Letting People Be Themselves - Creative Mental Health

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sarah Haskett, Founder of Creative Mental Health Ltd, located in Portsmouth, Hants, UK.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am an accredited Cognitive Behaviour Therapist and a Registered Mental Health Nurse. I help people with all sorts of common mental health problems, from anxiety and depression to phobias and PTSD. I am also a creative and a true nerd! I grew up with a father who was a software engineer, so I learned my way around a computer pretty well. As a dyslexic, when I was training as a CBT therapist, I noticed how little engaging material is out there, making most self-help stuff bland reading out there. I have built an online creative well-being hub that offers online courses and events, podcast, and more to people around the world. This is not just a place to come; it's a place to join a community. My customers range from my one-to-one therapy and consultation clients to my open checkout of material at my.creative-learning.net.

Tell us about yourself

As someone who often felt like an outsider, I became fascinated with human behaviour while working as an actor. At this time, I was a part-time support worker and acting in corporate role-play training days and teaching youth theatre. I was awarded registration with Equity Arts Federation (UK); however, working without a regular payday was not ideal for me, and nursing was a natural choice. For me, understanding people, life, and wellness is closely linked to creativity. Dance, music, and drama have always played a significant role in my life, and I now have the pleasure of bringing these areas together in a meaningful way. I specialise in bringing therapeutic theory and creative expression together in my workshops on telling your story and in my corporate programmes. In the therapy room, I am working towards evidence-based interventions that are 'formulation driven,' meaning we look at the full picture. Often what is a problem for a person is deeply rooted in where our values lie; simply put, if you didn't care about it, it wouldn't matter.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Surviving! haha, no, seriously though.... I don't know; there have been many highlights. The difference made to an individual's life, being a grounding point for a person when times are most turbulent, is a truly privileged position to be in. I think this is where the nuggets of the gold lie; this is where the magic warm feeling sits that keeps the momentum going to push forward. I thrive off people; the inspiration is powered by connection and sharing, and my mission is to bring inspiration.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Talking about money, for sure, is the hardest thing for me - yep, selling myself. Even now, I often practice self-sabotage of 'forgetting my business card' when I go to teach at a workshop. Or holding back on telling someone about myself at a networking event. Pricing my work is also something that I find a real challenge. I never studied marketing or business, so everything has been touch and go, a learn-as-it-comes approach. I have, over the last few years, learned a lot about marketing by attending webinars and getting feedback from customers, I'm still learning, but I feel I have this down better now than I have ever before, which feels good :)

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Take it in steps; your confidence will grow in time as you do it. Set it up in your mind as a learning process - not a win or lose; life just isn't like that! We grow into anything new, mistakes and challenges are to be expected.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://creativementalhealth.org.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativementalhealthuk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creative_health_/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CreativeMHealth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creative-mental-health/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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