How I found myself here?
I began my career mainly working in community based mental health centers and agency work, but found myself in a situation where I needed to make more money. It was 2018, and I was sitting in a grilled cheese shop with my husband. We were living with my mother-in-law at the time and wanted to go out to dinner to get out of the house. The only problem was that we didn’t really have the money or business going out to eat. We were $40,000 in debt, mostly medical, and we just couldn’t seem to keep our heads above water. I worked in community mental health as a clinical supervisor and made less than I did working as a line cook in college. My husband was (and still is) a first responder and made just enough to cover our medical insurance and some basic living expenses.
At the grilled cheese shop, we started discussing whether we should start doing Uber Eats in our free time to supplement our income. It was then my husband suggested that we could make more money if I started my own business. While he was correct, the only issue with starting a therapy business was that I couldn’t compete with my full-time job, and I didn’t feel that I was ready or able to start my own practice. But I started to wonder if it was possible—if I could harness my passion for helping bariatric patients (having had bariatric surgery in 2012) become successful in their weight loss journeys.
So, I started researching.
I wanted to see if there were any trainings that would teach me what I needed to know about completing bariatric psychological assessments.
Spoiler alert: there weren’t many. I only found one, and it had such sneaky pricing that I had to rule it out because I didn’t know how much I’d be investing in the endeavor.
Then I found the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and learned that they don’t have specific training for bariatric assessments because they don’t want to hinder access to the profession, which was certainly a reason that resonated with me. So instead of seeking out specific trainings, I used their website to learn all the information I could about conducting bariatric psychological evaluations and figured out what I needed to do. I did the legwork to make letter templates and client educational materials. It took me years of trial and error to get to where I can now complete an entire assessment in the time I see a client.
I still had to show my full-time job that bariatric assessments did not violate my non-compete clause. I made it clear that I would only take clients who needed bariatric evaluations. I also made it clear that is all I did in my business name. And then I explained that this was a way for me to be able to continue my work in community mental health while paying off my debt. My job finally agreed.
In the first year of business, I paid off all our debt, paid off our car, saved for a down payment, and bought a house. It was a lot of work, especially because I decided to continue working at my full-time job, but I found that the bariatric evaluations business model I created made it easy for me to keep going even when I felt overworked. If I needed a day off, I took it. There were no weekly clients. If I wanted to travel, I did. I knew the clients would be there when I got back.
Looking back, the desperation and shame I felt sitting in the grilled cheese shop with my husband really drove me to where I am now. I no longer have to figure out how to continue the low-paying work I love while also trying to pay the bills. We have more financial freedom than ever before and can live the life we always dreamed of living.
Now I want to share my knowledge with you. If you’re overworked, underpaid, tired, and burned out, I see you. I was you. And now I want to teach you how to create your own bariatric psychological assessments business—one that you can grow and scale to your needs. One that offers you the flexibility to do what you love while earning a decent living. More importantly, I want to give you all the tools and resources that I’ve created over the years to make the job easier, that way you won’t need to spend years trying to figure it out for yourself.
When you’re ready, click the button below to learn more.
