Meet Anne Bartolucci of Atlanta Insomnia and Behavioral Health Services in Decatur

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Bartolucci.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
For the practice:

When I started in the clinical psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Georgia, I thought I was going to take an academic path and become an alcohol researcher. However, I experienced a setback that told me I needed to figure out a different path. Thankfully my niche, behavioral sleep medicine, found me, when I contacted graduates of my program to see if any of them would be willing to take me on to be a practicum student. The following is taken from my book Business Basics for Private Practice: A Guide for Mental Health Practitioners (Routledge, 2017):

I emailed graduates of my program who were in the Atlanta area, and one who responded was Michael Breus, a psychologist working in a sleep disorders, pulmonary, and critical care practice. We got along well, I found the work fascinating, and I ended up matching as a health psychology intern when I applied for internship again.

In spite of there not being a sleep medicine experience at the Central Arkansas VA internship site, one found me. When I was ready to go on my second rotation, my upcoming supervisor cornered me in the secretary’s office. He was a short man with slicked-down black hair and a tiny mustache, so he wasn’t that intimidating, but his message was.

“I have a message for you from God,” he said. I should mention he had an interesting sense of humor.

My jaw dropped. “Really, Dr. K.? From God?”

“Yes. God told me he wants you to go to the director of the sleep medicine clinic and tell him you want to work with him while you’re on my rotation.”

I was no longer amused. The director of the sleep clinic was a dour pulmonologist, also with a mustache, and I didn’t know how he would respond. But I took my little intern self-up there and asked him, and he said yes. He actually ended up being a really nice guy once I go to know him. The last I heard, the internship still has a behavioral sleep medicine experience.

I had found my passion and my path. When I graduated, I eschewed the traditional post-doc path and went straight into Michael Breus’s old job since he’d moved to the west coast. Then when my contract was up, I had an opportunity to join that first practice, where I went into a space-sharing arrangement and had sleep study interpretation contract work to support me as I built my own client load.

Added (not in the book):

I started out in a space-sharing arrangement in Sandy Springs since I needed to wait out a noncompete clause in my first contract. It worked out well because I had the benefit of other psychologists to consult with, both on cases and on the business aspects of practice. By the time I could return to Decatur, I found myself busy enough to afford a two-suite office, and I couldn’t beat the 1.5-mile commute. It was also in Decatur that I met dietitian David Orozco, and now we share an office suite and are working on a more integrated behavioral health and wellness practice.

For my writing:

According to my mother, I come from a long line of storytellers, and I wrote my first story when I was two. Well, I told it, and she wrote it down. She swears she still has it somewhere, but I have yet to see it. I always wrote stories through elementary, high school, and college years, but then graduate school was so intense I had to take a break.

The setback I mentioned above brought me back to my writing and made me serious about it. When I went on internship to Arkansas – yes, I matched the next year – I had the fortune of hearing stories from the veterans who lived in the Ozark Mountains. I wish I had thought to write them down. The tales tickled my imagination to the point I was inspired to write my first novel, which turned out to be The Mountain’s Shadow, although that wasn’t the original title. The Ozarks seemed like a perfect place to set a paranormal tale, and I chose werewolves as the paranormal creature because they seemed like they’d fit best in the setting. My hospital work setting also inspired me, so that urban fantasy series, the Lycanthropy Files, turned into medical thrillers with werewolves.

I queried around to agents and publishers, and in January 2013 I got THE EMAIL from Samhain Publishing editor Holly Atkinson. I went on to have seven books with Samhain between 2013 and when they closed in the spring of 2017. By that time, I had dipped my toes into the self-publishing world, so I republished everything electronically last year. I also moved my setting for many of my novels from the Midwest (yes, Arkansas is Midwest) to Georgia.

As for my one published nonfiction book, Business Basics for Private Practice: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals, I pitched the idea to a Routledge editor at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies conference in 2015, and she loved it. There is a dearth of resources for people who want to set up a private practice, so I’m very proud of it, especially the interviews with non-mental health experts (e.g., business lawyer, social media expert), which makes it unique.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, having a business, regardless of what kind, is rarely a smooth road.

Practice: When I started out, the hardest part was marketing and finding referrals. I also tried and failed three times to bring on another psychologist to join my practice. The first one turned out to be flaky. The second one had to leave for health reasons. The third left to join a major health system with a guaranteed salary and benefits. I now have a post-doctoral trainee, and it seems to be going well, so I’m hopeful.

Another hard thing about being a private practice psychologist is dealing with insurance companies, who either don’t want to pay or only want to pay a small amount for mental health services. Most of my practice-related gray hairs have come from insurance snags.

Writing: The biggest challenge in being an author is the subjective nature of the writing and publishing world. By the time The Mountain’s Shadow was accepted, I’d had a lot of rejections. I hoped that once I had become a published author, it would be smooth sailing. Not exactly. I continue to get my fair share of rejection, especially now that I’m querying a couple of projects to literary agents.

With something as personal as writing, it can be really hard to step back and be objective, and it hurts when my work isn’t well-received no matter how often I remind myself that people have different tastes in everything including literature. My psychology background trained me to look at data, so it’s tempting to judge my success as a writer by how well my books are selling, which is still very up and down. In truth, building a readership is a long, hard process, but I’m persisting.

As for my publisher closing, it was tough at the start of the process, which occurred a year before the actual close date, but they closed for a reason – the books weren’t selling. I made more when I put them back out than I did the entire time I was with the publisher. Marketing is a lot of work, and it’s hard to stay on top of new methods and trends.

Atlanta Insomnia and Behavioral Health Services – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My primary job is as the owner and president of Atlanta Insomnia & Behavioral Health Services, P.C. It’s a private psychology practice focused on behavioral sleep medicine, and about 80-90% of my caseload at any one time is made up of insomnia patients, although I’ll do psychotherapy for other kinds of problems as well. The main focus is to help people to get the sleep they need without having to use medication. This is a unique niche within the psychology world, and it’s what I’m known for.

I’m most proud of all the people I’ve helped, which is rewarding in itself. I’ve also built a nice reputation among the sleep medicine community, and I’m particularly thrilled when someone refers a family member or friend.

As for my writing career, I write as Cecilia Dominic. I’m going to change my author tagline to “smart fiction with a twist” since I seem most inclined to blend and twist genres. My readers praise my realistic, complex characters – yes, being a psychologist helps my writing – and descriptive writing style that draws them into my imagined worlds.

One thing I didn’t expect from having these two careers is how my writing has helped me to be a better, more creative therapist.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
This is a hard one. The first definition that comes to mind is of course monetary success – am I bringing in enough money to cover my expenses, save for the future, and have some fun?

But then my psychologist brain kicks in, and I broaden my definition. For me, success means doing work that I may not always love (see previous comment about insurance snags), but that I find fulfilling and meaningful. At the end of the day, can I be proud of what I accomplished, not only the money I made but the positive impact I’ve had on others?

Then of course I’m very proud of my practice, which I worked so hard to build and which has a great reputation.

So for me, the markers would be –
Sufficient income to not be stressed about money
Meaningful, fulfilling work
A sense of satisfaction at the end of the day/week
Patients’ and referral sources’ good opinions of me to know that this is a reliable place to get help
Book sales that allow me to bring in enough extra income to support my writing as a career and allow me to spend less time on practice tasks.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1201 Clairmont Road
  Suite 110
  Decatur, GA 30030
• Website: www.sleepyintheatl.com
• Phone: 404-378-0441

Image Credit:
Professional photo – Lorikay Stone.
Cover artist Kiersten Fay for the Truth Seeker book cover

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