Meet Natalie Sperling | Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natalie Sperling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After working in the mental health field for about 10 years I became completely burnt out. I kept feeling at odds with industry standards in terms of expected case load, patient care/advocacy, and pay. I realized that in order to be able to show up for my patients in a meaningful way, I had to find freedom and fulfillment in my career again. My therapy practice was born out of me taking the steps I work with my patients on everyday; 1) Acknowledging what’s working and what’s not working 2) Identifying my guiding values, goals or desired future 3) Taking meaningful steps in achieving this desired life. I created my therapy practice so that I could be the therapist I wanted to be, my authentic self. For me that means showing up in my yoga pants with a beverage in hand to my computer each day, asking questions, cracking lots of jokes, sprinkling sessions with the occasional cuss word, and catching people off guard with some deep insight.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I feel like therapists are often encouraged to share as little as possible about themselves and minimize expression of their personality. I find that approach rather sterile and cold. I pride myself on being my genuine self in sessions with clients; levelling with them on shared experiences like thinking about that one embarrassing thing you said to your friend 7 years ago while shampooing in the shower. My practice is a place where clients can cuss, crack jokes, and just feel comfortable being themselves because I can too. It was hard getting to this place because I encountered lots of imposter syndrome, and often didn’t believe I could do it. I just had to leap and hope it worked out. And it did; people liked my more casual, unconventional brand of therapy and they kept booking appointments and before I knew it I had a full caseload of clients who looked forward to our sessions each week. Give yourself grace, keep making mistakes and eventually you’ll figure it out…or at least that’s what I am trying to do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A few days in LA with friends… I would definitely be taking them for plenty of good food; a sandwich from Gjusta, chicken swharma laffa from Tel Aviv Grill, thai basil eggplant at Night + Market, fish tacos from Great White, birria queso tacos and a margarita from Lola’s, breakfast burrito from Bardonna, pork vermicelli bowl from Nong La, meatballs from Milo&Olive, cocktails at broken shaker etc
Give them some LA experiences; hiking culver steps to baldwin overlook at night, surveying the pacific ocean from the getty villa, imagining were in italy at the venice canals, seeing some comedy at the UCB theater, catching some music at the Hotel Cafe, a-list stargazing at Chateau Marmont among other things.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have so many people to thank in supporting me and my career. First and foremost, my late mother, who worked as a social worker and who showed me what true unconditional love/support looked like. My fiancee, who supported me as I struggled with burnout, felt lost in my career, helped me figure out my next steps and championed me opening my own practice. My step grandmother, who modeled what being a private practice therapist could look like and who always shows up as her authentic self. And of course a whole host of coworkers, bosses and supervisees who I learned and continue to learn a great deal from.

Website: https://nataliesperling.my.canva.site/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsperling0

Image Credits
google