We had the good fortune of connecting with Danica Harris, Ph.D., SEP And Brittany Escuriex, Ph.D., LP Danica Harris, Ph.D., SEP And Brittany Escuriex, Ph.D., LP and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danica Harris, Ph.D., SEP and Brittany Escuriex, Ph.D., LP, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Most people probably don’t understand the intricacies of therapist training. Graduate school provides therapists with a great foundation, but we learn to specialize through doing our own healing work and seeking advanced training and consultation post-graduate school. As a trauma-informed practice, we have seen firsthand the impact on clients when therapists, counselors, and healers aren’t trauma-aware and engaging in trauma-informed practices. It’s important for therapists to know what their skill sets are, what is within their scope of practice, and what they do well. At Empowered Healing Dallas we have clinicians across the developmental spectrum and we work as a team to continually advance our knowledge through training, consultation, and supervision. We love that we work with a team of therapists who are proud to be doing their own healing work, and seeking additional knowledge so they can best serve their clients.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Empowered Healing Dallas is a trauma-informed group therapy practice where we see adults, adolescents, individuals, and couples who are invested in their own healing and self-discovery work. We believe one of the things that sets us apart is our amazing team of therapists. We have been in this field for well over a decade each, which means that we’ve had a lot of exposure to different therapists and various approaches over the years. Something we say often to each other is, “it feels so good to trust the other therapists we work with”, and we refer to them with complete confidence that they will show up and be available for their clients. We aren’t a practice that pushes therapists to overwork or see clients that aren’t aligned with their skill set, because we see therapists as people who also deserve to have work/life balance. We believe that it is crucial to see the humanity in our team because this supports them in being able to see the humanity of their clients, and this is what being trauma-informed is all about!

We got where we are today with a lot of long days, business mentorship, and learning as we go. Building Empowered Healing Dallas has been a lot of work, and it’s also something we are really proud of. I think it’s important to dispel the idea that entrepreneurship comes easy, because for most entrepreneurs, building your own business is just as challenging as it is rewarding. We work really hard to stay connected to one another as business owners, and we remain open to feedback from each other, our team, trusted loved ones, and our therapist and entrepreneur communities. We try really hard to strike a balance of knowing what are strengths are and remaining open to others’ ideas and suggestions.

We opened Empowered Healing Dallas in January 2019, and the greatest challenge we’ve faced was having a new small business during a global pandemic. Looking back on it now, we are so impressed with how adaptive and flexible we were as we shifted our entire in-person business, online for two full years. Our clients were amazing, our team grew to accommodate the increased need in mental health services, and overall, we weathered this huge stressor really well as a business.

We want people to know that therapists are just people who are often doing their own healing work. We pride ourselves on being human-first with our clients and believe that a collaborative healing space is needed now more than ever. As a team we are passionate about de-stigmatizing mental health care and making therapy and healing accessible to those who have systematically been traumatized by harmful and oppressive systems. We believe healing is possible, and each of us deserves it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Dallas is a fun place to eat and shop. There are tons of neighborhoods with their own vibe and energy to choose from and some of the best food we’ve ever had is really close to home. We both enjoy a patio with a cool breeze, filled with people watching, a tasty beverage, and lots of laughter and connection. The shopping scene is also no joke- we have lots of great malls and shops in every area of town. A good time with an out of town visitor would likely include a walk on one of Dallas’s city trails, Brittany enjoys the Katy trail- just go early because Dallas is hot many months of the year. There would likely also be a festival, market, or art show to visit or we could hit up a farmer’s market or outdoor concert if the weather cooperated. Of course there would need to be a night out to a fun Dallas restaurant, something like Smithy or The Woolworth, and an easy going Sunday morning brunch that is likely to last until late afternoon. One of our personal favorite spots is Danica’s house because her charcuterie boards are unmatched!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When we first saw this question, we both immediately said, “I want to shoutout you!” Our partnership has been integral to our success, and it is the ways in which we support one another, hype each other up, and give space for what each of us is needing that allows Empowered Healing Dallas to continue to grow and expand. We started our business, scared, meaning, we knew we wanted a professional change, but neither of us had ever been in private practice before so we weren’t sure how starting our own business would go. Now that we are 6.5 years in we can confidentially say that our support of one another has served as a solid foundation for Empowered Healing Dallas and the 16 other therapists on our team. Of course there are many people and resources that have impacted each of us personally, and yet, when we think about the person we’ve been most impacted and supported by, we both clearly name one another!

Website: https://empoweredhealingdallas.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empoweredhealingdallas/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Empowered-Healing-Dallas/100076947116159/#

Image Credits
Karen Hutcherson

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