Three Years In

Today marks the anniversary of when the practice first opened on July 11, 2016.

In this time I have had the privileged to serve so many amazing people, get to know wonderful families, and help people through life’s challenges big and small. As I reflect on all of the things that have happened over the last three year my most overwhelming feeling is gratitude…

Gratitude to have a job that I love going to each and every single day.

Gratitude to have a career that offers flexibility to be a present parent and partner.

Gratitude to have a business that supports and works with our community.

Gratitude to be in a community that creates services to meet community needs.

Gratitude for YOU for supporting my dream to help people in our community.

In the last three years, so many things have changed. I’ve practiced in three different locations before landing in my forever home in January 2019. I started out as one person in 2016 and today we are in the process of hiring talented therapists to join me in serving our community.

In 2016, I planned on focusing primarily on weekly therapy. Between then and now, I have had opportunities to use my skills for educational evaluations and advocacy; helping patients obtain OPWDD services; testifying in federal court as an expert witness; and working with different school districts to provide social skills for students with developmental differences.

In the last three years, a lot has also remained the same. I’m still committed to serving every patient and family to the best of my ability. I’ve kept the quirky even as I have moved and upgraded my office location. Patients and their families have gifted me sentimental tokens - Lego mini-figures and socks. These mementos have traveled with me and bring a smile when an unsuspecting character is spotted in an otherwise professional looking office.

Gandalf in a doorway

Batman on the TV

Yoda over a window

Swamp Creature on the TV

Link is the Man in the Arena

Flash guards my license

The traditional gift for a 3rd Anniversary is leather, so My Better Half recently upgraded the chair I sit in to a new leather one. Feels like I have celebrating covered even while sitting.

New office, new chair, but I still wear goofy socks everyday. Today is fox socks.

Thank you for believing in and supporting my dream. That is the greatest gift of them all.

Day 1 and Day 905

New year, new office!

This morning I welcomed my first patients into the new office at 610 Pittsford Victor Road.

This reminded me of when I first started blogging in anticipation of starting private practice.

In the spring and summer of 2016, I put a countdown in a blog post titled “Final Countdown.”

Feeling nostalgic and wondering if time stood still on this post, I took a look. That countdown clock has continued ticking ever since and here we are in a new forever home 905 days later.

Getting the space ready for today has been an all-hands-on-deck labor-of-love for the Harrison family. This included holiday visits from different sides of the family to pitch in with everything from childcare to switching out door knobs, major trash removal to interior decorating counsel.

We rung in the New Year at the new office working on important finishing touches such as…

Organizing toys in the waiting room.

Testing out Mario Kart in my new therapy space.

Thank you to everyone who has helped to make this dream come true. The trust and support of so many people has helped grow this practice into a place where more people can find help. Something that I know I can do no justice to is highlighting the role My Better Half has played in all of this. I intend to devote a full post to describing how my wife and best friend has built my dreams and given me the opportunity to live out my life’s calling. Can you guess when this post will appear? Until then, you’ll just have to remember that she even thought of the Keurig!

Coffee (and tea and hot cocoa) for everyone!

One of the greatest features of this new office is more space to expand!

For those of you that have reached out since I first announced my move, thank you. Thank you for your interest. Thank you for your patience. Now with this additional space, I will work with other providers to meet the needs of families, both the ones I currently see and those waiting patiently for services. You will be the first to know!

Day 1 in the new forever home.

First Week Follow Up

I had an amazing first week in private practice. I met with 13 different families at both of my office locations and learned about their children who ranged in age from 4- to 22-years-old. The diversity of strengths and interests of each child, adolescent, and young adult gives me a great deal of hope and excitement about the weeks ahead as we forge a therapeutic relationship. Their families are incredibly engaged and motivated to help their loved ones flourish.

I am excited, too, that I have another 10 new clients scheduled for next week and a few additional new clients scheduled for my third week of practice. I really can’t thank my colleagues and friends enough for “getting the word out” about my practice and helping to build my schedule with wonderful new people. Rest assured, there is still plenty of space left, and I am eager to welcome more new clients in the coming weeks.

I’ve had folks from a few different organizations reach out to me asking if I have a flyer to share with them that they can hand out to families. I did not have a flyer, and I think it is a fabulous idea. I developed a first edition flyer to view, share, and download here. 

Please feel free to share it with others who may be interested. You can offer feedback on the flyer by reaching out to me directly, or in the comments section of this blog post. 

Thank you!

My first day of Private Practice

You know how parents take pictures of their kids on the first day of school? 

Well my wife likes to do this to me on my ‘first day’ of new positions like internship and post-doc. The first day of private practice is no exception. However, this time when I protested, she snapped all of those lovely moments, too.  That’s how my first day of private practice started!

Day 1: Monday, July 11 – Clinton Crossing

Mondays and Fridays I will be at Elmwood Pediatric Group in Clinton Crossing, Building A, Suite 105.

My first day at Elmwood Pediatrics office went really well. I felt incredibly supported and welcomed by the providers, technicians, and staff at the 919 Westfall location. There may have been some happy squealing by certain providers when they saw me arrive. I really appreciate being able to stay connected with medical providers as part of my psychology practice and value being able to collaborate with them to help patients.

I saw three patients on my first day at Elmwood Pediatrics, and I was honored to meet each of them and their families. It also meant a great deal to hear from these families that I came recommended by my colleagues at Kirch Developmental Services Center. My first day consisted of intake appointments to learn about presenting concerns and select an appropriate “first step” that fits with what families are looking for and need right now.

Day 2: Tuesday, July 12 – East Avenue Towers

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays I will be at the Psychology Office in East Avenue Towers. The entrance is around the back of the building, Suite 108.

My first day at East Avenue was a smooth one filled with four intake appointments. It was really nice to work closely with my psychology colleagues in this private practice setting and to dialogue more directly with the administrative team who schedules my patients.

I am amazed by the strength and love caregivers clearly show for their children when meeting with me for the first time. I think it takes a lot to seek out help, especially when we think about time and effort involved with committing to therapy. I realized today, too, that I am well positioned as part of my training with Tristram Smith, PhD and Laura Silverman, PhD to provide behavioral, evidenced-based supports for caregivers whose children present with developmental differences and behavior concerns.

Day 3, 4, & 5: We will see!

I am really looking forward to finishing out my first week. Today and Thursday I will be at East Avenue and Friday I rejoin my friends at Elmwood Pediatrics. I am excited to have two offices and two sets of professional colleagues to work with everyday. Wish me luck for the rest of the week to be as awesome as the beginning was!