:59,457 and we need to take care of us. 703 00:40:59,990 --> 00:41:04,161 And wherever you are, you may not be on 20 acres in Montana. 704 00:41:04,161 --> 00:41:04,795 Oh, my gosh. 705 00:41:04,795 --> 00:41:05,696 That sounds beautiful. 706 00:41:05,696 --> 00:41:07,164 It pretty much is a dream. 707 00:41:07,164 --> 00:41:11,869 I'm not going to lie to you, so you may not be there, but your world, 708 00:41:11,869 --> 00:41:14,905 whatever, wherever you are, there are things that you can do 709 00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:19,109 for yourself, care and continue to do that so you can work on your mental health. 710 00:41:19,477 --> 00:41:20,344 And I want you to. 711 00:41:20,344 --> 00:41:22,413 That's why I started this show. 712 00:41:22,413 --> 00:41:24,815 I want to encourage you to work on your mental health. 713 00:41:25,382 --> 00:41:26,851 And so I'm going to let you go. 714 00:41:26,851 --> 00:41:30,488 But just remember that the Mental Health Today's show 715 00:41:31,222 --> 00:41:34,258 has been founded in 2015 716 00:41:34,625 --> 00:41:38,529 to help you grow and champion your mental health. 717 00:41:39,129 --> 00:41:40,664 Take care of my friends. 718 00:41:40,664 --> 00:41:54,745 I like.