The Practice of Therapy

Gordon Brewer: Well, hello everyone and welcome again to the podcast, and I'm really looking forward to you hearing today from Hannah Short. Welcome, Hannah. I'm glad you're here.
Hannah Short: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. I'm so excited to be here. I've been listening to your podcast, so I'm
Gordon Brewer: excited. Well, good. Good.
Thanks. Thanks for doing that. It's, uh, it's always good to hear people that are listeners as well, so it just gives it a lot more context. But Hannah, as I, you know, uh, as I start with everyone, tell folks a little bit more about yourself and how you've landed where you've landed.
Hannah Short: Sure. So, in a roundabout way, to shorten the journey basically, I started out as a teacher, and I taught middle school and elementary, and I did that for a few years and realized that that was not what I wanted to do.
But I enjoyed working with the families, I enjoyed working with the kids. So from there I branched out to the CPS world, and I did investigations for CPS for a long time. Mm-hmm. And saw, saw the things that needed to... that could have been improved with families and, and their kids. And I was like, you know, there's, there's gotta be something else that I can do that's more, that's more direct.
More direct care than having huge caseloads that you see for a short period of time 30 days or so, and then, and then you don't get to know what happens after that, right? Mm-hmm. And so- Right ... that's when I started my master's program. And working through my master's program I did an internship in a psychiatric hospital.
Loved doing that work, loved the psych hospital. Um, learned a lot, um, got a lot of experience in that way. And from there I took my clinical journey on to being a clinical social worker. And always had a dream of being in private practice, I was just waiting for what, whatever, the right time, whatever that may look like.
Gordon Brewer: Right.
Hannah Short: I don't feel like there's ever an actual right time, but.
Gordon Brewer: All right. Yeah. Well, I know, I know, uh, as we were chatting a little bit before we started recording, you've got a really, uh, I'm sure needed and interesting niche of just working with both eating disorders and also the different issues around postpartum experiences for women.
And so tell us a little bit about how you got interested in those particular niches, and how, um, how that's evolved for you.
Hannah Short: Yeah. So I took the personal connection route when it come, when it came to choosing my niches. I have been in recovery from an eating disorder for eight years. And so through my own journey I got to experience a lot of things that were good, and a lot of things that were bad.
And so it, it became a challenge of mine to be the therapist that I felt like I needed, and try to hit the marks that I feel like may have been missed through my own personal experience. Mm-hmm. And I kind of took the same route when it comes to postpartum. So when I got pregnant being a mother is so hard.
And I... It made me realize, like, you know, I had all the... If, if you look at all the check marks that you could hit, right? Like, I had all the perfect setup is what, you know, what people would think. But it was still extremely hard, and I still struggled. And so I thought to myself, you know, if I'm struggling with this, and I have a good s- what I thought was a good setup and I'm a therapist, my- I was a therapist at the time too, and I was like, there's more people that probably need help also.
And so I took a deep dive into it, i- uh, into, like, maternal mental health during my pregnancy and then throughout my postpartum. And just wanted to be able to help people in that way because there- it was just when I was looking for my own resources, I couldn't find any hard- Mm-hmm ... th- they were, they, there weren't many.
And so I was like, if, if I'm having trouble finding resources for this, then other people have to be too. And so I was like, well, I wanna be able to be that resource. Mm-hmm ... I have the background, um, in therapy, so I just, yeah, took a deep dive and did all the perinatal trainings and so forth and so
Gordon Brewer: on.
Wow. Wow. So y- you mentioned with the eating disorders and that, um, things that seemed to work for you personally and, and not, what did you f- what were you able to discover that you've been able to bring into your practice in working with those, those people? And the same for postpartum, I guess, is same kind of questions.
What did you figure out that people maybe needed but weren't able to find?
Hannah Short: One of the main things that I noticed was just to be heard. There were so, there's so much dismissiveness around eating disorders. So many things about, "Well, it's a phase," or, "It's a fad," or, "They're just going through something," or all these types of dismissive statements or views.
And not all of them are, are bad. You know, not all of them... People don't, sometimes people aren't meaning for it to be that way. But it c- Mm-hmm ... it oftentimes comes across that way. And same with postpartum. Um, "She's just being a crazy mom," or, "She's just being a helicopter mom," or overbearing, or worrying about things that, that she shouldn't be, or, "She'll be fine in a year," or sh- You know, and it's very much a, you know, with eating disorders and postpartum, one of the things I notice most is how brushed off it can be.
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm.
Hannah Short: And it would, you know, just to be able to be heard or not to be, not to feel like you're embarrassed or shameful for even mentioning, like, "Hey, I, I'm struggling with I can't, I'm struggling with wanting to eat," or, "I'm struggling with going, like, trying to care for my child," and nobody wants to admit that, especially when you're surrounded- Yeah
by a lot of dismissiveness, whether it be intentional or not.
Gordon Brewer: So many people, as they say, suffer in silence, and-
Hannah Short: Mm-hmm ...
Gordon Brewer: they keep it all to themselves. Well, so h- how were you, how have you been able to help people- I guess, in a way, be heard and just con- obviously in, in the therapy room it's, you know, you've got that rapport building and that sort of thing.
But as you have grown your practice, what is it that you feel like resonated with people?
Hannah Short: So I've always believed that, I've ne- I've never been one of the, those therapists that is very, um, stoic, if for example- Mm-hmm ... in, um, in therapy. Um, but I've also always been very careful about where the moments that I take to kind of insert my own personal experience.
But what I've learned is a lot of the people, a lot of the clients that I see, when I ask them, whether it be in their intake form or when we're just chatting, most all of them say they came to me because they feel like I get it. Even if it's not the same eating disorder, Mm-hmm ... they still resonate and they're like, "Well, I just feel like you get it."
Um. Mm-hmm. And so I think that that's been really helpful, just being able to be open about my story, uh, when it's appropriate. I, I have it on my website that I'm also postpartum and I'm also, um, in eating disorder recovery. So I do share that a little bit, even on my website also.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah.
And, and that's one of the things that I've learned over the years is that, um, a bit of self-disclosure goes a long way in just really connecting with people, and really, I think makes for better therapy because they, one of the foundations of, uh, of therapy is giving, giving people a s- safe space to tell about themselves and to open up.
And yeah, you're gonna open up to someone a lot quicker if you know they've had a similar life experience.
Hannah Short: Yeah, and it's also been helpful in, you know, a lot of a lot of people who have eating disorders are scared to admit it because they think that the first response is gonna be to be sent to an in-patient hospital, Right
To be in-patient. Um, and then on the flip side of, of that, for postpartum, so many moms are scared to, to voice how they feel because they're scared that their child is gonna be taken away because of what they're going through. And so to help bring some, to bring as much light as I can to that when it comes to my clients that that fear is real but, um, it doesn't have to, it doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be the case, that this is a safe space.
And, um, I try to help guide them as much as I can so that they don't get to that point, that they don't- Mm-hmm ... you know, their, their worst case scenario thoughts don't come to life, so.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. Yeah, one of the things that you mentioned is is that you kind of made the transition from being completely virtual in your practice to having a physical office space.
And so I'm curious as to what, what prompted that decision and also just what that's been like for you to do that.
Hannah Short: It's, it's been a wild ride.
Gordon Brewer: Uh-huh. Yeah. First
Hannah Short: of all. Um, but I, I've loved it. It's been great. But yeah, I, um, I decided to get an office space because I started noticing how much, all the need that there was for in-person in my community.
And with eating disorders, I was limiting the amount of opportunity for people to see, see me just by choice because with eating disorders, I... it can be very dangerous and very scary. And so there were, there were only certain eating disorder clients that I would, would accept virtually- Okay
given that I could not see them in person. Um, and so and then when I started seeing postpartum moms, seeing how beneficial that space can be for a postpartum mom, that 50 minute, 50 to 60 minutes of just that, of that's just their space. It's their space- Mm-hmm ... for that hour. Mm-hmm. N- nobody else, just theirs to just be them and to...
And for a new mom especially or any mom for that matter, having that one hour out of your entire day that is just yours that you can go s- get out of your house, separate yourself it, it was so changing to see in clients to have that space. So that's why- Yeah ... I did the office space and-
Gordon Brewer: Yeah
Hannah Short: got, got-
Gordon Brewer: Right.
Hannah Short: Yeah ... things in virtual.
Gordon Brewer: Sure. Sure. What did you find that were the biggest biggest challenges in making that switch?
Hannah Short: Not being prep... So I was not prepared in the sen-... I was like, "You know, I can just do real simple things and just get me- get an office and then do some simplistic- comfy style." That did not, that was not at all what it... When I start, when I started really setting it up, my vision grew a lot quicker than I thought. Um, so one of the- Uh-huh ... challenges was keeping up with the growth and the just my personal, own personal need of, like, wanting to make the most com- comfiest space as possible.
Mm-hmm. And so I was like "Okay, I need this and I need this and I need this, and what would go good here, and what would look good here?" And you know, in, in the back of my mind I thought, "An office space is an office space." Um, but once I got into it, it's, it's so much more than that. Um, and so it was- Mm
that was a difficulty of just making that, that mindset shift of like- Mm-hmm ... "Oh, wow. This is more than I thought it was." Mm-hmm. And so that... Mm-hmm. But it was- Yeah ... it was fun.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. One, one of the things, uh, I know you mentioned in the, the prep form was, uh, setting up your different systems and processes and all of that sort of thing.
What did you find worked well for you with doing all of that?
Hannah Short: So it I felt like at, at the beginning I was all over the place. But what worked well is I did ex- I finally sat down and did research on EHRs- Mm-hmm ... because I've learned that it is a, there's so many out there, and there's, there's good ones, several good ones.
Mm-hmm.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah.
Hannah Short: But the best one is gonna be what's best for you and your practice, and how you wanna run it.
Gordon Brewer: Uh-huh.
Hannah Short: Um, and so you can, you know, it... So getting a good EHR definitely helped. You know, and, and people talk a lot of crap about AI, and that's totally fine, but AI was, was life-changing for me because it helped set up my systems and reminders.
Um- Mm-hmm ... I have it scheduled to remind me to check my email, reminds me to go over my monthly financial report. Mm-hmm. Reminds me. So all these reminders and things that I use through an AI, um, has been extremely helpful when it comes to the systems. And, um, setting up, I use Google Workspace and I use a lot of just setting it up for however it looks, the templates.
However many templates you need for emails, um, whether it be to a client, to another provider, um, to a family member, setting up templates where it's copy and paste makes it so much easier instead of trying to write it every single time- Mm-hmm ... when it's pretty much the same thing across the board. So- Right
that was extremely helpful. And AI even helped me in building somewhat of a CRM system. My s- my practice is small. It's just me. Right.
There's not a whole lot of moving parts other than that. So setting up just the most simplistic CRM system plat- or dashboard- Mm-hmm ... using AI was, was so helpful.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah, it's, it's amazing what we can do with AI. I've been, uh, yeah, personally, I've been doing a much more deep dive into AI, particularly, um, using it f- using a lot of the co-work features particularly with Claude AI, if people aren't, not to get down too far of a rabbit hole. But it's really g- really set up well for that and being able to, uh, give it access to different parts of your computer.
I know that sounds scary to some people, but it's, um, when you really understand how all of that is set up and how it can be set up securely and you get to dictate what it does and not do it's just a, a huge game changer of cutting down on your time and automating things.
Hannah Short: Oh, I 100% agree, and I, I also use Claude.
I, I enjoy it, and even when it comes to... I have such a, an imagination, and I th- I feel like my ideas and things that I want to do for my practice is just going, I have 100 tabs open at one time, and all these ideas and things are going 90 miles an hour. And so it's been really nice to, like, either talk to Text it and to Claude when
I'm th- thinking about it or typing in, like, this is my idea, this is what I want to build, and it helps turn it into life. Um, and it helps kind of- Oh, right ... it helps organize
Gordon Brewer: my, my, my imagination basically. Yeah. Yeah. So I can create something with it. Sure. Sure. Yeah. Yeah, it, it's great for that as far as organizing thoughts and just ideas.
Yeah, it's really, it really is good, good thing to bounce stuff off of. Of course, people need to use it cautiously. But yeah, so, uh, Hannah, as you have grown, are you still a solo practice at this point, or are you bringing on people?
Hannah Short: Yeah, I'm still solo for now. My next goal would be though is to start taking o- I live in Waco, so Baylor is a lot of our population.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. And, um, Baylor, in my personal opinion, I think has a great social work and counseling program. Mm-hmm. So I would love to be a part of that. I'd love to support the interns that will eventually, um, get to that point. Mm-hmm. So that's, that's my next goal is to, to build it to where I can support interns,
Gordon Brewer: Yeah
and
Hannah Short: help in that way.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. So the, for people that are listening out there and maybe in a, in a place where they're postpartum and they're struggling with things, what would you, what would be some tips you would offer for people around all of that?
Hannah Short: Um, a couple of tips that I would, that I would offer is to don't
If you need help, you're not a bad mom. You're not a bad mom for needing help or not knowing what to do, no matter what season of motherhood you're in. Build a support system, no matter what that looks like for you. Everybody's support system will be different. Oftentimes I'll run into people thinking that a support systems means you have to have a large friend group or a large family, and that is not necessarily the case.
Your support system can look like whatever you need it to and want it to look like.
And to not be afraid to ask questions. Not- Mm-hmm ... not be afraid to ask questions. Um, and one just, one just offhand is don't, ... Social media can be good, but don't let it ruin your motherhood experience.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. There's, uh, there's the, the danger I would think of really comparing yourself to others, and the, at least the projection they're putting on social media about how great their life is, so to speak, and how perfect it is. Yeah, it can mess with us, for sure.
Hannah Short: Oh, yeah.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. So, uh, yeah, so, in dealing with clients, I, I think part of my
People that have been listening a while know part of my story in that I was a caregiver for my spouse for several years before she passed away, and just the toll that takes on you of trying to run a practice, trying to meet all the different needs. And I totally agree with you. I think drawing on supports is one of the most crucial things that you can do, of really giving yourself permission to not try to do it all yourself and do it all alone.
Um, so what are some other things that maybe you found besides, drawing on supports? What did you find with your clients and all that sort of thing when the baby, you know, baby comes and all that kind of thing?
Hannah Short: Also found that, you know, I know in therapy we, as therapists, we always talk about boundary setting.
It's- Mm-hmm ... something that's commonly heard. But I like to talk to my clients, especially my postpartum clients, the... It's more than just a boundary. I, I call it a hard stop. And setting up your schedule for a hard stop where- wherever that may fall into your schedule. And even if it takes starting with a 15-minute hard stop, that 15 minutes is you are stopping whatever you were doing with wh- whoever, it doesn't matter if anybody needs anything, for 15 minutes.
That is yours. Hard stop, whether that be to finish your coffee, to take a breather, to finish reading the last two pages of your book. Whatever the case may be setting up your schedule to do that. Uh, I still do, I s- I did it when I... It took me a while to learn that because I felt like I always had to be doing something to be- Mm-hmm
to be a good mom or to be a productive mom or to juggle everything that I can because I need to, I need to show up and for everybody in every way possible, even though I had a newborn baby. So it- Right ... took me a little while to learn it, but once I started implementing it, and I do it, even to this day, I wake...
It, for me personally, it works for my schedule. I wake up 30 minutes earlier than everyone in my house, and I sit outside on the patio. It's dark in Texas, so -
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. ...
Hannah Short: it's still a little bit dark. And I have- Yeah ... my cup of coffee for 30 minutes in the dark- Mm-hmm ... on the patio. And it significantly changes my day.
I can tell when I, when I don't have that opportunity because something, you know, something always throws your schedule
Gordon Brewer: off, right? Mm-hmm.
Hannah Short: But for the most part having a hard stop, finding that hard stop for you is, has been a game changer.
Gordon Brewer: Right. I couldn't agree more. I know that that is, uh, being able to build things into your routine that are really geared towards self-care, but are also non-negotiables.
In other words, like you said, I like that term, a hard stop. I mean, this is something I have to do for myself. And again, in, in my own experience, that was what got me through a lot of what I went through. And so it's just, um, yeah. And, it's, uh, I think one of the things too is as therapists, we're not s- we're good at giving help to others, but we're not so good at helping ourselves and doing, doing what we said, practicing what we preach, so to speak.
Yeah.
Hannah Short: Oh, yeah. So- I don't know how many times I'm in a session and I say something to a client, and after the session's over, I'm like, "That-" I should probably listen to that. That was probab- that's a great idea. Why, I mean- Yeah. And yeah, but so, yeah it's funny how that works.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. Yeah, it's, uh...
And, and too, like you, you me- you mentioned at the very beginning, um, just, uh, I think most of us that go into this field go in out of a sense of our own our own struggles, our own trials, and just our compassion for others that are going through similar things, and really a huge desire to help others with things and share what we've learned through our own life's experiences.
Hannah Short: Oh, yeah. I would agree.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. Well, Hannah, I, I know we've got to be mindful of our time and all of that sort of thing. Um, tell folks a little bit more about how they can get in touch with you and connect with you if they'd like to.
Hannah Short: Yeah, so I have a, I have a website. It's, um, rootedandnourishedtherapy.com.
Um, I have several ways to get in touch with me all throughout my website. And then I have an Instagram page that's Postpartum and Food Therapist. So you can always find me there, message me, comment anything like that, so.
Gordon Brewer: Okay. Awesome. And we'll have those links in the show notes, in the show summary, and for people to find easily.
So well, well, Hannah, I'm so glad you were join, uh, joined me on the podcast, and, uh, I love the work that you're doing, and thanks for sharing your story with us all.
Hannah Short: Yeah. Thank you. I enjoyed talking to you.