Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Douglas.
Patrice, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
As a child, I knew I wanted to help people that people often abandoned by talking them though life. I had always inspired to work in the criminal justice field without being on the front line of defense such as an officer so, I decided I wanted to be a therapist for the FBI or the prison system. I went to school and completed my undergraduate in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice and then my masters in Counseling Psychology where I was able to obtain a license in marriage and family therapy. I am currently in my PsyD program in Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles to learn how to administer psychological tests and advance my clinical skills.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey to help others has not been easy. My compassion and efforts to help others comes naturally but having others understand your vision is another story. Most people think because they give advise to their friends becoming a therapist is easy work but its not. The 6-7 years of schooling, learning the techniques to make sure you don’t damage people’s mental and emotional states, learning the laws on top of earning 3000 hours is no easy task. Most of us in the profession work for free during school and sometimes post degree until becoming licensed so living expenses and being able to provide for yourself is a challenge as well. I was fortunate I had parents who believed in me and pick up my financial difficulties when I wasn’t making much money and allowed me to live rent free to chase my aspirations. Without them, I can’t say I would be as far in my career as I am today.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Empire Counseling & Consultation – what should we know?
In 2017, I opened my practice Empire Counseling & Consultation. My practice solely focused on anger management for those who were court mandated or wanted help on their own as well as stress management. Although my practice opened just a few months ago, I had been in private practice for over a year under another agency; that is where I learned and grew my client base and loved working for myself. Over time, I was becoming noticed for anger management services and men’s stress issues as most of my practice was minority men of all educational and employment backgrounds and that is when I realized I was becoming the face for anger management and men’s issues in my area. Since I am now licensed in the state of CA, I am now able to add mental health services such as anxiety, depression, mood disorders and relationship issues. My company also has launched in New York in January and will be opening in Houston in April focusing on anger management and stress management. My company is unique in that for New York and Houston all services are offered online through a video conferencing platform and hours of operation aren’t traditional. Because I don’t have to worry about being in an office most times, I am able to offer sessions as late as midnight to accommodate those who have children and can’t engage in therapy until late evenings or even difficult work schedules. For California, sessions can be booked for online or office sessions.
My company makes me proud that I am able to help as many people as possible in nontraditional ways; this eliminates a problem of people not being able to access services especially for minority communities.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Faith is the biggest characteristic I needed to be successful. I needed to have faith that everything I wanted to accomplish would happen and faith that I could accomplish what I needed to. Compassion, determination and humbleness is also what led to my success and will continue to allow me to be successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.patricendouglas.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: thepatricenicole
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/patricendouglas
- Twitter: patricendouglas
- Other: www.empirecounseling.net
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
