Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Knapp.
Laura, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started graduate school and got pregnant with my son a month in. It quickly became clear that 1) the graduate program I was attending was not going to teach me how to work with people other than heterosexual, white, financially privileged clients, 2) my spouse and I couldn’t afford to raise a kid in Seattle, Washington, and 3) I wanted to be a therapist that worked with the LGBTQ+ population.
I re-applied to graduate school while in graduate school while I was 6 months pregnant, and got in to Oklahoma State University. Most folks wouldn’t imagine that in a state like Oklahoma, I’d learn much about counseling folks in the queer community. But the work I did at my internship at the Al Carlozzi Counseling Center was pivotal in the community I was a part of, and would grow to be most passionate about working with as a counselor.
Upon moving to Nashville two weeks into the pandemic with my spouse and kid, I saw a trend of very few counseling agencies that combined evidence-based, high-quality care to the LGBTQ+ community and also took private insurance or offered truly deep sliding scale self-pay options. The rest is history; we opened in the summer of 2021 and have been growing since.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has never been a smooth road, and likely will continue to have many bumps. Honestly, if the growth of myself as a business owner and a therapist were to stop, I’d be more concerned–it means I’m not learning, and therefore, not changing along with my staff, my clients, and the world around me.
One of the most identifiable struggles has been learning hands-on how to manage a company. Counselors don’t get any training in self-marketing, bookkeeping, training in how to panel for private insurances, negotiating pay raises with said insurance companies, HR issues, interior decorating. The list is endless.
But more importantly, the biggest challenge for me has been in slowing down. Internally, I move through my own inner world pretty quickly. Adding to that, there’s immense pressure from other practice owners and in my field to DO MORE. See more clients. Have multiple locations. To grow your team, to host trainings, to get certificates in the newest therapy modality. I could do all that, but the struggle is to remember: that doesn’t have to be who I am as a business owner, and to be confident in that.
What I’ve learned over time (and the hard way) is that if something feels rushed, if something feels too good to be true or off, that’s when it’s time to back off and talk to the people I trust the most. Maybe it’s also time to let go of that one thing, that training, that possible hire or possible connection.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Open Door Counseling is a small-but-mighty team of five counselors and social workers with multifaceted life experiences, niches, and identities. Our combined differences are the key to our strength as a team. Collectively we hold 40+ years of experience in clinical mental health counseling, social work, inpatient treatment, substance use treatment, legislative advocacy, integrative medicine, and volunteer work with the unhoused, those grieving suicide loss, those on hospice, and with the LGBTQIA2S+ community. We as a team hold several specialties and certificates, but at the risk of it sounding like a humble-brag, I’ll just say: this team kicks serious butt.
What sets us apart from the rest? The feedback I continually get from the Nashville LGBTQ+ community, and the word of mouth we seem to get. Our motto is “our door is open,” and ironically, we never seem to have a shortage of clients. Maybe it’s because our clinicians do more than smile, nod, and affirm. When a client comes into our office with mental health issues, they will have a clinician who does not flinch at complex mental health issues. We see clients with PTSD, OCD, ADHD, complex trauma, folks navigating transition or coming out to family, severe anxiety, to interracial couples’ work, to substance use, to codependence, to mood disorders, and are one of the few outpatient clinics I know of who do with confidence.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’ve done about a quarter of the artwork in our office, and do a lot of the design work for our marketing, website, and more. I really enjoy watercolor, ink drawing, and sketching in my spare time.
Pricing:
- Individual Sessions: $120-160
- Couples Counseling: $120-180
- Sliding scale is frequently available
- We take most major insurances: Aetna, Meritain, Cigna/Evernorth, BCBS, United/Optum
- Call us at (629)201-2710 for more information
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.opendoorcounselingtn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorcounseling_tn/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/7sV7_gVBUcQ
