Hilary Handy, LCSW.
1. What's your practice focus and what kind of clients knock on your door ?
My practice focuses on trauma work. Primarily through EMDR, Ego state interventions and Attachment Theory. I particularly love working with clients that don't fit neatly into social standards. Many of my clients are Neurodivergent, gender queer, LGBTQ+, leaning into positive parenting and breaking generational cycles of trauma and otherwise living alternative lifestyles in some way.
2. Tell us about yourself.
I am a social worker and healer at heart. I love to help people that don't exactly fit in because I also don't exactly fit the standard social expectations either. I believe this is why I have a special affinity for the people I work with. I am an ADHDer on my own journey of radical self acceptance. Moving in to private practice has been a huge part of my journey back from deep burn out caused by working in non-profit fields that were not able to accommodate my neurotype.
3. Tell us the story of a patient who you are most proud of helping.
When the client I am most proud of first came to me she had been in therapy for over a decade and learned skills to cope with her anxiety but had never been able to resolve it. We identified she had been living with undiagnosed ADHD and had attachment trauma from her emotionally abusive father. We worked through her trauma with EMDR and I helped her learn about and accept how her ADHD brain works. She no longer experiences daily anxiety and finished our therapeutic goals within two years.
4. What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a practitioner in private practice?
The hardest things for me are logistical considerations. Scheduling, finances and all that comes with running a business are not things that come naturally to me.
5. What are the top 3 tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a private practice today?\
The top three tips I would give anyone looking to start, run, and grow their private practice is to:
- Find your niche. This is hands down the most important thing for me to stay engaged and fill my practice. Knowing who you work well with and what work excites you is vital.
- Be ready to figure things out on the fly, there is no one to turn to when you don't know the answer, you have to be able to find the resources you need to figure it out.
- Surround yourself with a strong support system of other therapists, people that care about you and celebrate your success.