Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Long-Daniels.
Alexis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have known I was interested in psychology since high school. At that point in my life, I had gone through enough experiences of my own to know that I was called to help people and I had to make a difference in the lives of people with similar experiences as mine. Once I got to college, I decided to pursue a double major in psychology in journalism. I had always loved to write and I also had a passion for people, I just didn’t know how those two interests would come together. College showed me a more in-depth picture of what people needed and how I could help, so I decided to pursue my Masters’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
That program honestly changed my entire life. Before starting my master’s program, I had unaddressed trauma and experiences that I had never acknowledged in-depth, nor had I thought about how those experiences affected my relationships with others. I never took the time to really reflect. One of the requirements of my program was that we had to attend our own therapy sessions. The goal was for us to sit in the same seat as our future clients and gain a better understanding of the experience. That was the best thing for me. With the reflection and work required in both therapy and my program, I was pushed and pulled to a level of transparency, reflection and ownership that I had never experienced before. While I felt like the ugliest parts of my life were coming to make my life miserable, they were actually coming to light to reveal to me the real work I needed to do to achieve my goals. While I was developing the skills to help others as a clinician, I was also learning so much about myself and what I needed in order to be my best individually and professionally. Because I answered the call to help others through their “mess,” I had actually made the decision to help myself through mine without even knowing it. All of those things have brought me to a place where I can help others get clear about who they are and what they need to be their best selves in this life. Its the most rewarding experience.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely been challenging and rewarding. Being a clinician in a field where minorities are underrepresented and also underserved is tough. It took me a while, in the beginning, to figure out what population was my niche’. Entering my internship and practicum at Children’s of Alabama, working with children was nowhere on my radar, but those plans changed. Now, working with children is what I enjoy most. They bring fun to therapy. I often questioned where I was most needed and who would benefit the most from the services I could provide. To be honest, the answer is everyone. Everyone, in some way or another, benefits from therapy. While I work in private practice part-time, I also have a full-time position as a behavior specialist. I am a part of various organizations, and I am also pursuing my Ph.D. So my next dilemma was, how do I manage my time and be successful? Time management has been one of my biggest hurdles.
While I enjoy every aspect of what I do, it can sometimes become stressful and overwhelming. How do I take the best care of myself while also guiding my clients to do the same? What does my self-care routine look like? How do I stay on top of things so that I avoid becoming burnt out? Those are all questions I’ve asked myself along the way and those answers are continuously evolving. Social media has also been something I’m figuring out as well. I didn’t want my clients to be the only people that had access to tools and education about mental health because I understand that all individuals don’t have access to adequate mental health care. I wanted to use my writing and interest in graphic design (that journalism degree coming back in), to showcase mental health and education in a different way. Figuring out social media, engagement, insights, content and what that audience needs is hard work. It is also scary, especially when imposter syndrome tries to come in.
I care about what people take away from my content and I struggled in the beginning with wondering if people would think I knew what I was talking about. Do I have enough training to discuss this topic? Did I even know what I was doing? I have worked hard to answer all of those questions with a YES! I had to affirm and challenge myself the same way I challenge and affirm my clients. With hard work comes great reward. I get so excited when I have people engaging with my content and utilizing tools we worked on in therapy in their daily lives. My goal is always to help individuals live WELL and I believe that even with the challenges I’ve faced along the way, I’m doing that.
Please tell us about Worth the Wellness Counseling.
Worth the Wellness Counseling is the counseling practice that I started at the beginning of 2020. Our goal is to educate individuals and communities and guide them in discovering how to be holistically well. I currently see clients in partnership with another private practice in the Birmingham area, In Touch Counseling Agency, LLC. I am an Associate Licensed Counselor and National Board Certified Counselor in the state of Alabama, supervised by Cristal Cummings, LPC-S. I currently service children, individuals, and families. I am credentialed through Medicaid and I accept private pay at reduced rates for individuals without insurance. I am also certified via the Open Path Collective.
I am most proud of our growth. Worth the Wellness started out as just a dream that I was nervous about launching and putting out to the public despite my lifelong goal to own my own practice. While we are evolving and continuously learning, we are gaining traction with the public and welcoming clients. It has been great to see what we looked like just a few months ago to now.
I believe that our passion for community outreach and education sets us apart. Not only do we want individuals and families to be well, but we also want communities to be well. (“Self-care is community care,” – Alex Elle) In order for communities to be well, they have to be educated and provided with the tools and resources that they need. In addition to individual and family therapy, we also offer group therapy, outreach and speaking engagements. We welcome organizations to invite us to speak at their events and workshops in order to educate their staff and employees about mental health and wellness.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I’d go into business with a more confident and clear mindset. In the beginning, I was nervous to start, entertaining imposter syndrome, and scared that my vision wouldn’t come to fruition like I wanted it to. It has taken a lot of work, support from the people closest to me and positive self talk to help me get to this point. I would encourage anyone with a vision for a business venture to use all of their resources, be willing to put themselves out there, ask as many questions that you need to, and get organized.
I’m learning to do more and more of that on the back end and it has help me exponentially. Get clear and extremely specific about what you want, who your niche is and what people will gain from your business and your message and you will definitely win!
Pricing:
- I accept Medicaid insurance and private pay insurance at reduced rates ($30-$80 per individual session)
- Consultations prior to your first session are FREE.
Contact Info:
- Address: Practicing via In Touch Counseling Agency, LLC.
1229 3rd Avenue North
Birmingham, AL 35203 - Website: worththewellness.com
- Email: worththewellness.counseling@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sincerelylexthetherapist.__
Image Credit:
L.O. Photography & Creative Design
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