Meet Haleigh Fisher | Licensed Professional Counselor and Trail Runner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Haleigh Fisher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Haleigh, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a former division I athlete, I witnessed first hand the gap between mental health and athletics particularly in eating disorder treatment and recovery. As an athlete struggling I often felt helpless and stuck in the gap. I decided in college that I wanted to be the person to fill the gap so I began the process of becoming a counselor. As a new clinician with the dream of working with runners I realized I didn’t fit neatly into one of the boxes of typical clinical mental health counseling, traditional eating disorder treatment, or sports psychology. I spent many years trying to make my dream of working with runners happen in one of these more traditional ways while receiving feedback that my dream of working with runners wasn’t realistic; that it was too specific, that I had to choose between research or clinical practice, that runners with eating disorders couldn’t run anymore and heal…etc. But my passion for runners and their mental health outweighed the doubts. Thus, Trailhead Counseling DFW was created to bridge the gap between mental health and running.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I use my experience as a competitive runner, clinician, and my own personal recovery from anorexia as a way to connect with my clients’ journeys, goals, and struggles. I wouldn’t describe myself as a typical therapist as I like to show up as my authentic self with clients which combines laughter, deep conversations, and a little bit of sass. Me being me allows my clients to truly be themselves so that we can do the deep soul work needed to experience healing, joy, and discovering their true potential both in running and life.

One of the most exciting things for me to see in my work with clients is when they come in focused on the sport aspect but leave seeing not only their running but everyday life transformed by the process.

My desire is to see more runners running out of a joy for the sport and not out of an unhealthy place of using it to manage emotions in replacement for therapy. Research shows that runners are at an increased risk for mental health issues above the general population. In my own journey, I have used running as an attempt to find meaning and purpose in my life and have seen how when you develop this mindset running will always at some point let you down. When we look at running as a way to find our value running loses its joy because it is a constant test of our worthiness. I’ve learned that nothing I do in running can add to, or take away any of my worth because my worth is not dependent on my running accomplishments.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to run on some of the local trails like Northshore, Horseshoe, Marion Sansom or Knob hills. There are running groups that meet locally at all the trails!

We’d check out Main Street in Grapevine and grab some of the amazing cherry pie at Judy Pie!

I would take them over to the Korean Market in Lewisville at Music City Mall for some Bulgogi and authentic Korean Cuisine!

We would go to Martin House in Fort Worth to try some of their fun beer flavors and grab pizza at Cane Rosso.

Lastly we would spend a day in Downtown Denton getting coffee at Jupiter House, thrifting downtown, and then grabbing burgers and garlic parm fries at LSA Burger!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am so thankful for my husband, Jonathan, and his support and encouragement for me to leave more traditional counseling and pursue building Trailhead Counseling DFW

Website: https://www.trailheadcounselingdfw.com/

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

Image Credits
Greg Sisengrath Kadi Stunz