We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gretchen Campbell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gretchen, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I think I’m still finding my purpose as my career unfolds. In the early stages of my career, I had a vision of how my life/career would unfold. Some of those visions have come to pass but many have changed and/or developed into something larger than I ever expected. I’ve taken many risk on ideas that weren’t as successful as I would have liked them to be but I still believe there is space for those gifts and apart of my purpose. I’m a trained mental health therapist but I’ve learned over the years that creating a safe space is much more than textbooks, theories and treatment modalities. Yes, all of those things matter but being authentic and meeting clients where they are, I personally believe that supersedes those skills.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a trained mental health therapist (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor) and owner of Grow, Encourage, Empower (GEE) a group therapy practice where we primarily service the adolescent, Gen Z and Millennial population. It’s been a rewarding journey to arrive at a place where the population that you serve is very similar to where you career path began. The mental health journey has been one where I’ve worked in an array of different environments with various populations over the span of twenty plus years. To end up in a place where teen girls are a huge part of my niche population and where I started my career is extremely rewarding. Being a witness to my own growth as a clinician knowing that I’m making an impact and can see many of them through the tween, teen and adult years is something I always wanted but didn’t know if it would be possible.
The growth of GEE is something that I envisioned and has slowly unfolded over the past 9 years. I’m excited about the next phase of the business which will focus heavily on the dimensions of wellness. Pre-Covid, I started hosting Yoga sessions curated for women of color because it was a tool that I’ve used and I know that it can be a helpful tool in managing symptoms or stress, anxiety etc …but I often felt isolated in many of the spaces I practiced. Gee becoming a wellness space that provides not only mental health services but a full spectrum of services to address the whole person from yoga to coaching, parenting support and more.
We will be relaunching our Yoga sessions beginning in May at our new location in Cary Founded, located in the heart of Downtown Cary.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe being persistent has allowed me to stay the course when things didn’t always look like they might work out, I never gave up. Being willing to take some healthy risk and never giving up on yourself.
People have sometimes asked me, how did I know when to expand my business and/or how did I know what population that I wanted my business to serve. I’ve always remained true to myself and operated in my zone of genius.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I would love to partner/collaborate with other individuals within the mental health/wellness community, providing both services. I think there is great value in gaining knowledge from individuals who are blazing the same path that you are on. This is something that I’ve tried to do with clinicians that are interested in starting their own practice. There is no reason to try and reinvent the wheel. I would love for people to connect with me on social @gretchenacampbell_lcmhc or email me at [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.growencourageempower.com/
- Instagram: @gretchenacampbell_lcmhc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Growencourageempower/
- Linkedin: https://www.growencourageempower.com/
- Other: https://www.gretchenacampbell.com/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-a-mom-of-a-teen-help/id1538654115
