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Meet Darcy Manav of Pacific MFT Network

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Darcy Manav.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Once upon a time, I moved to Los Angeles with big dreams of being an actress.

Eventually, after several years of twists and turns in topsy turvy land, my soul began to whisper about another path. The whispering began after I discovered my first kundalini yoga class. I had been practicing vinyasa flow yoga for a decade, but nothing prepared me for my first kundalini experience. My friend Shannon took me, and we were the only students in the class. The teacher wore a white turban and a long white garment and was poised gracefully next to a large gong. We all chatted for about 20 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of yoga.

The yoga itself was strange to me, not good or bad, just different from any other yoga experience I’d had thus far. At the end of the set, I remember sitting in stillness, when suddenly I felt a gentle tornado of energy swirling throughout my torso. This sensation was profoundly intriguing to me and unlike anything I’d experienced before. I had no idea what had just happened, but I knew I had to learn more. I enrolled in classes at the nearest kundalini yoga studio, Golden Bridge Yoga, and began my nine-year love affair with kundalini yoga and meditation.

In those earlier days, I wasn’t sure exactly what it was that kept drawing me back. The yoga postures and the chanting felt almost comical to me at times, but I kept feeling all of these foreign sensations in my body and would leave classes in the most pleasant state of euphoria. I couldn’t logically identify the reasons for it, there was just a sense that something was changing for me in a very powerful way. I was beginning to access my “Sat Nam.”

“Sat Nam” is one of the most commonly used mantras in kundalini; translated from Gurmukhi to English it means “truth is my essence.” The truth was, the highest part of my acting dream was that I wanted to be a force in helping others and elevating consciousness. Then there was the other truth; that acting was not my path. With this awareness, I released the acting dream, and with the help of Kundalini yoga and meditation, I opened up more to the voice of my soul and asked for guidance toward my true life’s purpose.

A new chapter began, within this unfolding, I embraced uncertainty and embarked upon a new, awakened journey. I simultaneously enrolled in the kundalini yoga teacher training at Golden Bridge and, after a fourteen-year hiatus, returned to school to receive a master’s degree in clinical psychology at Antioch University. In 2013, an incredible plot twist took place when I had the opportunity to partner up with my dear friends Kjord Davis and Peter Nguyen in co-founding and opening Indigo Lab LA, a kundalini yoga studio and spiritual center.

Here we created a community and provided a space for people to transform, heal and connect through heart-centered interaction and high vibrational classes and events. This was a magnificent period of deep expansion for all us; learning how to run a business, producing events, teaching classes and meeting so many beautiful souls who came to share in what we created. Some personal highlights for me were the development of a unique, specialized yoga class for children called “FUNdalini,” which I taught at Indigo and later at Wanderlust Hollywood.

I also hosted and produced a five-month female empowerment series called The Goddess Sessions, which celebrated and honored the activation of the divine feminine energy within modern society. Indigo Lab LA officially closed doors in 2016, a bittersweet ending to a time that will always be dear to my heart. As the direction of the Indigo brand was shifting, I decided it was time to redirect my focus toward my psychotherapy career and obtaining the 3,000 hours of experience that was required before I could take my licensing exam. Three years later, I am finally ready to submit my hours to the California Behavioral Board of Sciences.

Once my hours are approved, I will take the clinical exam to become officially licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist. It has been a seven-year adventure, from starting grad school to obtaining my clinical hours as an intern, to finally being on the verge of licensure. I believe it is accurate to say that this has been the greatest challenge of my life. If I had known how arduous this career path was going to be, I’m truly not certain I would’ve have chosen it, but I am grateful that I did. This work is my passion. Today, I feel blessed to be able to share a holistic style of psychotherapy with my clients.

I blend my trainings of the eastern technology of kundalini yoga, meditation, breath work, and mindfulness, with the art and science of psychology. My mission is to empower people to tap into their own internal resources for strength, healing, and transformation. This past year I completed a level one training of the Trauma Resiliency Model, which has deepened my work and sharpened my focus toward assisting people in healing and processing trauma on a somatic level. I am deeply grateful to have worked with so many age populations and people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

There is never a dull moment in this work, I feel like the opportunities for expansion are infinite. I’ve evolved so much as a psychotherapist in even just the past five years, and it is my divine honor to be of service to others.

Has it been a smooth road?
There were some rocky times for sure. Adjusting to being back in higher education after fourteen years was a major life shift, especially since I had to learn how to balance my studies with having to work and support myself. Starting Indigo, although exciting, was challenging in ways I could not have anticipated.

I was still in my last quarter of grad school and working in my internship twelve hours a week. Combining those responsibilities with the added pressures of starting a business, something I personally felt very ill-equipped for, was a bit maddening at times. However, once I graduated, and we were in more of a flow with the business, things began to feel a bit smoother.

In retrospect, I am so grateful for those experiences, which I feel have made me a much stronger and more competent businesswoman today. When Indigo’s doors closed, I had just started working in a paid internship seeing clients, but it takes time to build a caseload and even if I was able to see clients full time, the low pay was not enough to sustain me.

This meant I had to find other sources of income; in the first year, I was working four jobs at one point just to scrape by. I had become a master juggler; juggling three to four jobs, working full-time hours and often bookending my days with long commutes. Fortunately, I am at the tail end of my internship, have a steady flow of clientele and licensure is on the horizon.

Every intention that I have set for myself has manifested and given me so much faith and confidence in myself and the choices I have made along the way, no matter how hard the struggle. When reflecting back on my hardships as an intern, a colleague recently said to me: “Yeah, they really know how to weed out the weak.” I laughed and was grateful for that reframe: from victim to victor!

These past years have definitely reminded me of my warrior-like strength and determination.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Pacific MFT Network – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
In September 2018, I was hired to work in a wonderful and innovative group private practice called Pacific MFT Network. The motto of the company is “Empowering you to live the life you want.” When I started, I realized that the motto wasn’t just for the clients, it’s for the therapists as well. We each function individually as private practice therapists, but we also have this amazing in-house community and support system.

The founder and president, Tracy Kovacs Bevington, has truly created something special and really goes the extra distance to make sure all of the therapists have everything they need to thrive. Every therapist here has a unique skill set, and we all work together as a team, often sending each other referrals and bouncing ideas off one another in consultation groups.

We offer several support groups and provide resources and referrals if for some reason we are not able to accommodate someone’s needs. The company has an amazing reputation in the therapeutic community, I often have people calling in telling me that they were referred to us by another agency or therapist. One other aspect that I believe really sets us apart from other private practices is the way we work with insurance.

Like most other private practice therapists, we are able to work with people’s out-of-network insurance benefits, but what sets us apart is that we handle all insurance issues and file all of the claims for the client. As opposed to a more commonly seen superbill, which makes the client responsible for paying full fee up front, then submitting their own bills to insurance for reimbursement.

It’s big details like this that I believe really set us apart, but it’s also the smaller attention to detail. We have several offices, and each one is elegantly decorated and fully stocked with bottled water, candy dishes, lavender eye pillows, blankets, and soft lighting. We also have coffee or tea available in the waiting room lobbies. All offices have a warm, cozy, inviting feel to them.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I grew up in a cold, windy town in Wyoming with more tumbleweeds than trees. One of the things I appreciate most about LA is the warm weather, lush nature scenery and the ability to access ocean, snow, desert, and forest.

What I like least is the outrageously expensive rent and intense traffic.

Pricing:

  • Individual Therapy – 50-minute session up to $200 (sliding scale options available if needed for private pay clients only)
  • Couples, Family or Co-Parenting Therapy – 50-minute session up to $250 or 90-minute session up to $375

Contact Info:

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.

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