Live Niche Coaching: Six Therapists, Six Breakthroughs (Episode 82)
Finding your niche isn't about squeezing yourself into a single specialty or choosing the "perfect" label. In this special replay from a live niche coaching session, Anna works with therapists in real time as they wrestle with one of the biggest marketing challenges in private practice: explaining what they do in a way that feels both clear and authentic.
As you listen to these coaching conversations, you'll hear common struggles around niching, messaging, and website copy—and discover practical ways to think about your own practice differently. Whether you're feeling scattered, trying to connect multiple specialties, or wondering what truly sets you apart, these examples offer a framework you can immediately apply to your own marketing.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:
1️⃣ The four different ways you can build a niche—and why not every therapist should niche the same way.
2️⃣ How to identify the common thread that connects the clients you most love working with.
3️⃣ Why your clients' presenting problem often matters more than the clinical language you use to describe your work.
4️⃣ How clarity around your niche creates stronger website copy and helps you stand out in a crowded market.
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Hey, hey, welcome back to a special episode of Marketing Therapy. In this episode, you get to listen in on a free niche coaching event that I ran earlier this month. This was an opportunity for folks to hop into a Zoom room with me and ask me questions and get coaching around their niche.
You're gonna hear, as you listen in on these conversations, some really powerful ways of conceptualizing your niche, of thinking about what it is that you do, and starting to articulate what sets you apart, especially if you're finding yourself in a really saturated market. What I'm offering to these folks and what you'll be able to apply to your own self are some ways of approaching your niche that are way beyond just specializing in trauma or specializing in moms or whatever that might be, and instead a real framework for approaching how you think about not just your clients, but also what you bring into the room and ways that you can pair those two things together in order to really distinguish yourself when we know that your clients are looking at five, seven, nine different therapy websites and considering them.
What you hear in this session is a taste of the type of coaching you can get in our Confident Copy Live program. The cohort for that is opening next week. Can you believe that? Next week. Your opportunity to join the waitlist is about to end. So if you listen in on this and you're like, "Wow, this is the type of guidance I need.
I need to figure out what my niche is, and then I need help bringing it to life in my marketing," hop on the waitlist right away, walkerstrategyco.com/waitlist. Like I said, this is the type of coaching and guidance you will get in that live experience. And then, of course, we're gonna take that niche, and we're gonna infuse it into everything that you do in your marketing.
We're gonna create that website that leads to those consults where people say, "Hey, I read your website, and I think you're the therapist I wanna work with." I wanna see more of that happen for you, and it all starts with your niche. All right, let's get into the replay.
Hey everyone, welcome Hey, hey. Jesse, hello. Colleen making their way in. Janie, Bethany. Hi, everyone. Good to see you guys. Please do join us on video if you're able. We'll let anyone else that wants to join us today make their way in and get started on some coaching here soon. Um, those of you that are here right now, right here, right now, I'm so thrilled you've, you've carved out some time on your Tuesday for me and for us, and for your niche.
Um, the way that this is gonna work is you're going to have a chance to raise your hand if you would like some coaching. If you're here and you don't want coaching, you just wanna listen in, that's perfectly fine, too. But if you came looking for some support with your niche, um, then you'll have an opportunity, and again, I'll walk you through that, on how to essentially raise your hand and request that.
And I will ask that you condense what you were thinking about in regards to your niche into one question. Now, that's not gonna be the only question you can ask, um, but it is gonna be the way that we're gonna start our conversation. So come in with a question. So spend a little, a moment now thinking about a question that can, uh, summarize how you're feeling about your niche and what it is that you're wondering about, and that's the question we'll start with.
I'll coach you from there. We'll have some back and forth, and hopefully you can leave with a bit more clarity around who the heck you're speaking to, uh, what sets you apart, because in this market we know that that's more important than ever, and how to start actually putting words to the work that you do best.
Um, we know right now that how you talk about your work, how you talk about your niche is absolutely fundamental to whether or not people are going to choose you. If you're a private pay clinician, you're probably feeling that even more. Um, but that's, that's true regardless of how people pay you for your services, right?
How you talk about your work is fundamental to whether or not you are chosen to do that work. So, all right, we have a good group here. I'm gonna go ahead and mute everyone just to make it easy. Um, and if you didn't catch the initial instructions, we're gonna start with a question. Um, so if you are interested in getting coaching on your niche, I'm gonna have you hover over your Zoom window.
You're gonna see a react button. It's a little heart icon. Click react, and then there's an option to raise your hand. So with those folks that raise their hands, I will invite you off of mute, uh, by name, and you can go ahead and ask that question you have regarding your niche. Um, and then we'll, we'll coach from there.
We'll keep everyone to, we'll say five to six minutes, I'm not gonna be, like, watching the clock, just to make sure we can get to as many folks as we can. Um, but certainly if there aren't enough questions to fill our hour, then we'll just circle back around and, and help you guys make some headway as it relates to your niche, okay?
All right, Jesse, you're on top of it, so come on off of mute, start with your question, and we'll go from there
Speaker 2: Hi, um, nice to meet you. I'm fan-girling a sec- Nice to
Speaker: meet you,
Speaker 2: too, Jesse ... just, like, came across, um, your stuff, and it's helpful. Um, I'm just going into private practice. Um, I'm trans and queer, and I'm starting, like, a sex therapy practice, but-
Speaker 3: Okay
Speaker 4: um,
Speaker 2: I'm not finding, like, all the words that I want to include, like, about me that are, um, you know, gender and sexuality and trauma and kink and fetish stuff. I'm not sure how to use all those words to, like, work with those folks, like, that I want to work with, queer and trans folks, without limiting myself/scaring people away from words like that.
Speaker: Mm. This is one of the most universal challenges when it comes to choosing a niche is how do I choose a niche that doesn't, as you say, scare people away, right? Um, and there's... Th- I'm glad you're thinking about that, and that's something I'm happy to workshop with you. I also want to help you get really, really secure with the fact that your niche, if it's doing its job, should scare some people away.
Speaker 3: Mm,
Speaker: mm. Right? Like, a good niche attracts... I call it a magnetic niche, right? A good niche attracts the right people, and a good niche repels. If your niche is not doing both of those, then we're missing something. Mm. Um, so like I said, I'm glad you're thinking about this, and I, and I want to work, make sure that we're being careful about the language so that the right fit people are seeing themselves.
But if they're not the right fit, we call that blessing and releasing. Thank you. Your, y- your niche has done its job, right? Mm. So I wanna encourage you a little bit around that. Um, so Jesse, tell me a little bit more about what is bringing these folks into you and what they're wanting your support with.
Speaker 2: Um, they're wanting to feel seen and heard and found, um, in a way that they haven't been found, um, in the past. Does that make sense?
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. And what are the issues that they're wanting your, your specific help with?
Speaker 2: Um, sex related stuff, um, kink and feather stuff and BDSM and, um, identity is really, like, at my core.
Like, I'm trans and queer, and I wanna work- Yeah ... with trans and queer folks, but I don't know that I can only start there. But in general, like, identity is the big-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 2: is where I start. Yeah. And
Speaker: trauma. Yeah. It's kind of at the core of, of sex therapy work. Is your primary offering sex therapy, or are you doing kind of traditional, you know, non-sex therapy in addition to that?
Or is sex therapy really the focus here?
Speaker 2: I would like sex therapy to be the focus, yeah. Okay. I've gotten enough clients, this is a little scary to say, but that I can stop taking just, like, anyone and everyone. Good for you. Do you know what I mean? Absolutely. And trying to, like, find, find my people so that...
Like, you know, you've said, you don't wanna, like, go to work resenting the people you have to talk to because they're not-
Speaker: 100% ...
Speaker 2: the right person. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Okay. Um, well, knowing this, uh, Jesse, I think you're... I, I think, um, what I can hopefully provide to you is just a little bit more encouragement to trust yourself, because everything that I'm hearing from you is, is headed in the right direction.
Mm-hmm. Um, so when we consider how to kind of position your niche, we like to think about the range of clients that you, that you work with. So you've mentioned you have, like, kind of the kink and fetish and BDSM, um, community. You've got the, um, like the queer community. Are there any other big groups of people that you would like to see, um, represented in your caseload?
Speaker 2: Yeah. Trauma work. Trauma and MD- Okay. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Okay. Um, are all of your clients in the LGBTQ or queer community?
Speaker 2: No.
Speaker: Okay. So they don't have to be that to, to be the right fit for you?
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker: Okay. Who, if I came in and, and I was looking for a sex therapist, who is not the right fit for you?
Speaker 2: Um, I mean, I work with cis and straight folks. Um, I'm sort of surprised when cis and straight folks find me, but, um, I can be that for them also. Um- Mm-hmm ... who is not the right fit for me? Um, I don't know. Like, I keep thinking that I'm, like, for weirdos. I, like, wanna be... Like, I'm, like, weird, and I want, like, the weird people to me, not people- Yeah
like, that, that people who are, like, uncomfortable with others. That's not very specific. Um-
Speaker: Yeah. No, but I think you're onto something there. I think this is sex therapy for people who feel like they don't fit the- That's exactly- ...
Speaker 2: the mold ... they don't fit. Exactly. That's what it
Speaker: is. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, I, uh, man, so when I, when I think about niches, and this is for, for everyone listening, um, and if you're familiar with kinda my framework, this might sound f- you know, this might be familiar to you.
But when we think about niches, it's sort of in four different categories. So you can niche into a particular type of person, you can niche into a particular type of problem, a particular type of outcome, or something that you yourself offer. And Jesse, I think for you, you're kind of a person and approach clinician.
So the approach is the sex therapy. Like, that in and of itself is a niche, and it's a dang good one right now. Um, so sex therapy is in i- is, uh, in and of itself is a niche, but it's sex therapy for those people who don't fit the mold. Um, and then underneath that, sort of those focus areas, it sounds like are the LGBTQ and queer community, the kink, BDSM, fetish, um, community, and then those, um, navigating trauma and, and how that intersects with sex, right?
I was gonna say- Um, how does, how does that feel?
Speaker 2: Sorry. Sex therapy with, like, couples and polycules also. I forgot to put-
Speaker: Okay ...
Speaker 2: that.
Speaker: Okay. Awesome. So that might be kind of a fourth, fourth area of focus. But it all falls under that umbrella of sex therapy for people that don't fit the mold.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: How does that feel?
Does that feel liberating in some regard?
Speaker 2: Yeah. That's, those are, yeah, all the words, um, that I've been trying to put all together here. Yeah. And it just hasn't come out in that nice, like, niche.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Well, I'm glad I got to help you with that. Um, like I said, man, sex therapy is, it's such a, um...
If I were going into, to therapy, I would consider pursuing that just 'cause I think it's incredibly viable from a marketing perspective, and man, the support that you can offer people is, is incredibly liberating. So I'm glad that was helpful for you. Thanks for raising your hand and getting us started.
Speaker 2: Okay. Thanks.
Speaker: You're welcome. If you're just joining us and you're looking for support, uh, with your niche, you can see a couple folks have their hand raised here. Um, so if you're looking for support, um, go ahead and hover over that Zoom window. You'll click react and then raise hand, and I'll invite you off of mute by name.
And we're just asking that you start our conversation with a question as it relates to your niche, um, and then, then we'll coach from there. Bethany, it's nice to see you. What's your question?
Speaker 5: Hi, Anna. Um- Hi ... we've actually talked before. I did your- Yeah,
Speaker: I remember.
Speaker 5: Oh, awesome. Thank you for remembering me.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker 5: Um, so I did your magnetic niche, and, um, I'm still the victim of how to figure out how to directly talk about complex trauma.
Speaker: Hmm.
Speaker 5: So, um, I did end up putting a trauma specialty page on my page. Okay. Um, and I do... I have been getting people who are like, "Yes, I know that I had a difficult childhood that's affecting me- Yeah
even for now." So I do get people who self-identify. Um, but I'm still... I'm wondering, like, do I need to still broaden that on my page- Hmm ... and how would I do that? And I think what- Mm-hmm ... I've narrowed down, but I don't know how to communicate it, is, um, people who feel like they're struggling with their relationship with themselves and with others.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 5: Um, and then also, um, specifically about, um, the effects of childhood neglect and imposed shame, and not wanting to take up space, or, um, yeah, that kind of thing. Hmm. So I'm trying to figure out how to do that without only having my trauma page.
Speaker: Okay. What, what other specialties are in place on your website right now?
Speaker 5: So I'm very overtly Christian.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker 5: I remember that. Um, so that... people are just like, "Oh, she's a Christian, so I trust that. That feels good." So I get people-
Speaker: Sometimes that's how it works, yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah. So I'm getting people like that, too, which is helpful. Yeah. Um, the other sub-niche that I have is infidelity- Okay
which often arises because of complex trauma. Mm-hmm. People get into that because-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 5: they don't relate well to self and other. Um, so that's- Mm-hmm ... been a helpful sub-niche, and that's really the only one I feel like I can directly communicate.
Speaker: Okay. Okay, and that is with couples, or that's individuals and couples navigating- Both
infidelity? Both? Yeah,
Speaker 5: both.
Speaker: Okay. So we have kind of general, like, Christian counseling and, and whatever might bring those folks in under that umbrella. Then we have, uh, infidelity, couples and indi- and individuals, and then you're really wanting to grow the complex trauma individual work on your caseload.
Am I understanding you correctly?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I feel like that's the thing I for sure wanna do with everybody. Mm-hmm. And sometimes it ends up being because of infidelity we're talking about it, or because- Sure ... coming in with relationship issues we're talking about it.
Speaker: Sure. Sure. Okay. Uh, if someone has complex trauma but doesn't know it, if your ideal client has complex trauma but doesn't know it, what do they think is wrong?
Speaker 5: Themselves. Like, they're, they're-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 5: or at least, like, the people with imposed shame or neglect- Mm-hmm ... are thinking, like, "There's just something wrong with me."
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um- So is your struggle right now how to bring all these three things together, the infidelity, the complex trauma, and the more general work?
Speaker 5: Yes. That's, I feel like very scattered even though-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 5: in my sense I'm like, "Oh, I see how this all fits together."
Speaker: Yeah, you see the thread across all of them. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 5: Yeah, but it feels entirely scattered in how I'm trying to communicate it.
Speaker: Hmm. Interesting. Um, Bethany, outside of you being overtly Christian, which is absolutely criteria that people are, are gonna use to decide on you, how, why else are they deciding you're the right therapist for them?
Speaker 5: Um, yeah, if they appreciate my approach. Um- Mm-hmm.
Speaker: What about your approach?
Speaker 5: As far as that, um, I call it, like, the Mr. Rogers approach of, you know, the inherent worth of all humans and just feeling really- Mm-hmm ... um, that they sense that I value them and see their dignity- Mm-hmm ... that I don't judge them- Mm-hmm
that I-
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 5: believe the best in them. So that approach- Mm-hmm ... people- Yeah ... feel invited into. But a lot of my referrals are from other colleagues or other clients. Mm-hmm. And so I'm not sure what my website is doing, um, besides just confirming if they've learned about me from a colleague or a client.
Speaker: Yeah.
Yeah. And what would you like to see your niche or, you know, ultimately your website, 'cause that is really where your niche is, is housed, um, what would you like to be... What would you like to see that doing more for you?
Speaker 5: Um, I would like people to be able to see themselves besides just, "Oh, I'm a Christian," or, "Oh, I'm suffering- Mm-hmm
from infidelity in my relationship." Mm-hmm. I feel like those are clear-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 5: but nothing else really is.
Speaker: Okay. Okay. So, uh, the first thing that you said at the top of kind of your, your intro was related to relationship to self and relationship to others, which is commonly what brings us to therapy, right?
Is like this is playing out at home or in my relationships, and it's an issue. Um, do your clients have, um, an awareness that they have a relationship to themselves? Like, that's language some people use and some people don't. Do they know that about themselves?
Speaker 5: No. I'm usually kinda pointing that out once they're there.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So it's usually their relationship with other people, or maybe they'll start with couples counseling because their partner is frustrated with them. Mm. And then I'm pointing out, like, "Oh, you don't share because you have imposed shame, and you don't think you
Speaker: should talk."
Speaker 5: Mm. "It's dangerous." So I get them there, but- Yeah
there's generally not a lot of, um, avoidant people seeking therapy.
Speaker: Okay. Okay. So any time that we're kinda wrestling with how to bring together some groups like this, um, I like to look at those latter two, um, types of niche. So those are outcome and approach. And I'm curious, I, I, uh, something tells me that maybe the outcome is something that could really create some cohesion for you, Bethany.
So e- imagine, uh, so there's a couple coming in for infidelity. There's a person coming in for just kind of general, um, uh, Christian counseling with you, and then there's someone coming in with this imposed shame, whether they know it or not, this complex trauma. Look at all of those. Is there... Are there any common denominators as far as what these people are accomplishing in their work with you, what they get out of therapy with you?
Speaker 5: Yeah, so I narrowed down my, um, hero statement. Um, it says, "Restore the abundant life meant for you. Christian-centered therapy for men, women, couples, and teens seeking the healing and growth that leads to fulfilling relationships and a life aligned with God's design for you."
Speaker: Hmm. Fulfilling relationships, a life aligned with God's design for you, abundant life.
I think you're onto something here. I, I wonder what's causing you to second-guess so much that these clients aren't resonating, 'cause everything that you're putting down so far seems really consistent with what you're sharing. Um, I, I'm, it- I think this is more of, like, a website copy thing than it is a niche.
'Cause I think you know. You know what your niche is. You know who you wanna be talking to. I think it's how it's sort of fleshed out in what it is that you do. But I would consider, um... You know, when you're talking about specialty pages of your website, for instance, I would consider likely, like, a relationships specialty.
Um, so certainly the trauma is there for the people that know they have it, but for the people that don't, it sounds like relationships is where that's playing out. Relationships is where I need help. Um, so I might kind of pair those together. Sometimes we'll do that with anxiety because your, you know, your CPTSD client actually thinks they have anxiety.
For you, it sounds like relationships would pair nicely with that. Um, so I think leaning into, and you're already doing that in the copy you just read to me, really leaning into relationships. Um, and that, the... Of course the trauma is kind of the underlying, um, theme there, but relationships being the presenting issue that your clients are aware of.
Is that helpful?
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm struggling feeling scattered even if I feel the continuity- Mm-hmm ... and how to
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 5: yeah. But thank you for your encouragement.
Speaker: You're welcome. You're welcome, Bethany. Um, and like I said, I think this might be a little bit more of, like, a copy thing. You know, when we think about the niche, like what we're working on here in this coaching session, it's like that, like, top level, what it is that do I do and, and how do I communicate it?
But the copy is how all of that is fleshed out and, and demonstrated in your marketing, right? Um, so maybe it's worth revisiting that. And Bethany, if you wanna circle back around, and I'd be happy to take a look at your website. Maybe Confident Copy could be a, a good next step to flesh this out, maybe something else.
But I, I, I do want to encourage you that it sounds like you have a great understanding of who you wanna be bringing in.
Speaker 5: Awesome. Thank you.
Speaker: You're welcome. Janie, nice to meet you. What's your question today?
Speaker 6: Hello. Um, my question is I need help finding the thread between- Okay ... between all of my, um, things. So, um...
Okay. I work with people who are neurodivergent- Mm-hmm ... and who have boundary guilt, um, and... Oh my God, what's the other one? I'm sorry.
Speaker: It's okay
Speaker 6: And maybe like family cultural trauma or inner- Okay ... child work type of stuff. Okay. And that, the thread that I have noticed so far is they all- Mm-hmm ... have, like, a strong sense of justice.
They- Oh, interesting. I know. It's, it's like the neurodivergence, but also, like, this is unfair, people shouldn't be treated this way, like, those types of things. Mm. I also notice that the thread is jumping from relationship to relationship- Okay ... and having, like, a parent or two that were cold emotionally.
Mm-hmm. So like, not really providing that warmth or teaching about, um, healthy relationships- Mm-hmm ... or modeling healthy relationships. So that's the thread that I can find so far, but I'm just- Okay ... kinda lost.
Speaker: Okay, okay. So you've mentioned, we have neurodivergence, we have, um, cultural trauma, and boundary guilt?
Speaker 6: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 6: Boundary
Speaker: guilt- Do your, do your clients know- ... like people
Speaker 6: pleasing ...
Speaker: people pleasing? Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Um, in regards to the family trauma, do they know they have family trauma? Do they identify that themselves? They don't
Speaker 6: call it family trauma.
Speaker: What do they think it is? What do they call it?
Speaker 6: It... I, honestly, they don't even notice probably that it, that it even affects them. Mm-hmm. Um, this is something I usually find out later. It's just- Mm-hmm ... the thread that I found retrospectively- Yeah, yeah ... on multiple clients. Okay. But they think that they don't have a right to feel like they've been traumatized when their parents were like that.
Ah,
Speaker: sure, sure. Um-
Speaker 6: That's the thread ...
Speaker: o- okay. So for those clients that, um, do have that, that trauma background, what brought them to therapy to begin with?
Speaker 6: From what I've noticed, the theme is they generally feel lost- Mm-hmm ... in some way. Lost or confused- Mm-hmm ... or unsure why they feel the way that they do.
Mm-hmm. It's just, like, a general, like, "Well, I have a career, I have money, I'm stable, but I feel like something's wrong."
Speaker: Yeah,
Speaker 6: unfulfilled, like it's not enough. Which is hard to
Speaker: put into words Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: On my website. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, but yeah. That's the general- Okay ... theme.
Speaker: Okay. Um, Jani, I imagine there are lots of therapists around you that technically could help with this too.
Why do you think your clients are choosing you?
Speaker 6: I definitely think it's I'm direct. Um, I'm very different in, like, I use IFS and I also use EMDR. Mm-hmm. But I lean harder into IFS and more of, like, a spiritual... It's not spiritual religious, it's, like, spirituality in general- Okay ... of, like, being connected to yourself.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: I think that's what it is. Yeah. In the past, when my webs- I revamped my website and it really screwed things up. Mm. But my old website, um, when I was solo, used to be very, it was very clear what I was like in the therapy room.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: And that was, like, direct, different.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: Definitely very quirky and weird.
Like- Mm-hmm ... I really leaned hard into that.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then you shifted to what and noticed a change?
Speaker 6: Um, well, I shifted, before I found your stuff, I paid for somebody to do my website. Mm. And it's very generic therapist. Gotcha. It's very, like, you have a safe place. Uh-huh. Like, you know- Uh-huh, uh-huh
those, they definitely had not worked with a therapist before. Gotcha. And so I'm just trying to fix it.
Speaker: Yeah. Sure. Okay. Okay. Um, so, uh, there's lots of good things here. Um- E- especially as it relates to the, you me- you mentioned the EMDR and IFS kind of setting you apart and distinguishing you a little bit.
Um, what do those types of modalities and the approach that you take, what do those ultimately lead to? Why are those especially beneficial to, to your clients and where they wanna go?
Speaker 6: A lot of my clients don't know this, but they live life very dissociated.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 6: And so those modalities kind of bring them back to their body.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: And then they start feeling emotions again- Mm ... and then feeling, um, feeling the injustice. So it's almost like the injustice is so consistent throughout their life that they've dissociated from it. Interesting. And when they start coming back and they notice that they're not okay with this relationship- Mm-hmm
they're not okay with this friendship, they're not okay with the relationship they have with their parents- Yeah ... and they kind of fix everything and have a voice- Gotcha ... that's when they feel better. I don't know.
Speaker: Interesting. Yeah. So the, your work is about, is about finding their voice and, and making changes.
Speaker 6: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Does that feel true?
Speaker 6: Yes.
Speaker: Especially when I think about, like, okay, people pleasing, boundary guilt, family cultural trauma, neurodivergence. Like, no, this is, like, I'm okay the way I am. Mm-hmm. I'm speaking up for myself. I'm, I'm doing things differently. I'm breaking cycles, breaking patterns.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. I
Speaker: think that's, that's really where I see the opportunity for kind of bringing these groups together, is more in that outcome- Mm-hmm
of, of, yeah, finding your voice, making changes, breaking cycles.
Speaker 6: Mm. Okay.
Speaker: How does that feel, hearing that- Yes ... reflected back?
Speaker 6: Yes. Yes. It- Okay ... it makes sense. It's interesting, 'cause I did your quiz, and it was person focused. Hmm. And it's very interesting, 'cause when you say outcome focused and what you just said, it hits more directly, I think-
Speaker: Yeah,
Speaker 6: yeah
to what I'm intending in therapy.
Speaker: Okay. Well, good. Hey, I'm glad. The, the quiz is useful, but apparent- apparently sometimes talking to a live human is too. Um, I, I think we're, I think we're really onto something there. And the, the insight you gained from the first version of your website where you were really leaning into your approach and, like, the fact that you do therapy a little bit, you know, quirky and different like you, like you said, bring that back.
Mm-hmm. Bring that back to your marketing. In this market, the more you that is injected into your, your marketing and your website, the better. So, um, I think we're onto something here, Jannie. Was that helpful for you?
Speaker 6: Yes.
Speaker: Awesome. Thank
Speaker 6: you.
Speaker: Yeah, you're welcome. Sabrina, hello.
Finding that unmute. That's all right
Speaker 7: Okay
Speaker: There we go. Hello.
Speaker 7: Hi again. Yeah, I think it's- What's your question
Speaker: to get us started?
Speaker 7: Um, well, my question was, um, how personal can you, should you get- Hmm ... on your website? Um-
Speaker: Hmm.
Speaker 7: So my specialties, I would say, would be, um, trauma. I like to focus on the post-traumatic growth part.
Hmm. I can go back into that. Um, definitely grief and loss. Um, chronic illness, pain. Hmm. And I'm also a Christian therapist, so I- Mm-hmm ... I like to... I mean, I, I integrate that if that's what the client's coming for. Um- Mm-hmm. I, I have physical issues, like I'm an amputee, but it was- Okay ... due to a childhood illness, so-
Speaker 5: Uh-huh
Speaker 7: um, my focus is really, and even, like, my s- psychology today is very, like, um, empower- like empowerment focused- Hmm. Mm-hmm ... or overcoming. Right?
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: Um, I'm in... And it's funny 'cause everybody you've spoken to has mentioned something, um, in terms of, like... Like, I'm like, "Yeah, I have that too." Like, I said, you know, we have relationships with...
in a relationship with ourselves. We have- Mm-hmm ... obviously a lot of relationships with others, and-
Speaker: Sure ...
Speaker 7: some of us, you know, really value our relationship with God, right? Yeah. So, like, it's... But then I was getting so many couples. Like, 'cause it, it just... See, and I don't wanna do couples. I'm done. Okay. Like, so, um, so yeah.
I, I mean, I've, I purchased your DIY. Mm-hmm. I have more than enough content. I have tried to, you know, put, formulate my own website. I've actually- Yeah ... met with somebody else. But, like, I just feel like I'm kind of all over the place, or it's just- Okay ... and I recently was trained in EMDR, so working towards- Okay
certification in that. Mm-hmm. And I'm very attachment based. Um, I'm, I am gonna take your quiz, 'cause that sounds like it may-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 7: help. Yeah. But, like, is it worth, or is it even, like, me saying, um, you know, "I, I've been through it myself," kind of thing? Hmm. Mm-hmm. Like, I don't wanna make it about me, but, like- Of course
um, so say I, I wear, you know, a dress one day- Mm-hmm ... and they're like, "Oh, wow, I, I didn't even know," and I've been working for- Mm-hmm ... with them for a long... Like- Mm-hmm ... and it's funny, it almost feels like it, it like- I don't know, uh, allows them to be a little more vulnerable.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 7: Right? I can understand
Speaker: that, sure.
Like,
Speaker 7: um, especially in my work with, like, chronic pain people and-
Speaker: Uh-huh ...
Speaker 7: you know, chronic illness and-
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. Um, this is a really, a really great question that I think is very adjacent to the niche discussion, um, and something we have, you know, kind of a, a full framework on when it comes to how much self-disclosure to sort of bring into your marketing.
Um, and we go through that in In-Depth and Confident Copy. For you, Sabrina, I think you're, you have great evidence of the fact that s- disclosure, whether that is f- for you is just wearing a dress or talking about it or whatever, is really powerful for your clients. Um, and that's one of the first filters is like, does this matter to my clients, right?
Mm-hmm. Um, and for you it sounds like that, that is a powerful connection piece. Now, I th- I am careful to, as you said, you don't want to make it about you, like rely on it too heavily in your marketing. And so one of the other criteria I recommend you consider is, is this relevant to my client now? And by now, I mean in your marketing.
There are certain things that are best shared and disclosed in the context of your therapeutic relationship when rapport is there and it's just you and them. But- Yeah ... um, there are certain parts of your experience that are likely to be connection points now, where like, no, I'm gonna reach out to Sabrina because I know this about her.
Mm-hmm. And so I would recommend as you're considering what to share and what not to share to sort of use that filter, um, and to determine what parts of my story might be powerful connection points for people to realize I'm the right therapist for them versus after they've already begun that relationship and built that rapport with you.
Um, so I think for you it'll be a little bit of a balance. There are likely certain things that'll be shared within the context of your relationship, but others that could be brought into, um, into your marketing. It can also be done a little bit more generally. Um, so it doesn't have to be, you know, an amputee dur- due to X, Y, Z, but it can be- Right
uh, you know, a theme of having overcome, a theme of having gone through things, a thing, a theme of having experienced healing, whatever it is, whatever language you would assign there. Those types of connection points, even if not detailed, can be very, very powerful Is that helpful?
Speaker 7: I think so. I mean, I- y- I have a, I have a quote, um, "Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed, it means it no longer controls you."
Mm-hmm. Like, in other words... 'Cause I don't, I don't just want people coming for you know, like- Yeah ... one thing. But, like, I think that may kind of sum up, like-
Speaker: I agree ...
Speaker 7: we're all broken. Like, we live in a broken world, right? Yeah, yeah. We, we all have broken relationship, but it doesn't mean that it has to define-
Speaker: I agree
Speaker 7: you or limit you or-
Speaker: I agree. I think that word empower you, you used is, sounds like a really fantastic theme to sort of center that niche around. The fact that this is, this is em- empowerment, this is empowering, um, that you yourself have been empowered, that kind of thing, um, I think will, will, could potentially lend a lot of consistency to your marketing.
Good. Thank you. Was that helpful?
Speaker 7: Sure. Thank you.
Speaker: Awesome. You're very welcome. Thanks for sharing that with us. Mm-hmm. All right. iPhone 13 Mini. I don't know
Speaker 8: your name- I knew it ... but you're welcome. It's Trina.
Speaker: Trina, hello. It's Trina. It's nice to see you. Hi,
Speaker 8: Anna. It's good to see you. Hi. You can change my name if you want.
I'm on my phone, and I never- That's okay ... have figured out how to change it, but I-
Speaker: No worries ... fuck,
Speaker 8: I hate that that happened.
Speaker: I knew the minute I heard you say hi. I knew your voice.
Speaker 8: I think it was listed like this. So to jump in, I did Confident Copy, you know, three years ago maybe almost now. Mm-hmm. And, um, my original specialty pages were perinatal, parenting, and teens.
Mm-hmm. I also do brain spotting. And just this summer I've been... I've, uh, resuscitated my website completely, and it's been a ongoing, alive thing, um, much more like it should've been for a while. But-
Speaker: Hmm ...
Speaker 8: I did a bold move of changing my parenting specialty to matrescence. Hmm. I don't know
Speaker: if you've
Speaker 8: heard of this word, okay?
Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 8: Yes, the developmental phase of, of motherhood that's ongoing. Yep. Um, it's already getting more visits.
Speaker: Cool.
Speaker 8: Um, it was my lowest performing page. But, you know, when I did Confident Copy, my red thread, it was... To tell you the truth, I don't even know which one I landed on in the end, but it was either family or trauma.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm. My, um, meta descriptions and stuff were more of, like, a trauma therapist. Mm-hmm. And now I've just pivoted to, um, I'm a somatic maternal mental health therapist.
Speaker: Ooh, okay.
Speaker 8: Okay. Yeah. And, um, I haven't messed... I d- I think I might be able to get away without messing with my SEO, 'cause it's not gonna know matrescence.
It's gonna know family stress and things like that that are already in it. Um, but that's what I'm reaching for. A- and maybe it just helps me as I'm doing these revisions to have that clear red thread. Mm-hmm. Um, but I basically, I love working with new moms. I love working with moms, you know, at any phase.
Mm-hmm. I do work with adolescents still. Mm-hmm. Um, I named it adolescents so it kinda matches that word matrescence. Hmm.
Speaker: Mm-hmm, yeah.
Speaker 8: Yeah. So it's like this got this, like, developmental phase theme to it now. Yeah. But I can stop there. I mean, that's my struggle. I'm like, "Is my red thread still family?" 'Cause I'm not really doing family therapy.
I can- Mm-hmm ... but that's not my thing necessarily. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Jump in.
Speaker: Why are people... So, a, um, teen coming to you, either a parent of a teen coming to you- Uh-huh ... and then we'll say a new mom, and then a mom of a teenager, okay? Those are, like, the three kinds- Yes ... we'll think of. Yes. Why are they choosing you and not someone else?
Speaker 8: Um, they, it's too simplified to say there's something there that they trust. There's something there that's very different. I live in Utah but I'm not a Utah native.
Speaker 9: Mm.
Speaker 8: So some of them are very much, it's clear when they've got somebody that's lived in Utah, they're, you know, and so it's- Mm-hmm ... um, maybe these more out of the box families, less traditional- Mm-hmm
families that are around here. Mm-hmm. Um, it's-
Speaker: What do they appreciate about your non-traditional approach?
Speaker 8: They appreciate that I'm a little bit crunchy but I have no agenda, that it's all about them being educated and making informed decisions themselves.
Speaker: Okay. Okay. Yeah. Crunchy how?
Speaker 8: Crunchy, um, like, you know, I have a lot- Like woo?
Not woo woo. Crunchy like home birth, um- Got it ... like looking up all of the things. Mm-hmm. I've got a ... Yeah, most of my moms, um, are doing that kind of stuff. They have doulas and all that. Okay, so
Speaker: kind of like a holistic-
Speaker 8: Yes ...
Speaker: um, a holistic- Yes ... approach. Okay. Um, what about those, those parents of teens, why are they picking you?
Speaker 8: Um, because they're ... I do, I always do a consult with the teen too, or involve them- Mm. Mm-hmm ... and empower them. Okay. And, um, really it's because, like, they, the parent, the- Sorry, child fell. That's okay. Um, a, a parent-
Speaker 3: It's, um- ...
Speaker 8: hasn't been able to let, have their kid continue therapy 'cause they don't wanna see the therapist.
Mm. And when I talk to, to the teen, they're like, "Okay, I could do this." Yeah. And then they come in and they keep coming, and they're like-
Speaker: Yeah ... "
Speaker 8: Okay, she gets it. Like, this isn't awkward. This isn't painful." Okay. If that answers it.
Speaker: Yeah. Um- And you also used the word somatic earlier. You're a somatic- Yes
maternal mental health therapist. Yes. Which I, I quite like that. Okay. How is the ... Do people know they want somatic therapy? Are they coming to you for that?
Speaker 8: Most of the time it's people that have tried therapy a lot. They're aware that they have a nervous system and that it needs help.
Speaker: Mm.
Speaker 8: And they wanna skip the story and just get to work.
So,
Speaker: yes. Is that your ideal client? Yes. Skipping the story and getting to work?
Speaker 8: Yes. Yep.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 8: Yep.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 8: Yeah, just using the body as a gateway to the mind really.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker: Okay. So I think for you, I mean, I think somatic maternal mental health sounds like it, it does a pretty nice job of encapsulating most of the work that you do.
I think that does leave out the adolescents- Yeah ... a little bit. Yeah. Um, now just like Sabrina was talking about how couples keep calling her- Yeah ... you could, you could never say that you work with teens ever again in your marketing and still get calls for them. Right. So I think it comes down in that regard- Right
to how much you wanna be focusing on teens. Okay.
Speaker 8: Okay.
Speaker: Uh, but the three things to me that I'm hearing from you Trina, that could potentially be sort of, um, r- new or refined red threads for you- Mm-hmm ... would be the somatic- Uh-huh ... um, kind of depth work that you're doing. Um, your people, like you said, they come and they know they have a nervous system.
Yeah. That's a particular type of client.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker: Um, so the somatic approach, um, the more holistic, um, like you said, s- kind of crunchy- Yeah ... um, crunchy approach. And then, like, especially as you're talking about the teens and the, the fact that they like you and o- Yeah ... you know, wanna come to therapy, like this is a, a very, um, uh, like therapy you actually wanna be at, you know?
Speaker 7: Ah, yeah.
Speaker: Um, so for you, I... It does sound like leaning mostly into that approach- Okay ... of how you're doing things is what's gonna kind of bring together these focus areas l- uh, I think best. Yeah. Um, and really highlight what is setting you apart in the, the Utah market you're in.
Speaker 8: I love it.
Speaker: I love it. Does that feel
Speaker 8: good?
Yes.
Speaker: Okay. That's so
Speaker 8: helpful. Thank
Speaker: you. Awesome. Yeah, you're welcome. It's nice to see you, Trina.
Speaker 8: So good to be here.
Speaker: All righty friends, um, we have, uh, uh, certainly at least one other hand raised, but if you are here wanting support from your, with your niche, if you joined a little bit late, um, please do hit that raise hand.
Uh, we've got another 20 minutes or so, and I'm here to help. Um, so just come in with a question around your niche and I'll invite you off of mute by name. June, you're next.
Speaker 9: Hi. Thank you. Hi, June. Uh, hi. I've been networking and w- watching your shows and information for years. Uh, it was- Oh,
Speaker: wonderful ... I
Speaker 9: started- I'm happy you're
Speaker: here
Speaker 9: way back when, when you first started doing 15-minute consults. So, uh- Oh, man ...
Speaker: I, I-
Speaker 9: Yeah, you have been around- I know ... for a good long time, June. I've been... I totally trust your system. Um- Oh, well, thank you ... and I'm on the verge of purchasing one of your templates and then- Awesome ... seeing where else that will bring me.
So, um, and I realize I don't know really how to talk about myself. I'm very vague in my presentations.
Speaker 4: Hmm.
Speaker 9: But I've been able to... I have some, like, catch words of what I work with, uh- Okay ... and I wanna see, and I know more clearly, 'cause I think you guided me in this, sometimes it's important to know what you're not willing to work with.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker 9: And I've come from an ex- you know, intensive background of community mental health- Hmm ... leadership, and specific, uh, trauma, real intensive trauma- Okay ... uh, in the community, and I don't want to go that intensive trauma- Yeah ... route again. Yeah. So- I find that the clients that I'm working with have d- you know, uh, over- are overwhelmed.
They ha- they are reactive in their relationships, don't really know what's going on. A number, a quite a number of them have been involved in the past in, uh, what I would now say are somewhat narcissistic, malignant narcissistic relationships, and are in kind of in recovery. I don't do well- Okay ... working with individuals who are currently embedded in such relationships.
Mm-hmm. But they've had them in their past. They may have moved away, and are really- Okay ... reprocessing, you know, the impact, and are beginning- Yeah ... to have a sense of what that ne- negative impact is. So I work with- Mm-hmm ... with setting boundaries, uh, boundary awareness, somatic awareness- Mm-hmm ... of when they're violated, uh, or when they have been.
I'm, um, uh, almost, uh, certified with EMDR. I've been doing EMDR for quite a number of years.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 9: Um, w- and clarifying values, I'm finding I'm turning to act quite a bit. Okay. And that when the clients are benefiting from actually knowing who they are value-wise-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 9: uh, and that really is very focusing. I have techniques of working with that, and that's very enlightening.
They're making difficult changes in their lives, wanting to move on. And yeah, making decisions. And I just work- Okay ... with, you know, um, I don't want to call myself post-traumatic, but trauma, uh, trauma-focused, but a lot of background in trauma. And so I, I used EMDR, not to advertise it so much as to say, this is a tool that I can bring out.
And so many of my clients benefit from it. Mm-hmm. But it's embedded in a trusting relationship. In other words- Mm-hmm ... it's not on the menu t- for them to select. But- Hmm ... you build trust and- Mm-hmm ... over time I use EMDR, and other, you know- Okay ... CBT and so on as need be. Okay. And DBT tech. So yeah, so I'm very vague, and I'm just trying to kind of come through and I realize I'm really stuck, and I don't wanna u- get your template, uh, and do the rest of it until I get more clear- Till you
Speaker: know this
Speaker 9: a little bit better,
Speaker: yeah
promoting myself. Okay.
Speaker 9: And even if I come- Um ... away with one tip today- Yeah ... I'll be grateful.
Speaker: All right. Sounds good. Well, I, I hope I can deliver on that. Um, here's a question I've posed to a couple other, other folks here today, June, but um, if there are other therapists around you that could help with, with these types of things, why are people choosing you and not another therapist?
Speaker 9: Um, I think in part when they call me, well, they're f- some of them are saying that they've read my site, they've read- Mm-hmm ... my words, and, uh, that appeals to them. They just knew
Speaker: about the blog. That's a good
Speaker 9: sign. That's just a f- a few. Some have said that. Others have, uh... I, I also, uh, do grief work.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 9: Certain aspects of grief work, and the grief embedded in viol- boundary violations- Mm-hmm ... and trauma as well. Mm-hmm. Um, and some of them, they have comfort when I call them for the free consult. Yeah. They have rapport, uh, there. Yeah. And they come in, and I think they do feel comfortable when they're with me.
Yeah. So there's a certain warmth, um, that they- Okay ... experience and non- non-judgmentalism. I mean, they feel- Yeah ... that they can connect with me. Okay. So I'm, I'm sure that's the case with other therapists as well, but that's what they share with me. Okay. And they, and they come back.
Speaker: Yeah. That's a good sign too.
They
Speaker 9: keep coming back, and then they'll- Um- You know, I'll close with them, and then when they come up with, especially relationship issues- Mm-hmm ... although it never occurred to me that that's what I was going to become more specialized- Mm ... in.
Speaker: Yeah, I bet. When I started. Um, Jude, I want you to hold in your mind, like, three of your favorite clients, either that you...
now or in the past. Just three favorite clients. Um, what were their goals for therapy? Do you see any common themes there?
Speaker 9: The, some relief from the anxiety and from the confusion that they were feeling. Mm. And this, like, coming to this edge and of really needing some help and-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 9: coming to someone for support.
I mean-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 9: that's as, uh, they weren't coming that they knew they had trauma, and they wanted to- Mm-hmm ... process it. They somehow discover this when they're with me-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 9: through their own unfolding, through the unfolding of the therapy, and then they, then we begin to work on that more deeply. Yeah. But it's just their level of distress, um-
Speaker: Yeah
Speaker 9: specifically, um, I'm, I'm also trained in maternal mental health, more to do with grief when- Okay ... mothers lose their babies in utero. Mm. Okay. Um, that's a whole s- other specialty. Okay. I don't post... I just post grief and loss.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Uh, and some people- Okay ... come to me for that, a few people.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 9: You know, because there are not- Um
specialists in the area. Mm. Okay, I'll ask one- Yeah, so I'm swimming around because that's how I feel. I- I'm, what I'm doing, that phase right now.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Um, and I'm in process of, like, transitioning my identity.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 9: As a therapist
Speaker: that's resolving- Um, I'm just gonna ask a follow-up question that's escaping me.
So you just shared about the therapy goals, finding relief from things. Oh, here's my other question. Again, holding in mind those three clients, um, what were the, the tipping points that got those clients into therapy? Because we all, when we decide to go to therapy, we've been living in distress or discomfort for weeks, months, years, whatever, right?
And then something happens that leads us to be like, "You know what? I need to look for support," or, "I need to look for support again," um, if they've been in the past. So June, what are often the tipping points for your clients?
Speaker 9: Uh, dysregulation. I mean, not so much of being angry, but being full of grief and desperation. Mm. You know? Mm-hmm. I'm thinking of a client who lost their brother under very mysterious circumstances-
Speaker 4: Mm ...
Speaker 9: and are so distraught, and they know they have- Yeah ... anxiety, so they- Yeah ... reach out, uh, to that end.
Another- Yeah ... not being able to bear the anxiety and distress- Mm-hmm ... anymore, having to- Yeah ... do with their current life. Yeah. How the, everything, the work, the family, integrating new f- marriages and new children. I mean, it- Yeah ... it varies, but they, they are at that point of, I'm gonna say desperation- Mm-hmm
having to do with making changes in their own- Mm ... um, and finding support. And yeah. Mm-hmm. So it's very... Yeah. Yeah. Well, what
Speaker: else has
Speaker 9: come- Something that's coming up for me- This other person- Go ahead ... yeah, recently, she said she knew the, she, I was the one for her. She's in a work situation, again, dealing with someone who has what sounds to me like a personality disorder, and she's in the context where that is in a leader, the person is in a leadership role.
Mm. She's learning, trying to function. What can I do? Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and I think I'm finding quite often, uh, reactions or s- pain due to involvement with personality disordered- Mm-hmm ... featured individuals. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I can't dis- I can't diagnose those individuals . Of
Speaker: course.
Speaker 9: Of course. I have to do a lot of tr- training and awakening, uh, of the-
Speaker: Yeah
Speaker 9: to the- Okay ... yeah.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 9: And then coping strategies for that, which I don't know that there are many if you're, if you're constantly being persecuted. Uh-
Speaker: Sure ...
Speaker 9: in
Speaker: the- Um, so something that's coming up for me that I'm, I'm hearing from you as you describe this, June, is, is many of your clients are coming in feeling controlled by their anxiety, feeling controlled by their grief, their- Yeah
relationship issues. Um, and that a lot of what your work i- is, is about kind of undoing that, right? Like, releasing them from- Yes ... kind of the grips of that.
Speaker 9: Yeah, that's right. Releasing it from... That's right, releasing it-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 9: from the grip. Thank you, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. That, to me, feels like a really common, uh, theme that ties these things together really well, and allows- Yeah
for a lot of variety. I mean, I think a lot of us could say that we felt controlled by, you know, an emotion or whatever at some point in our life, so I think it allows a great deal of variety, but also lends a lot of focus for the person who has identified that in their life and wants to see a change.
How does it feel, uh, to hear that reflected back to you, June?
Speaker 9: That is, uh, yeah, feeling controlled and needing, yeah, feeling controlled by the- Mm-hmm ... intensity of the emotion- Yeah ... that they're experiencing at this time.
Speaker: Right, right. Um- Okay ...
Speaker 9: yeah, which is what brings a lot of people to therapy, but that seems to be resonant through all- Yeah
of my clients who stick with me. Yeah. Most of them do.
Speaker: Perfect.
Speaker 9: Yeah.
Speaker: Perfect. All right. Well, I hope that was helpful, June. That was a, that was a fun one.
Speaker 9: That's an identity finding one in my transition. I'd have to figure out who I am again,
Speaker: I, I, I understand that ...
Speaker 9: before I purchase your template.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Thank you. All right. Well, yes, thank you. Thanks for sharing that with us and the opportunity to workshop it with you. Maria, hello.
Speaker 4: Hello. Can you see me? I sure can. Okay, great. So I am a somatic therapist and osteopath. Okay. I wanna share a little bit about my background because when I did your niche method, I- Yeah
I resonated with being an approach-based person.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 4: Um, so I wanna tell you a little bit about my approach and then- Okay ... I feel like I need help integrating, um, and maybe some, like, permission or some insight from, like, you actually knowing the therapy field and these- Yeah ... things because so many of the niche marketing people, they aren't therapy specific, and they don't- Yeah
actually know- It kind of doesn't- ... the background. Yeah, doesn't work. So I feel like I want your help, like, that you might know about some of this background and- Okay ... translating it to-
Speaker: Sure ...
Speaker 4: people. Okay. So I got, I got started because I myself had debilitating pain that prevented me from working, and I went searching for what could I...
modalities, how could I help myself. And so I researched all these somatic-based practices and started training in them. Um, really methods that w- aren't so known or they weren't known- Okay ... back then, like Feldenkrais, Body-Mind Centering, these, like, hands-on practices.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 4: And then I became an osteopath and hands-on practice, so I'm not a physician in the States.
I went to Canada. Okay. And when I was doing my thesis for osteopathic college, I did it on the vagal system for vagal regulation and started going to the Cape Cod Institute and with Porges and Bessel van der Kolk. Like, I had this turning moment with him where people were asking him about trauma. You know, he's, like, saying developmental trauma, like, why it matters, right?
And he's... People ask him, like, "What do you do about it?" And he's like, "They should go see Feldenkrais and craniosacral practitioner." And I was like, "That's me." Mm. And nobody in my world, in the world, like, n- f- I feel like the public doesn't know that they should go to those kind of practitioners if they have trauma, especially- Uh-huh
developmental trauma.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 4: And that- Even those people trained in somatic modalities like that don't actually real- often realize that they're useful for trauma imprints. These kinds of things. So, yes. Sure. Okay. So, like, I am that person that-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 4: both when I did more additional trauma training with, like, the advan- with Kathy Kain and Stephen Terrell, who do the touch work and for developmental trauma- Okay
and pre and perinatal trauma of-
Speaker 6: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 4: recognizing birth and prenatal imprints. So I have, like, the best training for all of that. Yeah. Uh, I was invited into the sensory motor psychotherapy training recently. Anyway, like, so much training, but I have so little clients. Like- Hmm ... I feel so under-known -
Speaker: Yeah
Speaker 4: for this. Um, so I could use your help in, like, making the, these things come together be more like a benefit-
Speaker: Uh-huh ...
Speaker 4: to my, to both, like, I have great skill and experience, some experience with, and a lot of skill for working with children. Mm-hmm. Okay. Especially, like, infant, preg- from basically conception-
Speaker: Mm-hmm
Speaker 4: pregnancy into, um, early childhood to- Okay ... and then recognizing adults typically that are in some sort of physical, often physical pain or want nervous system regulation- Okay ... because it's to the point where they are having a challenge, like, work, with physical functioning. Yeah. You know, like lots of people with trauma have physical functioning-
Speaker: Absolutely.
Right ...
Speaker 4: issues.
Speaker: Right. Right. Um, so, uh, to, to be sure I'm understanding, Maria, do you offer any- Yeah ... sort of like traditional talk therapy, or is all of your work this kind of touch somatic work?
Speaker 4: Um, I can do Zoom sessions where I'm having, like, a somatic process conversation- Okay ... of, like, noticing sensations, working- Yeah
with, you know, uh, processing traumatic memories, activating def- Yeah ... an active defense, letting the body sequence do something with- But you primarily,
Speaker: you primarily prefer to be doing the touch work. Like, that is your, that's your zone of genius?
Speaker 4: Yes. I would prefer to be in person doing- Yeah ... actually, like, my sweet spot is I really thrive with working with intensives- Okay
where people, um, where I see them, like, over a weekend or for the week or, um- Mm-hmm ... and I live, like, in the country in, like, a retreat-based place outside- Cool ... of a major city, outside of New York City. Yeah.
Speaker: Gotcha.
Speaker 4: So- Okay ... and I'm trying to get, like, especially my foot in the door with, like, at a clinic, like, a...
Some sort of integrative health clinic, like, for fertility- Mm-hmm ... or, like, some other-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 4: clinic to, like, get... I wanna be at, like, the watering hole where people come already.
Speaker: Yeah. No, I get
Speaker 4: it. And, and, like-
Speaker: Okay ...
Speaker 4: maybe online maybe- Mm-hmm ... but, like, I- I'm ready to be out of hiding.
Speaker: Yeah. I like that. Um, so I think this definitely could, um, I think we- we could get into, like, kind of more marketing coaching here, Maria.
When it comes to your niche, um, I f- your, this is a fantastic example of being skilled in things people don't know about yet. Um, and I actually saw this, um, when intensives, we were mentioning intensives, like, intensives were growing in popularity. At first, no one knew about them. Like, you do, wait, you do therapy for longer than an hour?
Like, that's absolutely mind-blowing to people, right? Um, there are even certain modalities. I think IFS is a great example of something that felt so out there that is today more in the- the, kind of, common vernacular. Um, so I think you're- you're a great example of- of essentially being, like, a best-kept secret is what it sounds like you sort of think you are.
So in cases like that, we, I- I agree with you, and I think you're thinking correctly that you need to be, um, focusing in on the benefit to the client. Like, getting in where they already are, which is focusing more on trauma treatment and less on how you get there. Like, that needs to s- kind of be the hook for people in your marketing is what you're treating, what they know is wrong, because they don't know yet that the way that you do it is what's gonna change their life.
Um, and so you, you have to hook them, which can s- feel like a manipulative term, but ultimately, that's just kind of what draws them in, right? Um, and then from there, share more about, about how, how you work and what you do. Um, now, like I said, this could sort of get into, like, marketing coaching, but I think your opportunity, I already can hear you thinking this way in what you've shared with me, is going to be a lot more, kind of, boots on the ground, getting connected with people who can share the, the power of the work that you do with the people they're, that they're already seeing.
Um, I think this will be a little bit more of a grassroots thing likely for you, um, but you're on the, you're, uh, they're the early part of the, of kind of that, um, growth that I've seen happen with a lot of other approaches, um, and kind of ways of doing therapy. Is that helpful?
Speaker 4: Y- yeah, and just to make sure I understand.
So it's good to know that it's probably not the methods piece 'cause they might not be familiar with them already.
Speaker: Right. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 4: So how... So it's more about, like, what they're struggling with? Like, so, like, for example, and so you know s- more, I'm assuming you are familiar with trauma and- Yeah ... trauma populations.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Do you think that people... Like, I'm trying to make a kinda niche decision or if, if this needs to be part of the niche decision between people that are, like, trauma identifying as, like, they already know that they have trauma and they want- Yeah ... help. Like, they've already read the books, and they're like- Yeah
"What do I do about it?" Yeah. Those people versus, like, the people that are like, "I'm having these symptoms of, like"-
Speaker: Yeah ... "
Speaker 4: complex illness and chronic pain." And-
Speaker: Mm-hmm ...
Speaker 4: mis- Yeah ... and, like, whatever- We call it trauma unaware ... all the, like, symptoms. Yeah. Kind of unaware, but they're, like, you're educating on the symptoms and then connecting.
Like-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 4: do you think you can talk to both those people at the same time, or it's better to, like, already be with, like- You
Speaker: certainly can. Yeah. We have, we have clinicians who, whose ideal client... We have, we kind of think of it in thr- three phases, like trauma unaware, trauma curious, trauma aware. I would guess, and, and Maria, this is just more kind of, yeah, like- Yeah
industry, like, gut instinct. I would guess that leaning primarily into trauma aware people, um, would be, would be your best bet because those people are go- are likely to be the most open to approaches beyond, like, may- what they already know about. Um, whereas that trauma unaware person, they have to not only realize they have trauma but also be, you know, come, kind of become open to a- an approach that isn't as familiar to them.
Whereas I think those trauma aware people are gonna have a higher sense of urgency, um, and are likely to be, um, kind of more ready to jump in with you
Speaker 4: Yeah. And that it's, um... Sometimes I feel like it can be a bit like liability of the people who are not yet aware- Mm-hmm ... if they like become- Sure ... aware by being with you. So- Sure ... I lean into the trauma aware, and I think maybe like more of the symptoms where the, like the type of people that are trauma, maybe not fully aware, but they have symptoms- Yeah
that are strong, like-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 4: physical dysregulation.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. I agree with you. I think you're headed in the right direction, Maria. Thank you for sharing that with us, and certainly something we would be happy to workshop more with you in something like Confident Copy or, or whatever that might be
All right, Sage, I wanna get to you with our last couple minutes if you'd like to come off of mute and video if you're able, um, and share your question
Speaker 3: Hey.
Speaker: Hi, Sage.
Speaker 3: Hey. I just wanna say thanks for doing this. I really respect everything you do, and-
Speaker: Oh, well, thank you. You're welcome ...
Speaker 3: okay. So, um, I work with my mom.
She's a occupational therapist.
Speaker: Okay. So,
Speaker 3: kind of in a th- in a therapist world- Mm-hmm ... but a little bit different. Um-
Speaker: Yeah ...
Speaker 3: and we did your Magnetic Niche Method.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: Um, yeah, and it was really helpful, but it, um... I don't know. We're having a hard time still trying to, like, find something that feels like it in- it's all-encompassing, but not, like- Mm-hmm
super long. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Um,
Speaker 3: as a background, um, she's a pediatric OT.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 3: And, um, we also really value parent education, and sometimes what we're running into is, in making our niche method, is that it ended up sounding like we just do parent coaching.
Speaker: Ah.
Speaker 3: But so let me read to you what we have.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 3: All righty.
So we help families with children between the ages of two and 14 navigate dysregulation, sensory sensitivities, attention challenges, and other day-to-day struggles associated with family life so they can worry less about their child's future and focus more on enjoying the present moment.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker 3: So yeah, that's what we have, and I feel like it covers a, you know, the majority of the things, but-
Speaker: Mm-hmm
Speaker 3: I don't know. What is your initial feedback?
Speaker: I mean, I think that that sounds really comprehensive, and I, to me, it doesn't center the, the parent too much. Um, I think it sounds like the, the fact that you really, like, value the, the parent collaboration and the parent participation, keeping them in the loop, is kind of like an additional, uh, like, benefit to the client.
I think the focus is still what you've shared there, and I feel like I have a decent understanding of who you're bringing in as you state that. Um, I think when it comes to how you market that niche, so it might not belong in the niche statement, but how you market that niche is all about partnering with the parent as well.
Um, so, you know, the, the, the child is your, is your patient or is your client, but the parent involvement and the parent feeling supported is also, you know, key to you, um, to, to their success. I think is a, a really cool thing that, like I said, is could sort of be an added benefit in terms of your marketing.
Speaker 3: Okay. All right. So we would just kind of, you know, in different parts of our website mention that, like in our m- like, when we're talking about what it would look like to work with us or-
Speaker: Yes, exactly ...
Speaker 3: our values or something. Okay.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Um-
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and s- I, in another podcast episode of yours I listened to where it was kind of like a recording of another live session that you did.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: Um, you were talking to another, um, practitioner who works with kids, but also you have to attract that par- the parents.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker 3: Um, and having kind of that dynamic of-
Speaker: Right ...
Speaker 3: um, do you think that the niche statement, like, does a, a good enough job of managing that?
Speaker: Yeah, I think um, I think occupational therapy is proba- if, if I had to guess, and my zone of genius is definitely particularly in the psychotherapy space.
But if I had to guess, I think, um, the, the parent is looking even more for, like, functioning for their child, um, in the work that, that, that you're gonna be doing with them. And so I think your niche statement does a nice job of that. That, that balance that you're talking about, that tension between speaking to the child but also acknowledging the pain of the parent that ultimately leads them to reach out.
'Cause, like, your k- kid is dysregulated. The reason you reach out to a therapist is because you can't handle it. You feel... You have feelings about it. Um, that is where your copy can do that heavy lifting to acknowledge, like, "Hey, I... It's really hard to be a parent of a child with sensory, sensory sensitivities," you know?
Um, so acknowledging that pain. But at the end of the day, I feel like your niche is doing a nice job of stating what it is that you actually do and then, you know, kind of opening up the door to discuss more about how you support both parent and child.
Speaker 3: Okay. Okay, cool. That's really good to hear. Awesome.
'Cause, you know, it's like when you're going through it and you're like, "I don't know, I think maybe..." "I
Speaker: don't know. Is this good?" Absolutely. Right. No, I hear you. I hear you. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Okay, cool. Thank you so much.
Speaker: You're so welcome, Sage. Yeah, thanks for raising your hand. I'm glad you got to round out our time.
Um, whether you listened in or you got direct coaching, I hope that this was helpful for you. I, I love these. I could do this till the cows come home. The only reason I'm signing off is 'cause I have to go, uh, wake my kids up from nap time. But um, I've so enjoyed this time. If you're wondering how to put this niche into action, our Confident Copy Live cohort is opening up in August, so if that's something you're looking for, if you want this type of coaching, um, in a container in a weekly basis for 16 weeks, then Confident Copy Live could be really helpful for you.
Um, but no matter what, hopefully what I offered, um, either to you directly or to the folks you were listening in on gave you some direction and some things to think on. Um, in this market, your niche matters. It matters more than it ever has. And if we can get clear on why people choose you and on what those tipping points and those entry points are, um, we open you up to, to the possibility of creating the kind of practice you want, and that's what I'm after.
So I'm cheering for all of you. I'm so glad you were here today. Um, we'll go ahead and make this, um, replay available on the podcast and in the Facebook group, so feel free to come back to it. And thanks again for being here today. Bye, everyone.
Resources & Links Mentioned:
Confident Copy Live waitlist: https://walkerstrategyco.com/waitlist
Magnetic Niche Method: https://walkerstrategyco.com/mnm
The Walker Strategy Co website: https://walkerstrategyco.com
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About Marketing Therapy
Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker—marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.
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