Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Susan Stork, Owner of Space Between Counseling Services, located in Baltimore, MD, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Space Between Counseling Services services more than 250 clients, from pro bono sessions to total fees a month. We at SBCS train incoming mental health professionals starting graduate school internships. We have expanded in trauma work, brainspotting, couples counseling, and sexual health.
My most recent evolution in mental health is becoming an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist in 2021. I am licensed in Maryland, Delaware, New Mexico, and Florida. However, Baltimore City holds my heart.
Tell us about yourself
My time working in Baltimore started in the mid-2000s as a Resident Urban Teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools, following my degree in Family Studies from the University of Maryland. As an urban teacher, I realized quickly that mental health aspects were a missing factor for my classroom kids, their families, my colleagues, and myself. So I enrolled in a master's program at Loyola University in School Counseling. I knew this graduate option would lead me toward my future goals of integrating more counseling aspects within the education system.
During and after my tenure in Baltimore City Public Schools - I worked in community mental health care while gaining my hours for licensure for about four years in the areas of in-home therapy, where I was able to gleam and integrate deeper community needs for mental health in Baltimore City.
As a Baltimorean for 20+ years, I had to dive into my root... I grew up in a rural setting full of tinkering and hard seasonal work - so working hard and problem-solving has always been core value of my work ethic. So in 2015, I decided to seek to open a mental health private practice for myself as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Maryland.
The practice has grown beyond me for almost eight years into this private practice. Space Between Counseling Services now services more than 250 clients, from pro bono sessions to total fees a month. We at SBCS train incoming mental health professionals starting graduate school internships.
We have expanded in trauma work, brain spotting, couples counseling, and sexual health. My most recent evolution in mental health is becoming an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist in 2021. I am licensed in Maryland, Delaware, New Mexico, and Florida. However, Baltimore City holds my heart.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Growing and keeping a core leadership team for six years. Space Between Counseling Services, known as SBCS locally, is, in many ways, my second child in life.
WHO WE ARE:
Space Between Counseling Services (SBCS) is a group therapy practice located in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore City, Maryland. SBCS serves humans ages 16-108: individuals, couples, and families from the Baltimore area and within the boundaries of MARYLAND by helping our clients navigate the more challenging, more confusing times in modern life with skilled, warm, and comprehensive support.
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO:
Here at Space Between Counseling Services, we believe that life can be challenging, painful, and lonely during certain stages and transitions in our human development. With this in mind, SBCS is here for you when life gets hard or you need additional support. We believe everyone deserves an abundance of support, someone they can safely and confidently turn to to help figure things out, make sense of their situation, and how to get to where they desire to be. Our primary goal is to help you feel better in your day-to-day life.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT:
We know that modern life is busy, complete, and complex. So we’ve designed SBCS to account for that. From the 1st 15-min phone consultation being complimentary + scheduled by YOU online. We offer telehealth, live sessions (covid permitting), and upcoming group work in 2023.
At SBCS, we have sessions for those who work early morning, late evening, and weekend hours to maintain a handpicked referral list of other local providers in the Baltimore area. Our goal is to help make therapy feel more accessible and get you the support your modern life needs. And, our respect for structure means that WE'RE prompt, responsive, and consistent. WE respect your time and use our time together to help you find real insights that help you continue to make positive changes between our sessions.
Most proud of: our LOGO
The nine rays of the abstract sun represent the nine areas of work and therapy types that our team is committed to as a practice. Over seven and half years of deep human connection have helped us determine the types of therapy we’re most focused on.
We, as a mental health private practice, hope that anyone that finds themselves within any of these nine rays - that they reach out for services to do the therapeutic work needed.
We also use the term “work” intentionally - because therapy is hard work. Because of this reality, we want our clients to be intentional about who they work with and when they do their therapeutic “heavy lifting.” This is why we have a diverse team of clinicians and interns to meet our future clients' needs.
Therapy should fit into your existing life and serve as a supplement rather than a source of further chaos or conflict. Consider this a modern version of our vision and mission as a practice.
The nine areas of work are:
- Urban Professionals
- Type A’s
- Trauma-Informed Work
- Space Between
- Sexual Health & Wellness
- Modern Relationships + Neurodiverse Couples
- LGBTQIA+ Affirmation + Competency
- Cuspers
- Creatives
WANT TO WORK WITH US?
We invite you to give us a call at 443-240-5207 or to book an initial consult session online here so that we can match you up with one of our wonderful counselors and get your first therapy session booked at SBCS!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
All issues will come to you when you are the founder, owner, and boss. So having systems and other leaders on your team is needed. Training others to become top-tier clinicians comes with many rewards however training others also involves giving away a lot of "unpaid" time for yourself and, at the same time, giving others your energy, time, and part of your deeper soul.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Seek a mentor ASAP.
- Envision success and plan for it.
- Schedule your time off throughout the year - the year before and adjust accordingly.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.spacebetweencounselingservices.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spacebetweencounseling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/space_between_counseling/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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