Getting the Root of Your Issues - Taproot Therapy Collective

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Joel Blackstock, Owner of Taproot Therapy Collective LLC., located in Vestavia Hills, AL, USA.

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

Taproot Therapy is a collective of therapists who share resources to create a more efficient way to offer services for self-discovery, growth, and healing in Birmingham. We offer the most cutting-edge neuroscientifically backed treatment for PTSD, trauma, and anxiety.

Brainspotting, EMDR, somatic therapies for trauma and IFS, Jungian therapy, meditation, and mindfulness are just a few of our clinicians' modalities. We believe that therapy is about more than reducing symptoms. Taproot Therapy Collective does not use “one size fits all” therapy models.

Instead, we try to personally understand each patient and help reconnect them with the journey that their life calls them toward. We make no presumptions about who you are or where you are going. The clinicians at Taproot Therapy Collective only want to help you find yourself and to find the way to where your journey calls you.

Tell us about yourself

I started my career working with individuals affected by trauma, chronic homelessness, and severe psychotic disorders. I was frustrated early in my career by how little autonomy and opportunities for education are given to young clinicians. I wanted to make a place where smart and motivated people could be given tools and educational resources to build ambitious projects. Throughout my academic career, I studied mythology, world religions, depth psychology, trauma theories, philosophy, ancient history, and cultural anthropology, as well as
the history and philosophy of psychotherapy practice.

I believe that therapy must begin with a genuine appreciation for each patient’s unique story and individuality. I am an EMDR and Brainspotting Phase 2 trained clinician who often utilizes parts-based therapies and existential approaches to help clients overcome problems in a supportive and non-judgmental environment.

I specialize in helping clients harness their own creativity and strengths to overcome barriers to growth and healing. When treating trauma, I use a “trauma map” to allow patients to understand how trauma is affecting their emotional reality, physical sensations, somatic feelings, posture, communication style, and unconscious reactions.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I am proud that the people who work for me make more money than if they were in individual private practice. That is what I strive for. I don't believe in taking a chunk of a person's salary just because they're young and you have the means to afford the infrastructure, and they don't. I believe that as a business owner, if you're going to benefit from someone else's labor, then you should think really hard about that value proposition.

If people aren't doing better with you than they could do on their own, then there's no reason for them to work for you. It is important that we learn to work collectively because together we can build better projects than we can individually. If there is leadership, communication, and a shared dream.

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

It's really hard to be an ethical business owner. There are certain kinds of businesses that I could run blindfolded, but I don't want anything to do with those businesses or how they treat their employees and partners.

It's one thing to talk a good game about being a good leader, but the truth is that it is really hard to do that consistently and also make a profit.

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

1. I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make who are hiring, is that they hire people who think like them. Most people are only comfortable with people who are similar to them. You want to hire somebody who thinks differently from you to do a different job than you're going to do. You want to have a diversity of perspectives.
2. You have to make sure that what you're doing is going to be a lifetime passion and not just a passing obsession. You can do all the planning in the world but the truth is to run a business time is the biggest resource. It's going to take a whole lot of your life away from your kids, away from your family, away from your other hobbies and passions. The more things that support the life that you want to have that you can fit into a business, the better. I love writing, marketing, and systems thinking. I love that work; I love teaching people. That's why this was such a good fit for me.
3. You have to take your ego out of it. You don't just have to be prepared to fail. You have to look for where you failed. If you haven't found any places, then you're not being honest. You have to look at every single thing that happens and find where you could have done it better. Even if the circumstances were terrible, or other people are partially to blame; what is it that you could have
   done better?

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I think we're in the middle of a changing world and a changing economy. A lot of people think new technology or cryptocurrency or something will save us, but I think it's going to be people building communities at a local level. We have to network. We have to get off the internet.

We have to make places for people to come together. It is scary what's happening to the world, but it's also a really exciting opportunity for us to imagine a better world. A lot of people are afraid of their imagination. You tell them that the world could be better, and they start to get angry. It's weird. I've never understood that.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://gettherapybirmingham.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetTherapyBirmingham/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gettherapybirmingham/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gettherapybham
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/taproot-therapy/

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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