Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Bielak.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Like many drawn to the field, therapy is a second career for me. I began my career in marketing and advertising, and spent time across a range of corporate and startup environments. For a long time I loved what I did. It was creative, intellectually stimulating, and I was passionate about my work and good at what I did. But I quickly learned that having passion can be a slippery slope, and it’s only a matter of time before any candle that burns too hot finally burns out.
So it was in my own recovery process from burnout and a tendency toward workaholism that ultimately led me to quit my job and do some long-overdue soul-searching. Since then, my journey has led me to Bali for a 200-hour yoga certification intensive, solo backpacking my way through Southeast Asia, work as a career coach and executive coach helping others find purpose and better work-life balance, and an advanced degree in Clinical Psychology from which I’ve been able to even further expand my work and private practice as a therapist.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Anything but! But I love to hike, and I’ve learned throughout the years that life is a like any good trail – some parts are full of beautiful views, and at other parts the incline gets pretty steep or there’s a fork in the road and it’s up to you to choose. What’s important is to find a good hiking buddy, pack some trail mix and take it slow or rest when you need to, and carve your path on your own terms. After all, you never know what might be right around the next curve.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Right now, I have a successful private practice in Pasadena, California, where I see clients both virtually, as well as in a beautiful craftsman building on a tree-lined street I simply adore. (The owners remodeled it so that each room is now a different therapist’s office, and clients have a spacious waiting area in the former living room!)
I work with a wide range of clients – from couples to clients with complex trauma – but one of my specialties continues to be professionals seeking help with stress, burnout, life transitions, and work-life balance. I take a very integrative approach to all my work, which allows me to blend more traditional talk therapy, cognitive therapies and coaching styles with holistic approaches that also work with the body and nervous system from the “bottom up,” as I quickly learned the power of through my own practices in mindfulness and yoga.
With whom and how I work now seems to be its own ever-evolving process, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have a career in which you really never stop learning and finding new ways to be creative.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I’ve always been the very driven, top-of-the-class type of kid. I had the privilege of being able to find intrinsic motivation and success in many of the things I did, but I also know that it that sometimes came at a cost, like being a bit perfectionistic or not giving myself enough permission to just be a kid.
As a therapist, I’ve since had quite a bit of opportunity to work directly with kids, and it’s amazing how clear it becomes in seeing just what they need. It’s certainly given me a way to tap back into my own childhood, as well as understand what I one day want to give to my own kids.
Pricing:
- $225 / 50-minute therapy session
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kimbielak.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimbielak/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimbielaktherapy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimbielak
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimbielak
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kim-bielak-therapy-pasadena
Image Credits
Avalon Bauman
