Porsche Collins

I attribute my success to having great people who were willing to mentor me over the years. I have many mentors, and they've been willing to take the time to sit down with me and not gatekeep information, helping me be successful and making things run smoother than I thought they would. Having people who are willing to share my business, share what I do, and make recommendations to other people who are in need has been invaluable. I would contribute my success to my village and my circle - the people who have supported me along the way.

The best career advice I've received is to be confident and to just not give up, and to put yourself out there. That was one thing that I struggled with - no one's gonna know about you or your business if you don't talk about yourself and if you don't put yourself out there. It's all about confidence, and I had to learn to be comfortable with promoting myself and my work.

Don't let age be a factor when you start. Don't let someone tell you you're too young to do something or you're too inexperienced to do something. If you have the credentials and you have the tenacity, just go ahead and go for it and do it. Don't let age be a factor, and don't let anyone make you feel like you have not paid your dues in your life, because you have something to offer. When I was younger, people would say I haven't paid dues yet, and I worked with people who were discriminated against because of their age even though they had the same job as me. You have to ignore those comments and keep doing the job that you were hired to do and that you know that you can do.

The biggest challenge is the cost factor when it comes to mental health treatment, and insurance is probably the biggest challenge for my clients. It's a challenge when someone may have had insurance that would cover treatment, and then their insurance changes and treatment has to stop. Another challenge is scheduling, because I offer morning, afternoon, and evening appointments, and everyone wants an evening appointment because of work, but I can't offer everyone an evening appointment. I have to make sure I accommodate everyone's needs in terms of scheduling, and if their insurance changes, that they have adequate support or resources to pivot to something else or someplace else.

Being patient is a huge value in both my work and personal life. I have to be patient with myself as well. I would say being understanding is also important, and learning when I have to pivot and make a change. Sometimes the plan that we have may not work out the way we want it to, and sometimes we might have to make a pivot and adjust. I have to be comfortable and flexible with that. We think something's gonna go one way, and it doesn't present that way, so we have to be able to learn to adjust and roll with the resistance and pivot when necessary.