Meet Holly Essler | Licensed Clinical Therapist

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

Hi Holly, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The philosophy of starting my own practice was really to help empower individuals going through struggles in their lives. Mental health services have always had a stigma attached to them. I wanted to help bridge that gap and let others know that reaching out for support is a strength rather than a weakness. I fully stand behind the statement of “It’s okay to not be okay”.

What should our readers know about your business?
The journey with owning a business can be challenging. I’ve learned to ask for help when you need it. We’re not meant to do life or business alone. I started as a solo clinician and have now scaled my practice to adding three additional clinicians. The path wasn’t always clear as to what steps to take next but there’s power in collaboration, strategy and trusting the process.

When developing my brand, I really wanted to focus on empowering others to be the best version of themselves. I like to take a very realistic and down to earth approach when working with my clients. I realize that making the call to start therapy can sometimes be the most difficult part of the journey. I pride myself on having created a warm, non-bias, open, and safe place for my clients to share openly about their mental health struggles. I pride myself on staying up to date and knowledgeable about the ever-changing trends in mental health.
I treat many clients struggling with trauma, so being a trauma informed clinician is very important. I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), an approach that focuses on our brain, body, and nervous system healing from past trauma and distress. The brain and body have crucial connections when it comes to healing trauma, and I’ve seen a lot of client success utilizing EMDR in my practice.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would have to take them golfing in North Scottsdale (multiple courses with amazing views). The Grand Canyon is an amazing sight, along with hiking in Sedona or the Superstition Mountains. Depending on the time of year I would want to take them skiing at either Arizona Snowbowl or Sunrise. I’ve always loved how convenient it is to go skiing for a day and still be back in Phoenix the same day with 70-degree weather. Where else can you get that?!

I would want to take them to see a few Arizona breweries such as Arizona Wilderness, OHSO, or Mother Road. For restaurants, I would suggest somewhere fun like Toca Madera or Maple and Ash, or Wren and Wolf.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First off, I would thank my husband and my family for the unwavering support they had in me while opening my practice. Growing up in the Midwest, one trait that was instilled at a very young age was my work ethic. I didn’t grow up around many entrepreneurs, so this was all new territory for me. I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for them.

A mentor and someone who’ve I’ve looked up to would be Brené Brown. I’m not sure if I could narrow down one of her books as my favorite but my two favorite books of hers would be ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’ and ‘Daring Greatly’. I love how her message and her books share about vulnerability and how it’s a strength to be vulnerable. I resonate with her message of courage over comfort. That even though our journey in this life isn’t perfect and can even be messy at times, it doesn’t make it any less valuable in comparison to someone else’s.

Website: www.empoweringyoutherapy.com

Instagram: @empoweringyou.therapy

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/holly-essler-boos-72bba354

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweringyoutherapy

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@empoweringyou.therapy