Light Up Your Business
Welcome to the Light Up Your Business podcast, where we dive deep into the strategies, stories, and insights that drive growth, change, success and innovation for small business owners.
Each episode dives into the struggles behind the scenes—from burnout and financial pressure to self-doubt and juggling personal life. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, this podcast offers candid conversations, practical advice, and encouragement to help you stay grounded, find balance, and keep going. Because building a business shouldn’t mean losing yourself in the process.
Light Up Your Business
Unlocking Relationship Dynamics: Insights from Family Therapist Tycee Belcastro
Ever wondered how understanding your family's dynamics can transform your relationships? Join us as we chat with Tycee Belcastro, a dedicated family and marriage therapist from Grand Junction, who shares her inspiring journey into therapy, influenced profoundly by her mother and her own healing experiences. Tycee sheds light on the deeply personal and transformative power of therapy, particularly for individuals from less privileged backgrounds. She emphasizes the importance of creating a safe space for clients to explore their personal challenges and how her diverse practice helps individuals, couples, families, and teens navigate their unique paths to growth and healing.
Discover the secrets behind modern relationship theory and how systems theory plays a crucial role in therapy. Tycee explains the impact of understanding clients' family and social structures to provide comprehensive support. Our discussion highlights the importance of communication in relationships and how individual emotional issues can reflect on relational dynamics. We also touch on the evolving acceptance of therapy and the role technology has played in making therapy more accessible. Tycee shares the rigorous educational path required to become a proficient therapist and the profound satisfaction of witnessing clients' breakthroughs.
From the changing attitudes towards therapy among younger generations to surprising demographics like older cowboys seeking help, our conversation covers it all. Tycee underscores the importance of early intervention in relationships to foster better communication and conflict resolution skills. She provides insights into the challenges therapists face, such as balancing professional responsibilities with personal well-being and the importance of continuous growth in practice. We also discuss the impact of technology on therapy, particularly telehealth, and strategies for maintaining a consistent therapist-client relationship. Join us for a conversation that promises to enlighten and inspire, offering valuable insights into the world of therapy and mental wellness.
To connect with Tycee contact her at: https://www.counselingwithtycee.com/
Say goodbye to overwhelm and self-doubt, and hello to confidence and success. Join the Faith Filled Coaching family today and step into the abundant future you've always envisioned.
Visit FaithFilledCoach.com to schedule your free 30-minute consultation. Let's make your business dreams a reality, together.
Welcome to the Light Up your Business podcast, the show where we dive deep into the world of small businesses. I'm your host, tammy Hershberger, and each episode will bring you inspiring stories, expert insights and practical tips to help your small business thrive. Whether you're an entrepreneur just starting out or a seasoned business owner, this podcast is your go-to source for success in the small business world. Let's get started to source for success in the small business world. Let's get started. Hi everyone, we want to welcome you back to Light Up your Business podcast. Today I have a very special guest. Her name is Tysi Belcastro. How are you doing, tysi? Great, how are you? I'm very good, good, so do you want to tell me the name of the business that you work? Because do you own your own business being a family and marriage therapist, or are you just? How do they look at that?
Tammy Hershberger:And yeah, I'm in private practice, so my business is called counseling with Ticey counseling with Ticey, okay, and you are here in grand junction, I am, I'm located on Patterson and grand junction, okay. And then, um, do you also do like zoom telehealth kind of stuff, cause I actually know a therapist who does that.
Tycee Belcastro:I do. Yes, I do both. I work in person and I do telehealth and also groups, and I work with individuals and families and couples and teenagers. Oh, so all of that.
Tammy Hershberger:Yes, wonderful. Well, we're going to dig into her business a little bit today. So whether you're looking to do um, get into her field or you need a therapist or anything like that, it's always kind of fun to talk to them and see, I personally have a therapist that I've got a couple years ago after kind of going through burnout in my businesses, and so we're going to kind of dig into that, taisi Great Okay. So my first question is what inspired you to become a marriage and family therapist? And if you could mix your background in with that, that would be great.
Tycee Belcastro:Sure, well, I mean, as far as background, I was born and raised primarily here in the Grand Valley, between here and Glenwood Springs, so I'm from Colorado. I have one adult son who is almost 40 now just moved to Portland Oregon, which is very cool. And how I got into what I'm doing is I would say that when I was young my mother exposed me to therapy, which when I was young really wasn't something people talked a lot about then and it had such a taboo. But I think it was really good because it opened me up to the idea that I could do that and kind of expanded my, my perspective. So that later in my life, when in my 20s, when I decided I really wanted to pursue my own therapy, it was an okay thing for me to do and because of my own therapeutic journey, which was one that was very healing and awakening, really changed my life and that inspired my own personal growth. So at some point in my own process I became aware I wanted to help other people have this profound and life-changing experience as well.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, speaking of that, um, I'm going to ask you something that's on here, but stigma with it is what I call it. Um, I grew up very poor. That therapy was not even like reality I've. I didn't hear about that until I was older. And then I remember being older and I kept thinking like you've got to be really messed up to go to therapy is what my mind thought, which is so just, it's wrong, you know. And then you start to go and you realize like there's so much stuff from your past that you don't deal with and when you're a kid that happens to you, and then life, and then sometimes you realize like I don't really have a good place to go talk to somebody that I feel safe with. You know, cause a lot of times you don of speak to that a little bit of like as a therapist, how you can help people. You know what it does, because you said it was profound for you. I mean, I don't know how much into that you want to go, but yeah, probably I mean.
Tycee Belcastro:So we a good therapist, I believe provides a safe environment for you to be able to talk and explore any aspect of who you are. But also we're people who have the skill to be able to help you see into your own blind spots. You know like. Imagine standing on the outside of a picture and looking at a painting. You know you're standing on the outside looking at a painting. From the outside you'd be able to see all sorts of detail, but if you were the painting, it would be hard to see you. You know you're. You're working with someone with the training and the background to be able to see aspects of you you don't see and also who can teach you the skills to navigate, to better understand your own issues and to navigate your issues yeah, and that's a good point, what you're saying, um, because I think when you're, you know, when you're in the forest, you can't see through the trees Like you have.
Tammy Hershberger:No, sometimes when I go in therapy and I'm always like man I didn't realize that these behaviors I have today are because of things from my childhood and I can't start working through them. Or and that's why I ruin relationships sometimes or sometimes I'm not always the best leader, because I get frustrated and I don't even know how to express it, and therapy has massively helped me with that.
Tycee Belcastro:So completely.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, so that's really good, okay. Um, so you had said that you work with teens, families, single people, I mean kind of everything. Is there one niche that you like better than other, or you just like it all?
Tycee Belcastro:You know I really like work, I really like variety, I really enjoy working. It's it's um ongoingly challenging. Every you know I like my day to sort of be mixed up between individuals and couples and groups and that variety is challenging for me and interesting and, you know, kind of fulfills my passions. So I like the variety.
Tammy Hershberger:Now I'm curious in group. I've never done group coaching. Well, I mean coaching group therapy. I've done group coaching Therapy. Do you find that people open up more in group therapy?
Tycee Belcastro:To me, me, for me personally, it seems scary yeah, of course it always feels scary to people in the beginning yeah um, but what they recognize quickly is that, you know, once people have been in a group for a while, we really create a very safe atmosphere and I guide the group so people don't feel, um, like they're just out there on their own, um, and, and yeah, people open up a lot and really make significant connections with others. It's like it becomes a little home for them or a place where they get to talk about things in a way that they don't really get to to anywhere else. They don't get this type of environment anywhere else, and the relationships they develop are not only supportive, but it just provides this kind of little laboratory for practicing dealing with our issues and getting to know our issues, and people get the perspective of everyone in the room. So everyone starts out a little scared and then over time that all falls away, and so I love group dynamics.
Tammy Hershberger:I can believe there's kind of a bond that happens with the people Very much. I'm curious in the group setting, is it people that have similar issues like grief or divorce or whatever it is, or is it a mixture of everything?
Tycee Belcastro:you know I've really done both, so I've done groups that are theme oriented. Um, I've worked in the area of sex assault and sex abuse for a long time, so I've had those groups and still do, but I also like to do just, uh, general groups that are not really theme oriented. So everybody kind of comes in with different issues and different challenges going on in their lives and it's really, I think, very beneficial to all the other members because as they hear someone going through, whatever their experience was, it reminds them of things they might not have even seen in them or their own lives, you know sure, yeah, yeah.
Tammy Hershberger:And I think sometimes, like I was talking about earlier bonding when you hear someone else has issues similar to yours or yes you realize, you're not alone.
Tycee Belcastro:That's totally right yeah, that's one of the major benefits of groups.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, I'm not alone here yeah, and in this world it's a lonely especially entrepreneurs, which is what a lot of people are on this podcast I listen to and it's a lonely especially entrepreneurs, which is what a lot of people are on this podcast that listen to. And it's a lonely world because, you know, I have my husband in it with me, but not everybody has their spouse doing it with them. And so you start to realize, like I go home and you know workers go home and they're just done for the day. I have to think about payroll, I have to think about budgets, I think what numbers like this person, and so there's always stuff that you drag home with you and then trying to keep that out of your marriage. You know, if you don't work together, and then when you do work together, it's like but now we have to have something else to talk about, because we can't talk about work all the time. So, yeah, it's very interesting.
Tycee Belcastro:Every entrepreneur needs a therapist.
Tammy Hershberger:No, I absolutely agree and that's why I'm so glad you came on here, because I think it's. I want that stigma to go away. Um, I want that reality of like it is an investment financially, because you're it's not a one and done. Usually I mean, I've never experienced that, um. But at the same time, the movement you make, the progress you make and the fact that it's helping you, it's growing you as a person, it's going to grow you as a leader, as a business owner, and then you know it helps your marriage, your families right all of those things.
Tycee Belcastro:When I was an undergraduate, I did a research project on the psychological effects of entrepreneurship.
Tammy Hershberger:Okay, That'd be interesting. It was really. Can you tell me a little bit?
Tycee Belcastro:Well, you know when, chris, this was a long time ago, so, um, but what stands out to me in my memory of it was that I I ended up interviewing several pretty high level entrepreneurs, and I interviewed the entrepreneur and I also interviewed their spouses and what I learned was that there was kind of a a disparity like the entrepreneur felt very supported by their spouses, but the spouses didn't necessarily feel that way.
Tammy Hershberger:Yes.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah, and I heard an awful lot about all the stresses, the things you just were talking about, like there's just such burnout because we wear all the hats.
Tammy Hershberger:yeah yeah, yep, I'm curious in your and you're on your business and it's. You know it's a different field than mine, but how do you personally deal with that?
Tycee Belcastro:burnout? Yeah, sure, well, lots of ways. One way is meditating every day, or I have a morning routine that I find helpful. So you know I use meditation and exercise to stay grounded. My spiritual practices help me too. Also, taking down time you know there are times when I think down time is really needed and rest and relaxation are, and other times it's really discipline. Yeah, yeah, I just need to get focused and do it. And then times that I just need to take a break and go on vacation and spend time with my family, and you know all of that.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, yeah, and really learning to shut your mind off. Yes, I have a very busy mind.
Tycee Belcastro:Meditation.
Tammy Hershberger:I need to look into that more, because I do struggle with that even to this day, like I cannot get that mind to shut off. Last night I had so much stuff going through my head I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinking, like why can I not make this shut off because there's so much stuff?
Tycee Belcastro:you know I'm you being a mom and you know sure your kids raised but I'm sure you've experienced there's all kinds of stuff in your mind and I think that the task you know is really to allow it to be there. Just not get so attached to it. That's a good point, like it can sort of just go, you know, you notice it, you notice it and then breathe, and then notice it and then breathe, and eventually you just notice it and it goes by. Each thought goes by. Yeah, it kind of takes you to a different spot.
Tammy Hershberger:It's a good, I think that's a good thing. I'm going to try that. It kind of takes you to a different spot. It's a good, I think that's a good thing. I'm gonna try that, yeah, because I find that almost becomes like addictive it does I mean it really does because I just worry and I think about stuff and then I think, if I go over it 5 000 times in my mind, I'm gonna have it sorted out by morning and you won't no, and then I have a conversation.
Tammy Hershberger:I'm like it didn't happen at all, like I planned. What a waste. You know that's right, so yeah, well, that's really good. Okay, do you mind sharing the journey into the field of therapy and what motivated you to focus mostly on marriage and family? But it does sound like you do other things, sure, so I mean you had mentioned therapy. You were introduced as a kid. Sorry, I'm jumping all over the place on you. Yeah, that's okay so could you ask me that question?
Tycee Belcastro:again.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, so basically the journey into the field of therapy and what motivates you to focus mostly on marriage and family, but it sounds like you handle all of it um, well, I do a lot of different things marriage and family therapists.
Tycee Belcastro:Like our training is based in what they call systems theory, so it's really sort of the idea that people don't exist in a bubble. You know people exist within the context of their families and the social structure around them and you have to take that into consideration. So you're not. You know you really have to in order to have a holistic view and be able to help someone. You're looking at many different domains of life and who they are and how they are in relation to others and to their community and to the social structures they grew up in. So it's a much bigger, broader picture and we also really focus on relationships and really everything's a relationship you know, we have a relationship with ourselves, we have a relationship with our business, we have a relationship with our coworkers.
Tycee Belcastro:We have all different kinds of relationships. So, you know, I find relationship to be just a gift. I mean, it's really a place where it's like what relationships you're in reflect to you the things that you have to learn and grow from.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, absolutely. I do find that some of the most interesting relationships I have are people that challenge me. Yes, I have a friendship that is driving me freaking crazy because he won't do what I want him to do and I'm like, just work with me, buddy, and he just doesn't. You know, we fight back because we have our own personalities and so it's kind of I actually read this thing the other day. It was talking about communication is basically what relationship is, because you have to talk, you know, and if you think and I'm curious in your perspective of that, because I think communications where a lot of no-transcript to know what's happening, how does that relate to what you do?
Tycee Belcastro:um, so it's interesting that you say that, because I think that um what brings couples particularly in with consistency is we need to communicate better okay so communication skills are are obviously a very important aspect of relating, but that's not all there is involved in a relationship.
Tycee Belcastro:Okay, the relating is one aspect of it, and then there are all of our individual issues, our emotional issues that are, um, maybe outside of our own awareness, and those issues are kind of collide with the other person's issues and this creates an unconscious dance in the relationship. So there's a lot more going on in a relationship than would meet the eye, and communication skills are kind of the tip of the iceberg, so they're not the whole relationship from my perspective.
Tammy Hershberger:I think that makes sense what you're saying.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah.
Tammy Hershberger:So intricate.
Tycee Belcastro:Yes, they're so complex. Yeah, and really they are incredible. I mean, there's just a real opportunity in each relationship you have for your own development and growth and for greater and greater connection, and that's what I love to see happen for people.
Tammy Hershberger:Well, so I was just going to ask you is what is your favorite part of being a therapist?
Tycee Belcastro:That part, yeah, like seeing lights come on and seeing people make connections in ways that they hadn't before.
Tammy Hershberger:You know, that's really the the thing that I love to see yeah, yeah, I mean, I could see it in your face because you get a big smile when you talk about it. Right, what about? As far as I'm just really quick, this is a boring question, but what kind of training does it take? How long does it take to get through schooling? If someone's out there wants to do what you do?
Tycee Belcastro:Okay, Well, the basics are that you need an undergraduate degree and then a master's degree. Um, you can go beyond that, obviously, but for to be a licensed marriage and family therapist you need a master's degree. So it took me seven years to do that part. And then there's practicum and internship and um, but what I would say is that you there's many, many years of practicing in in different settings before you, I would say are entering the realm of mastery. Do you know what I mean?
Tammy Hershberger:like in any profession, you have to do it for a long time. Yeah, yeah, and how long did you say you've been doing this?
Tycee Belcastro:well, it's been over 20 years now, 20 years, so I'm just.
Tammy Hershberger:I don't even know if this is the question, but it just came into my mind from when you started, 20 years, now 20 years, so I'm just I don't even know if this is the question, but it just came into my mind from when you started 20 years ago to today. Do you think there's a lot changed in your field, or is it pretty much still the same? No, I think it's changed?
Tycee Belcastro:um, what are the? I mean, I think technology has changed us a lot and and also I just find that there's greater acceptance of therapy now than there was, you know, back then yeah um, people seem to be, you know, general public seems to be more aware and there's so much more information available to everyone yeah with technology than there used to be.
Tycee Belcastro:So I find people coming in with already like a foundation of self-understanding and they just want more, which that's really exciting and different than when I first started yeah, yeah, do you find that people are younger when they come in?
Tammy Hershberger:and I definitely do.
Tycee Belcastro:Yes, you do okay and I feel like the younger people have a whole different attitude about therapy. I'm sure, yeah, like I'm 61 and um, but and here this would be a great example of why I think it's opened up I mean, I have worked with people you would never have imagined or at least when I was growing up I wouldn't have imagined would pursue therapy like cowboys or yeah, and I've had older cowboys come in who are ready to look at some aspect of their life or their relationship. So hey, if they can do it anyone can do it Right.
Tycee Belcastro:But younger people don't have the stigma, they tend to have less of that stigma. They come in and they're like you know obviously I'm in therapy and not as much gender bias around like there's like young men that come in and they don't seem as hung up about it as maybe men in older generations because of the taboo that they grew up with.
Tammy Hershberger:Yep, maybe men in older generations because of the taboo that they grew up with. Yeah, yeah, and do you find is it pretty open male, female, like that, come in. Yes, it's kind of, yeah, yeah, for me it really is. And do you find I'm curious and you don't have, maybe you can't answer this, but in marriages, for example, um, do you find it's people that have been married a long time or is it very open, like they could just be married a year and they need help already?
Tycee Belcastro:It's both. I wish it was heavier on the newer relationships Because you know, if you learn a set of skills and you learn to integrate skills and you learn about the road ahead, you're going to have a more successful road ahead and that would be lovely. When people wait until they're into marriages like a long ways and they've got a lot they now have to clean up and a lot of work to do to restore the relationship. They can and that's hopeful.
Tycee Belcastro:So I don't ever want to give the message that they can't do it, because of course they can yeah but it's a harder road and yeah right, like anything, if you're prepared, better prepared means you're gonna succeed I think that's a good point, because you do in marriage and in friendships and all things.
Tammy Hershberger:The longer you're together or friends or whatever, the more damage happens because you're living life and you're making mistakes and you're doing things wrong.
Tycee Belcastro:And that's true of all of us, no matter what. But if you have some skill for navigating, that you're going to be better equipped for making connections through all the conflict and challenges.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, that's a really good point. I still think the Cowboys shocked me the most, I know.
Tycee Belcastro:I'm like proud of them.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, that's fantastic. I think I'm always a promoter, for, I mean, I talk about quite a bit on my podcast because I want to help you remove that stigma, because I think it's not what you think it's going to be, definitely not.
Tycee Belcastro:It's a place to learn. It's a place to learn skills for navigating an aspect of you that you don't learn anywhere else, and I used to wonder about it when I was a kid. In school I would sometimes and in my family of rearing I used to I used to think what would it take for us to be able to connect more, like how come we can't talk about this, or why aren't people talking more about different things? And I remember really thinking that way, and why don't we have classes in school that teach us how to be in relationships?
Tammy Hershberger:because it's a good point. Yeah, I thought about that. Educators, let's fix that.
Tycee Belcastro:Yes, yeah, cuz the truth is we're all gonna be.
Tammy Hershberger:We are all in relationship all the time and you think about what that would do for you. If you want to own your own business or if you're gonna be an employee someday, you have to learn to work with your co-workers, and then you know your bosses have to figure out how to work with you guys and how to motivate you, and all that, and that's really a good point. Yeah, I didn't even think about that. Um, how do you? What would is, I guess let me rephrase this what is the primary role of a marriage and family therapist?
Tycee Belcastro:um, well, the primary role is to help people with their emotional issues and their relationship issues. Um, so I really focus kind of in that area and helping people. Everyone has emotional issues, we all do, yeah, and so helping people to work with their emotions and work effectively in connection and in relationships, that's really my primary role okay, and can I ask you what is the difference from a therapist to a psychologist?
Tycee Belcastro:sure, so a psychologist is first of all a doctor, so they've, they've got a doctorate and they are more. Their training um, there's some overlap, but their training is really geared toward helping people with severe and persistent mental illness. Okay, and that they work in the territory of mental illness um, that's really outside my scope of mental illness. Um, that's really outside my scope of practice.
Tammy Hershberger:So if someone came to you with that, you would send them off to a psychologist right.
Tycee Belcastro:Yes.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, kind of like in coaching, if someone's if I can tell someone's suicidal or really struggling mentally, I have to pass them off because it's not. I'm not trained at all for that. So yeah, yeah, okay.
Tycee Belcastro:And it's not that I'm not trained at all. I've, you know, I worked in a crisis center and I've, um, you know, I understand how to diagnose and obviously there's some crossover. Like I said, it's just that that's not an area I'm going to treat. So if I'm aware of something emerging, then I'm going to send them to someone who will be able to specialize and help them in that way, and sometimes I work in collaboration with people like that.
Tammy Hershberger:And this is probably a stupid question, but a therapist does not subscribe drugs.
Tammy Hershberger:Right, that would be like a psychologist right, yeah, because I'm this was the stigma I had, because I didn't know that when I started therapy. I just remember telling her I don't want to be on drugs. So, like, whatever you do, don't put me on stuff. I want to fix this. Like I'm willing to put the work in. Yeah, because I didn't know. I just thought in my mind those two were blurred together and they would just fill you with drugs and I was like I don't want that. I mean, I don't want to be a space cadet, I want to know what I'm doing. I want to fix it.
Tycee Belcastro:You know that makes me think of you know, back in the day, we used to think that things like depression and anxiety were chemical imbalances in the brain.
Tycee Belcastro:It's like the medical model and um, hence we treat those things with medication, and I'm not anti-medication, it's just that what we now know is that conditions like that depression and anxiety really have multiple sources. It's like multiple streams kind of feeding into them. And that's the more holistic perspective. We want to look at all the possibilities, what could be contributing to this, like life stressors and work stressors and emotional issues and childhood issues and health and diet, and you know there are all kinds of things that could be contributing. So we know that we want to look at, kind of look under every rock, rather than just go the route of medication. Yeah, yeah.
Tammy Hershberger:No, I love hearing that, because my family has some anxiety, depression in it, my dad's clinically depressed and all these things. And so then I go into my life and I did pretty good until I got in my twenties and I started having severe anxiety and I couldn't figure it. I wouldn't leave the house it was so scary and I'm very outgoing, not that way and my boss I didn't have family near me, I was in Wyoming my boss was like something is wrong with you, you need to go to the doctor. She forced me to the doctor. In that moment I had to go on medication. I'm off of it now and that was my choice. Nothing, and I am not anti-medication. If you need it, get it, but for me I want to fix it.
Tammy Hershberger:And and I got to a place again where I was really good and then the burnout happened with the business and I got so much depression that I would just cry. I wake up crying at night. It was bizarre, yeah. And so finally I pushed like you need to go get some help. And so I went to the therapist and now I'm doing it again and I have, you know, moments of depression based on my hormones and things like that, but for the most part it's really very good and so it's very manageable. Good for you. So that's why I think therapists like you guys, because you help people like me who don't need medicine per se at this moment, but like you've helped me through the rough, you know, and you help me get stuff out that I just bury, because I'll bury it and just work. Sure, you know, we all find ways to avoid things.
Tycee Belcastro:Oh man, and I think that's probably one of the plights of the entrepreneur and it's easy to do because there's so much to do, so much to do.
Tammy Hershberger:And you can find excuse for anything. Really you really can. Yeah, it's true Okay.
Tycee Belcastro:How did is my second private practice? Um. So when I first went in my first round, when I went to private practice, um, probably the most challenging thing at the time was just developing a clientele, because I was new in the uh area and was that here in town it was.
Tycee Belcastro:So I worked simultaneously. I worked in a crisis center and community mental health and did all of that at the same time that I was developing a private practice. So it probably took a couple of years to really have an established clientele and to develop a reputation and make a lot of networking contacts. So that was probably the biggest hurdle.
Tammy Hershberger:I was just going to ask you is networking the best way in your field to find your clients? I feel like it is.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah, yes, and I think oh, I'm sorry.
Tammy Hershberger:I didn't mean to cut you off there, did you?
Tycee Belcastro:have one. No, it's okay.
Tammy Hershberger:I was going to ask you do you find that once you have one client, they refer you to others? I do Because once I find someone I'm like. This lady is amazing. You have.
Tycee Belcastro:My business comes from client referrals.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, how long does a patient usually stay in therapy?
Tycee Belcastro:I'm just is there a timeframe? Where is it? No, it's a good question and a lot of people ask it. Um, and I don't have a specific answer because it really depends on the person.
Tycee Belcastro:What I've, you know. There are people who come in with specific issues that they're trying to deal with and they might work in that territory until they feel like grounded again and they have learned some things, and then they're ready to stop. They've established, they met the goals they came in with and then they're ready to stop. And then there are people who, as they're in that process of working with what they came in with, they begin to sort of open up and discover other areas they want to look at and work with too sure. So there are people who stay at it for a long time and either one is completely okay okay.
Tammy Hershberger:And is it? Usually the patient determines like this yes, yeah, so you're never like you're done, get out, no well no, no, well, I won't say I wouldn't, I would never say you're done, get out well, that was my learning, but there would be.
Tycee Belcastro:There have been times when I might be questioning you know, it seems like you've met your goals and maybe it's time to transition to something different, so we might explore that together, okay.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, I can see why I'm not a therapist. What are the key factors to consider when setting up a therapy practice?
Tycee Belcastro:Well, gosh, well. I mean one thing is do you want to be in private practice, you know, just sort of like in business in general? Do you want to be an entrepreneur? Do you want to wear all the hats? Because you will, yeah, um, you will handle all the finance and the business and the marketing and the networking and the client management and the um Mark, all of it.
Tycee Belcastro:You'll do all of the pieces, and that's a lot to handle, and the trade-off is that it's entirely you, so it's your responsibility and there's a freedom in that that I find I just have to have.
Tammy Hershberger:That was going to be. My question is why did you choose private practice versus work? I don't know what that's good. Is it just working for another company? What do you call it in your field when you work for another? Yeah, just working for an agency or the freedom is what you like it's true.
Tycee Belcastro:I really feel like it suits me and fits me to be in a setting where, you know, I have all of the responsibility on me and I get all the freedom too.
Tammy Hershberger:I always say the same thing on my, on this podcast, because we're entrepreneurs that listen to this, and it is the freedom. Time is freedom, right, I mean. It's all money. Everybody has to have money, but money doesn't buy that. You know the happiness.
Tammy Hershberger:Yes, it buys you time, but, like I tell people I could not I mean I would if we were starving and I had to have no, like my family wasn't taken care of. But I will always find a way to take care of myself, right, right, and that, I think, is for people like us. We have a drive that is different than like these people that don't really have any push. They just rather sit on the couch all day. Like you have to get out of bed, you have to push yourself and you have to fight hard for that sale every day, or the client or whatever it is you're doing, because if you don't, you aren't going to make it right. Like there's no backup. I can't show up and get a paycheck if I don't sell something or if I don't have a client on my list, or really right on really true, yeah, so is that probably also the biggest struggle, then, for what you?
Tycee Belcastro:I think that it is in different ways. I mean sure that's challenging on a lot of levels and, and for me in solo private practice, one of the ways it's challenging is that I'm alone, so I have a supervisor that I work with consistently so that I can process all my cases and have you know, have outside perspective and help in that way.
Tammy Hershberger:Is that required or?
Tycee Belcastro:is that just something you like? It's not required, but I think that it's good practice.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, it has something to bounce off of else.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah because you know it's easy. You know it's very important to get perspective that isn't just yours, yes, yeah, and that's one of the benefits of working in groups, obviously, and in agencies is you get that kind of support. But it's a trade-off, you know.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, in your group setting how many people do you max it out at Like six people, ten people, ten, ten.
Tycee Belcastro:I max out at ten. I would say that I'm usually in the vicinity of six.
Tammy Hershberger:Six or eight? Yeah, is it an hour or two hour?
Tycee Belcastro:I do both hour groups and hour and a half groups. Okay, yeah, I do hour groups that run weekly and then an hour and a half group that runs every other week.
Tammy Hershberger:Okay Okay. Half group that runs every other week Okay Okay. What are some common issues that?
Tycee Belcastro:couples and families bring to therapy. So some common issues would be communication. People walk in and say we don't communicate well and usually that means that they're locked in some sort of power struggle and neither one of them are feeling very heard and they're you know, they're struggling in that that way. So that's probably the most common thing. Married people seem to come in with um and then, most commonly with individuals, I would say, anxiety and depression might bring them in um and then they start to discover other things that are going on for them. And with families, parenting Because parenting is hard, right, I mean, it is incredibly rewarding, incredibly, incredibly, and also it's challenging. And so parents come in feeling like man, we're you know, we're trying everything we can do to help our child to succeed and do well and we were really struggling here. So they ask for help and I and I really commend them for that, because I know it takes courage and um and they.
Tycee Belcastro:you know, those are probably the most common things.
Tammy Hershberger:Sure, yeah, no-transcript like the power struggle resonated with me because I feel like that happened with me, my business partner. We got in this massive power struggle. We couldn't figure it out, and so you have to have skill to figure it out. It isn't intuitive because you're just stuck in the emotion and the frustration and it's like we're not making any headway. And if this is important to work out, then therapy.
Tycee Belcastro:It's a great way to go figure that out it really is and you learn skills for navigating those that territory, and then you can take that into other parts of your life too. And you know parents are no different. You know, so many people come in and I think they feel at first like they're failing in some way because they haven't. You know they're not mastering this. Parenting isn't going like they thought it was going to go, or their relationship isn't, or whatever. And it really isn't a matter of failure, really isn't? They just don't yet know what they need to know in order to deal well with what they're in the middle of, like anything else, they just have to learn.
Tycee Belcastro:And we really are therapists, we really are the trainers. We're here to guide and help them learn skills, guide them through these challenging territories and they can grow and change, and that's the hope in it all yeah, yeah, when I think too.
Tammy Hershberger:Also not because when you go to your friends, they're always going to pick your side, right, because they're your friend. I mean they may tell you to your face like you're messing up a little bit here, but they're always going to kind of have your back. We're a therapist. Especially when there's two of you in there, it's neutral. Yeah, right, right. I mean I was in marriage counseling once and I was like this isn't neutral, she's on his side. But that was just me being annoying. But you know, really they are. They they're trying to fix and move your marriage along, you know, and make it better.
Tycee Belcastro:So it is neutral, like yeah, I'm not on a side, yeah, I'm here to help you gain skills, so that you can work through the issues that are going on between you and discover what's right for you.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, yeah. How do you approach conflict differently when dealing with couples versus families?
Tycee Belcastro:You know I would probably answer that in a more general way because I treat like every individual. Every family, every couple are very different, so they come in with different issues, different struggles, different strengths, different levels of development. So I don't it's not like I treat couples and conflict in couples with some pat answer, you know, to that, versus families or whatever. It's more like the individual, each individual family. I customize treatment for them based on their individual presentation. Does that make sense? Yeah that makes sense. I don't love how I said that.
Tammy Hershberger:No, I think it makes sense Because, like you said, each person has their own thing and their own dynamic. Right in their own dynamic, right, right, and for you to be able to recognize what the dynamic is and then where, like you said, the power struggle or the problem is, and then to be able to get in there and fix that.
Tycee Belcastro:Yes, it's really different depending on each family and each couple and each individual yeah so I have a lot of things to sort of assess, and, and then we, that's, that's what informs my, the direction that I might take, and of course, there are specific skills that I'm going to teach most people, but you know what I mean yeah but it really I customize based on who I'm dealing with and what they're presenting where they're at?
Tammy Hershberger:do you find that most people that come are like, really there to get it done, or like is there some people that are like my wife dragged me here and I don't want to do this, or the opposite, the husband's making me be here because? Is that that it has to put a challenge in front of you of like, how do I get this person open up and they don't want to be here? Yeah um, or do you not see that sometimes?
Tycee Belcastro:that happens? Sure, sometimes that happens, but I don't consider it my job to make someone open up okay let's see, that's my first, so I'm not a therapist yeah, but you know, like with any resistance, you know, sometimes we feel afraid we put up walls and we put up resistance.
Tycee Belcastro:So I'm going to kind of go toward the resistance and see if I can help someone to understand what they're resisting. And I think that in the beginning I grew up with cowboy in western Colorado and I'm 60 years old, so I've grown up around people that really didn't feel like therapy was an okay thing to even talk about. Sure, so I kind of get it and I understand why they might feel trepidation about coming in and what they might think about it. So I talk with them about that and very frequently I can make connections with them, unless they're just absolutely refusing.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, yeah. I had this conversation with some a friend of mine and it was talking about like trauma and all that as a kid, and he asked me he's like well, aren't you afraid, if you go in and talk about that stuff, that like you're going to get stuck there and you'll never be able to get back out of that?
Tycee Belcastro:Common fear.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, and so I would imagine I mean much because I'm not a therapist, I know my own experience but, like, isn't that your job to find ways to like help us through it and get us out of it so we don't get stuck in the depression or the scariness of that? Yeah, and you won't.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah, cause there are ways through it, and that's our task is to go through. I always liken it to going in a tunnel, you know, like when you first enter a tunnel it feels really dark and you're not sure where the other side is, and it can be so scary, but you've got somebody with you who's a guide, who's got the lantern yeah and so you're not alone in there, and as you move through it, eventually, with the right skill and everything, you're going to see the light on the other side and we're going to get through so we're not
Tammy Hershberger:getting stuck anywhere yeah, that's a good explanation, because I do think that holds people back from facing some stuff they need to deal with.
Tycee Belcastro:Absolutely, I think that's a really common fear for all of us.
Tammy Hershberger:Well, I think it's good you just dispelled that for some people. Okay, the next question I have is can you explain some of the most effective therapeutic techniques you use in your practice?
Tycee Belcastro:So I am an eclectic therapist, which means that I use a multitude of different modalities, depending again on who I'm working with. So, as an example, like if someone came in in crisis maybe they're having suicidal ideation or something I'm going to first work with them to help them gain stability and use crisis intervention type skills and mindfulness and things to help someone learn to get grounded and feel secure, versus someone who's coming in with relationship challenges. Then I might be more focused on emotional skill and emotionally focused type modalities. Or if somebody's really challenged by specific ways that they think I might be working with cognitive behavioral type approaches. It really depends again on who I'm seeing and what the whole presentation is and where they're at in their own development. So I'm considering when someone comes in like a whole picture of who they are.
Tammy Hershberger:Does it take more than one conversation with them to kind of okay that's? I'm kind of curious for anyone who's never been to therapy. I personally don't lie on a couch. There is a couch I sit on, but and so then, like what is the process? Are you saying within the first couple of sessions you're going to start to work on the issues, or is it just figuring out what's going on the first few sessions? Or how does that look for people who've never done it?
Tycee Belcastro:It's kind of both block. For me it's kind of both. I don't um even in the first session. I work on helping people get some skill, and so I'm usually jumping right in um to you know, I want them to walk away feeling like they gained something and they've learned a piece that is now going to help them, even from the very first session. So it's not just an assessment session, but that's happening. And that happens over time, so it's sort of both happen simultaneously sure.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, I mean it makes sense and I'm glad that you, right off the bat, face it. Yeah, I mean I was at a chiropractor and my shoulder was so messed up I couldn't move it and I went three times before I got anything and I was like, what am I doing? Here? I'm coming, I'm missing work and like my shoulder still is not moving. You're like you know, and I don't like that. I mean there's probably a process to that, but I'm like, fix it. I need to something. I need relief here. Yeah, and if there is a process to, that it'd be nice if someone explained it yeah exactly, so at least you knew where you're headed.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah, and so that's kind of the roadmap because it makes you want to give up.
Tammy Hershberger:I was like, why am I coming here if I'm not getting fixed? I mean, obviously I understand it's fixed, it's not one time, but like let's make it move a little or not hurt so much or something.
Tycee Belcastro:So yeah, that's how I feel, and I think it takes courage to make that first call, and you know when when someone first comes in. So you know it's my honor to be able to work with them and I want them to walk away feeling like they've got someone in their corner.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, and I can tell you myself from my own experience. I go in sometimes and I'm like I don't feel like going in today, because I do it every two weeks, and I'm just like I can't. I feel emotionally broken right now from whatever happened the day before that week. And then like I get in there and I start to talk about it and I leave feeling so much better, like I have a weight on my chest, and then I talk to her and I'm like, okay, that actually was really good, that was good. Sometimes I think your mind will play tricks on you of like you don't need help, you're fine. Actually, one time had a moment where I was like, oh, I'm good, I think I'm done with this, I've been doing it in seven, eight months, I'm clear. And then I went back in that session and I was like a mess and I was crying and I was like, okay, I'm not done.
Tycee Belcastro:So well, and really what is done? You know what I mean. Like growth doesn't really ever stop if you in the world in nature, if you look around, you know it doesn't stop. We don't. I mean, there's always new areas to be growing in and new things to learn, and so what's what is done?
Tammy Hershberger:I like the word growth there because that's how I need to, because I almost get in that that judgmental mindset of like I am I ever going to be done with this? Like am I ever going to be fixed? And it's really not fixed problem? Yeah, it's. Growth is what I got to think about. I'm always growing and life's always changing. There's new problems in business. Same thing every day. Something different, new challenge comes up and and wouldn't you want help to?
Tycee Belcastro:yeah to learn and grow through whatever it is you're in to turn you into the best version of yourself.
Tammy Hershberger:really, yeah, ongoingly, yeah, um, okay, next For you in your field, how do you stay updated with the latest you know, research, mythologies and therapy, like? What does that look like for you?
Tycee Belcastro:Well, I love learning, I just really love it, and so I'm pretty consistently taking advanced classes, or well, mostly that I do a lot of that. So, okay, yeah, I'm always in the process of learning. Yeah.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, I'm curious for anyone that wants to be a therapist is there? Is it? Do you have a license with this? I don't know how Colorado's rules are here. Is there, like you know, once you finish your schooling and all that. Do you have to carry a license or anything like that? Or does that have to be renewed every so many years?
Tycee Belcastro:You know, legally I don't know that you have to be licensed, but there is a licensing board and you know to be well, to be a licensed, I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist. I don't believe I could call myself that without a license. That's what I think is true. I think that anyone can hang up a shingle and say I'm offering counseling, but to say I'm a marriage and family therapist, I have to be licensed and that licensure reflects all the training and that you've done so it's the like.
Tammy Hershberger:I know teachers, I have friends that are teachers and they have to recertify and take so many hours of training. Do they does anything like that in your field? Yes, yes, okay, it's required okay, it's required.
Tammy Hershberger:Okay, um, one of these questions coming up, I kind of asked you so I'm gonna skip that one. But um, how do you balance the business side of running a practice with the emotional demands of therapy? Because I would think on you, is that not hard on you? I sometimes look at my therapist and I'm sobbing and I'm like I don't know how she's not emotional right now because I'm guessing you've been trained to not detach.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah, it's not detaching, it's just clarity about what's mine and what isn't. That's good. So I know that I'm not responsible for the situation or the experience the other person is having. I'm here to guide them through it and I'm clear about my role and that helps, okay. And then also attending to my own stuff. You know taking care of my own issues and doing my, okay. And then also attending to my own stuff. You know taking care of my own issues and, um, doing my own work and taking care of myself, like I was talking about before. Um, all of that's really important.
Tycee Belcastro:I can't really help someone else if I'm not dealing well with me.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, when I was sitting here thinking about that, like, does that? Have you noticed that since you've done your training, do you think your relationships have changed? Because you, obviously, or is it harder because internal for you? You don't see it from the outside, like you said with the painting?
Tycee Belcastro:um, I'm not sure the question. I'm sorry, what?
Tammy Hershberger:I'm saying is like sorry if I didn't word that very good. You know, like a dentist, I always think, oh, it'd be great to be or have a. If I was a dentist I could have great teeth, but I can't work on myself. So in that aspect, for you, as a therapist, do you notice in your marriage, your relationships, that, like, you start to notice the things that you're doing? Yes, okay, you do notice. I wasn't sure if it's like because it's internal. I'm not, you know, I don't know.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah, I'm not therapist yeah, and I you know that's very helpful and um yeah, so I mean, I mean I love that that I can see aspects of myself because of my the work that I've done previous to therapy, previous to becoming a therapist like doing my own, a work on my emotional issues helped me have greater awareness of my own dynamics and how I interact in relationships and that's ongoing, like that never really ends so that that's exactly what I was asking.
Tammy Hershberger:I just did in a circular way there, okay, um, now let's talk about technology really fast because, like you mentioned, technology is changing. You do zoom, you do telehealth, all that stuff. Um, how does, how has that impacted your practice, both positively and negatively?
Tycee Belcastro:so positively. You know I really like that. Technology has opened us up that we can. You know I'm licensed in the state of Washington and here in Colorado, so I have people that I see in Washington and I love that and I like that. I can see people in different areas. I work with people all over all over the state of Colorado, um. So I love that it has opened us up in that way. And at first I was really resistant to doing telehealth, thinking that in person you've got more information available to you and it's really the best way to go about it and there's truth to that. But over time, as I've worked in telehealth, I've just improved my skill at doing that. It really does require great focus and has probably helped me become better both in person and in telehealth.
Tycee Belcastro:So I really love that technology has opened us up and that there's so much more available now, and I think we're going to see more and more of that more classes and group training, more training available online for all kinds of people in many different areas, and I'm excited about that. So I think technology does some really good things. Probably my biggest hurdle is that I didn't grow up with it, so I feel like I'm way behind.
Tycee Belcastro:So, if I talk to someone who's 20, they talk about it like they're an expert and I'm like I don't know what you're saying. I'm such a. I'm known I'm not very techie, but I really want to learn.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, yeah, yeah, and the telehealth side.
Tammy Hershberger:I was asking my therapist because there's the person that goes before me typically um their telehealth and it always runs a little late, it seems, and so just asked her. I said what you know, is it not weird connecting with them and like she was saying for them, at first maybe she thought it might be, but it wasn't, and then it was great because this person, she has moved and they didn't want to start over with a different therapist. Which I kind of connect that because I'm like when I did some marriage counseling I was like this is weird.
Tammy Hershberger:I'm not used to talking to this, but I want my person you know that I trust, I trust and so, like it was, I could see how that is nice for your patients, bill. If they do move away, they can still stay with you.
Tycee Belcastro:Yeah, it's really nice because of that everything you just said. You know it's a very unique relationship and you know you're opening up in such an incredibly personal way with the person. You see that relationship is one that's sacred.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, yeah, no, it really does. And I remember talking to someone that was talking about therapy and um, veterans and I I don't know anything about the va here because I'm not, I don't have military in my family or anything but they were saying that the people they were talking to they keep changing their therapist out consistently and I don't know if that's a shortage or what's happening down there, but they were telling me this guy they knew was struggling bad and he cannot. Every time he goes it's a new person. He has to almost start all over. He feels like and it's just rip, it's like ripping the wound open every time. And sometimes that's how I feel, like I don't want to start over with someone.
Tammy Hershberger:I can't rebear all that, you know right and so it'd be nice if the VA could figure out how to consistently have the same. I don't know what that is, what that that looks like for them, but like, do you not agree with that? Like, it's good to have the same therapist if you can keep them If you are.
Tycee Belcastro:As long as you're progressing and you're growing and serving you, then yes, okay, yeah. So I agree with what you're saying and I do hear that with frequency. You know that it's frustrating for people to like be in a big agency where they're just moved around yeah, and that that's really hard for them.
Tycee Belcastro:You know they're trying to. When you establish this relationship with your therapist, it's a really an important relationship. It's one of what's, one that's sacred and there should be some boundaries around it that is like protected, so that you can really open up with this person. It's very, very important. And then there are times in all of our development, I think, where maybe we need a different perspective, and that's okay too.
Tammy Hershberger:I guess, is what I want to say yeah, okay, well, we kind of just covered this, but your thoughts on virtual therapy versus in person? It sounds like you're coming around to it. Yeah, I do a lot of it actually yeah, okay, this is.
Tammy Hershberger:I don't know how much you want to talk about marketing in your business, but I'm just looking at the perspective of someone who wants to do what you're doing and wants to start their business. We said networking has been probably most effective for you finding clients. Is there anything else that has worked Well you?
Tycee Belcastro:know I have a marketing plan, so I actually do work with people and you know there's a. I think there's a need to approach it based on who you are and what you're after and what you're interested in, um, and there needs to be kind of a broad approach.
Tycee Belcastro:So, yeah, you know you're trying to reach people and, um, make people aware of your presence and all, and that's probably done with different avenues than networking. Yeah, However, networking is definitely incredibly important in private practice. I think it's important to meet other therapists, other professionals, to network with people in the healthcare world and field. I do a lot of networking.
Tammy Hershberger:Are you in the chambers and all that? Like Grand Junction Chamber, I have networking groups that I belong to. I'm always just curious on that because I've owned different businesses and, like in the window business, door hangers is what started our business and that does not work. For the barnyard and billboards I've done those and they don't work very well. For the barnyard we did magazines for the window cleaning business. Just didn't work. I mean, certain things work great and some don't, and I'm always just curious. So that's what I was asking.
Tycee Belcastro:Each business is so different.
Tammy Hershberger:I know.
Tycee Belcastro:Each industry is different, each field is different, and then each business within all of that is different. I would say, work with people who know their territory. Find a great CPA I love my CPA or find a great marketing person to work with that will help you develop the areas that you don't know about yet.
Tammy Hershberger:You know, yeah, and I think they have to take the time to get to know your business and your pain points and what you're trying to find and the people you're trying to find. Your avatar of like what is, and your business has got to be so wide open because barnyard is very much a certain age group and a certain place in life and you know, window cleaning, it's dual income and in your case it's all over, I would imagine. Yeah, depending on.
Tycee Belcastro:You know the therapist and who the therapist likes to work with. Yeah, the other thing I was thinking is that it's there's a challenge in marketing something that people don't necessarily feel excited about Like they. They might know they need that, but it's not like you. You know they get to go get a massage and feel great immediately. Yeah, it's going to be challenging, might be hard work, so it's the long game. It's the long game and yeah, so we have to market in a very different way.
Tammy Hershberger:Helping people understand the need, yeah, and how important it is and how it's going to improve their life long term, you know which is where I could see the referrals coming, because they're with you longer term and they can speak to you more than a billboard. So, like yep, this is going to make you feel awful for the minute, but then, long term, you're going to feel great yes, yeah exactly.
Tammy Hershberger:Okay, let's talk really quick about legal and ethical considerations. So if you're looking at becoming a therapist, um, what are some of the major legal and ethical considerations you must navigate as a therapist? That is? A huge question, it is so huge break it down to what you can I?
Tycee Belcastro:usually, you know, like you need to study ethics because there's um, you know, there's ethical guidelines behind the licensure that we carry and we have to know what that is and be following it. Um, and there's a lot of laws and they're often changing and so that takes a lot of um awareness and it's just an aspect of being in private practice. That's challenging too, because you have to stay up to date with all of those things.
Tycee Belcastro:Um, probably the most obvious would be how confidentiality works and I think for the lay people like that's important for them to understand that you know when you come to therapy, literally everything is confidential, within some basic limitations. Um, so we have to tell we, you know we're, we're colorado, colorado mandated reporters or state reporters, meaning if somebody tells us about child or elder abuse, we have to report that. Or if someone tells us that they're elder abuse, we have to report that. Or if someone tells us that they're suicidal and we assess and we believe they are, we may have to break confidentiality to get them help. Or if someone comes in and they threaten someone in the community and they tell us who, we have a legal duty to warn that person. So there are some limitations to confidentiality, but primarily everything is confidential. I don't even keep electronic files. I know a lot of people do, but I feel really strongly about it and I don't want that information to be accessible anywhere.
Tammy Hershberger:I have to ask you this, and maybe you can or can't answer this, but in court records, for example, are they able to pull your Because I've heard that they can the stuff I talked about, if I got I don't know, I don't even know what you would use that a murder, trial or something, what can they pull records legally?
Tycee Belcastro:That's a really good question. I believe it would be better answered by an attorney, probably.
Tammy Hershberger:I don't want to get people in the wrong direction. I haven't.
Tycee Belcastro:I have a sense about it, but I think, yeah, that sounds like a legal question, Sure.
Tycee Belcastro:Okay, very good what advice would you give someone looking to pursue a career in marriage and family therapy? Well, one of the things I think is get involved Prior to even going to school. I worked in and around the field of therapy, like in residential treatment, and I was an advocate for at-risk youth and there are all kinds of opportunities like that, I think. Get involved to see where you fit and if you like it for one thing Before you start the schooling yeah, so that would be one piece of advice.
Tammy Hershberger:Okay, what are some essential skills and qualities that a successful therapist should possess?
Tycee Belcastro:There's two things, I think, that really stand out. I think that you really have to be in your own therapy and you have had to have done a significant amount of your own therapy and and be willing to continually do that, because how do you help somebody if you've never been on that side of the couch? You know, this is not a profession that we teach people from a book. You know. It's not that our training wasn't important and our education doesn't matter. Of course it does, but it's really our personal work and our personal experience that allows us to be the best guides. You know, we can't bring someone where we haven't been. Does that make sense.
Tycee Belcastro:Sure and empathy, like having great empathy and hope, and like desire to see the human potential.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Well, tysi, we're going to wrap this up. We thank you so very much for coming on. Will you tell my listeners one more time how we get ahold of you? Sure?
Tycee Belcastro:I'm Tysi Belcastro. You can reach me at 970-609-0400 or wwwcounselingwith Ticeycom.
Tammy Hershberger:Okay, very good Thank you so much.
Tammy Hershberger:Yeah, thank you so much for coming on. Um everyone, thank you for listening. If you like what you heard today, like, subscribe, share. You know, do all the stuff that you usually do and we look forward to talking to you guys next time. Thank you very much. And remember in the world of business, every success story begins with a passionate dream and ends with a strategic billion-dollar handshake. Stay ambitious, stay innovative and keep making those deals that reshape tomorrow. Thank you all for tuning in and until next time, remember. Proverbs 3.3 says let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. That way you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. And remember if you like what you heard today, click the follow button so you never miss an episode.
