Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorie Ritschel.
Lorie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Dr. Kathryn Byars and I opened the Triangle Area Psychology Clinic (TAP) in October 2018, and Dr. Chris Sheppard joined us as a third owner in 2020. We shared a vision of working in a clinic that relied strongly on evidence-based treatments, giving back to the community, and training the next generation of psychologists. Our foremost goal in establishing TAP was to create an exemplary group practice with a strong team of providers dedicated to providing empirically-supported treatments to clients and to training the next generation of clinicians. We set a goal of becoming a gold standard clinic for the provision of empirically supported practices, including CBT, DBT, and other third-wave psychotherapies. Originally, we had 5 therapists working in the practice, and we have grown to 13 therapists plus administrative staff. Our growth has been due in part to the fact that we developed an excellent training program for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, many of whom have joined us as full-time clinicians after completing their training. Over the last two years, we also launched two new programs: TAP e-learning was designed to provide clients with psychoeducation in an asynchronous format that increases accessibility and reduces costs tpo clients. TAP Continuing Education (TAP CE) was created to provide high quality continuing education to mental health professionals (who are required to obtain continuing education credits for licensure).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest struggle was managing the extraordinary mental health needs that arose during the COVID pandemic, all while trying to figure out how to deliver care online. The field has ultimately benefitted from that aspect of the pandemic – we needed a big push to get organized around the idea of delivering services remotely, and COVID forced the issue. Now we have the capability to reach more people and to deliver services to people who might not otherwise be able to access them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
TAP is a specialist psychotherapy clinic, meaning that our clinicians are trained in evidence-based treatments designed to treat a specific area of concern. There are lots of mental health professionals out there who are generalists, meaning that they are able to help a broad range or clients but do not typically specialize in any one psychological disorder or treatment approach. To use a medical comparison, there are absolutely times when it makes sense to see a general practitioner; however, if you have a heart issue, it is most effective to see a cardiologist. Similarly, if you struggle with trauma, we recommend working with a trauma specialist. Or, if obsessive-compulsive behaviors are the problem, we would recommend a therapist who specializes in the science-based treatment for OCD.
When we first opened our doors, we were most well-known for our expertise in DBT, a treatment that helps adolescents and adults improve their capacity to regulate emotions effectively and is particularly well-suited for people who experience frequent suicidal thoughts or engage in self-harming behavior (e.g., cutting, burning). We remain one of the few programs in the area (and the state!) to offer comprehensive DBT for high-risk adolescents. Over time, we have expanded our offerings quite a bit and now provide the following services:
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for depression, anxiety, insomnia, and couples issues
• Unified Protocol (UP) for multidiagnostic presentations, including anxiety and anger
• Couples therapy
• Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) for caregivers experiencing conflict with their children, or when kids refuse to attend therapy on their own
• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for obsessive-compulsive and other anxiety disorders (we are also unique in that we have an extraordinary team of therapists who treat pediatric OCD!)
• Self-compassion treatment for individuals struggling with perfectionism, shame, or burnout
• Neurodiversity-affirming versions of all these treatments for autistic people
We are most proud of our:
• Clinical excellence and team-based approach
• Attention to all aspects of diversity in creating a case conceptualization
• Assessment team, who are skilled in psychodiagnostic AND psychoeducational testing across the lifespan. Our team is exceptionally well-trained in attending to neurodiversity throughout the assessment and writeup process.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Integrity. Our north star will always be to deliver evidence-based treatment to people who are suffering and to do so with a commitment to ongoing learning, openness to feedback, and compassionate delivery. We never want to be complacent. As owners, we want to continue to offer our employees an exceptional place to provide services to clients, as well as an elite team of colleagues with whom to collaborate.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tapclinicnc.com
