There are a lot of reasons to write out your MVV when you start a business. In my case, I started Wind Over Water as a feng shui blog, and then later transitioned into its current iteration as a virtual therapy private practice. Also, though, in order to reach goals you need to know what they are.
I think Mr. Spurgeon and countless others said it first, but I remember it best as the line “start as you mean to go on” from the Coldplay song “A Rush of Blood to the Head” from their 2002 album. That was at the beginning of my professional career, and the thought stuck with me. We do things all the time as a temporary fix, but we do not always do well at planning for the long term.
Mission
My goal is to provide expert mental health therapy services to clients in Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland by providing virtual individual, couple, family, and group therapy to clients with all kinds of mental health issues. My focus has been working with clients struggling with eating disorders, depression, other disorders of over-control, life transitions, self-esteem and the myriad of other mental health concerns that plague modern life.
I enjoy working in a virtual platform, not only because of the convenience of those services but also because it allows a glimpse into my client’s lives. There is no denying the flexibility!
I have been an in-person therapist for a long time, and at a variety of levels of care. In 2020, when we all transitioned to virtual living, many of my clients and colleagues discovered a new way of communicating – some liked it, and some did not. I was one of the (few, it seems) therapists that likes a virtual platform. Here are some pros & cons. I do believe that as we live more of our lives online, therapy needs to move into that space as well. And that the accessibility, flexibility, and convenience of that will help more people access care that they need.
Vision
It would be wonderful if the world understood how important mental health is, and if everyone had access to a therapist, doctor, dietician, or other professional they want/need. That is not the world we live in, but as a therapist who enjoys practicing in the virtual space, I want to fill the need for experienced professionals who work with clients struggling with eating disorders. In doing so, I hope to collaborate with other professionals and build a network of like-minded providers who can help more people access the treatment they need.
Less than 20% of people who need treatment for their eating disorders are able to access care.
theprojectheal.org
That is one of the reasons I joined Project HEAL when I opened this practice and I will write a blog about the experience of answering their application questions soon!
You can read some more about this on my Philosophy page.
Values
There are a lot of reasons that your values are important in the therapy process, so I am going to share mine. Each of these values means different things to different people, so I will only share my top three values list (not my definitions and goals for each of them) to deliberately make you consider what these words mean to you.
Genuineness – Knowledge – Creativity
Those are my personal values. For Wind Over Water, I want to make sure I keep those in mind and also focus on compassion, integrity, and openness.