Damaris Johnson, LMFT

I would have to give a lot of credit to my dad. My parents came to the States as immigrants, and my dad always shared that they made a lot of sacrifices when they got here. When I was young, he really encouraged me to take a lot of risks. He was like, we didn't do all this for you to not be able to do what you want to do. He reminded me really young and really early, which is, you are young, you don't have a lot of responsibilities yet, so while you're young, before you have kids, take all the risks, try out all the things. That really stuck with me, which is why I was able to start my first business at the age of 22. He just kept reminding me, like, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, you just start over. He was my first investor, so it really helped me have that mindset very early on and not be afraid of failure. I understand that failure is not a bad thing, it just meant you learned something from it. Had I not started that first business, I don't think I would have been as successful. That's helped me start a business so young to be just fearless and find new things, even though I've had this business for 11 years, having to try to evolve and pivot with new things, and not being afraid of that.

The best career advice I’ve ever received came from my father, whose example and guidance have profoundly shaped my mindset and approach to both life and business. As immigrants to the United States, my parents made significant sacrifices to create better opportunities for our family, and my father often reminded me to pursue my goals with confidence and intention. He encouraged me to view early adulthood as a time for exploration, risk-taking, and self-discovery, emphasizing that without heavy responsibilities, it is the ideal period to try new things, learn through experience, and grow through both success and failure. His belief that failure is not something to fear but an opportunity to learn left a lasting impact on me, especially when I launched my first business at 22 with his unwavering support as both my emotional anchor and first investor. That experience taught me to approach entrepreneurship with curiosity rather than fear and to understand that setbacks are often stepping stones toward greater success. Those early lessons continue to guide me today, giving me the confidence to adapt, evolve, and embrace change throughout my career, including in building and sustaining my counseling practice for more than a decade. I continue to rely on the foundation he gave me, which reminds me that resilience, thoughtful risk-taking, and a willingness to keep growing are essential to long-term success.

What I would tell them is lean into learning and connecting with a mentor. I think that was one of the best things I could have done. I still, the program director for my graduate program, Dr. Livingston, I still connect with him from time to time, because there's so much to learn from those who've been in the field, and there are people who really want to help those who are coming behind us. It's okay to send out a cold email. Don't be afraid. You will be surprised how often people will jump at the opportunity to help. We're in the helping field for a reason. If you have questions, send an email to somebody who's local in your area, and ask them if you can just hop on a call for 15 minutes. They may just ask to schedule it out a bit, but you'll get a lot of great responses that way.

The landscape of private practice world has evolved quite a bit since things have become much more virtual. We have a lot more telehealth options in our field now. At least 60-70% of our caseload is telehealth, so even though we have a physical office, most of our work is virtual now. What I would like to do is really lean more into the mentorship piece and consulting. We have a training program within our practice right now. We've had that for several years, where every fall we bring in graduate students. We do their practicum year with us. They do their clinical hours with us, and our goal is always for them to graduate and come on staff. I want to flesh that out a little bit more and make it a more well-developed training program, because a lot of young clinicians are coming out of school and not really having a lot of in-person experience the way that we once did pre-COVID.

I think my values are just having a lot of integrity. When I say that, it is so easy to get caught up in a lot of the hype of everything that happens in life and in work, but just maintain a lot of integrity in what you do, so just be honest in who you are and show up as your most authentic self, and I think people really recognize that quickly and gravitate towards that. It's a lot easier to show up as yourself, rather than as something else. That is really kind of what informs the way I navigate life, whether it's personal or business, and that's the one key word I always try to remind people, even my kids, like, let integrity lead you in all that you do. As a mom of two kids, they are 7 and 10, I love spending time with my kids. I love to travel. We actually just got back from New York with the kiddos. We got to show them the Statue of Liberty for the first time, which they'll remember forever. I just enjoy time with family. I'm a big reader, I love to read books, not just for work, but I like to just read leisurely books. And actually, a fun fact is, I am a couponer. If I had more time, I would be an extreme couponer. I just love the thrill of it.