Today we’d like to introduce you to Gretchen Campbell.
Hi Gretchen, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in New Jersey and moved to NC during the economic crisis in 2009. When I first arrived it didn’t dawn on me that I had to rebuild a name for myself in the mental health field. I did all my studies in New Jersey and had done a ton of work in mental health and Juvenile Justice. After making some attempts to get a state position and it not working out, I knew that I would have to begin building relationships. Mental Health was managed really different in NC compared to NJ and there were different services and being offered in different capacities that were foreign to me. After bouncing around to a few agencies I knew that I needed to start my private practice if I really wanted to make an impact. A lot of mental health during field work is very short term so you never really know what impact you are having on those that you serve and I wanted to be able to provide the quality of care that I knew those individuals needed in a way that worked.
I started Grow Encourage Empower (GEE) the Private Practice in 2015 on a parttime basis while I was still working FT at a local Mental Health hospital. I was working 7 days a week because I knew I eventually wanted to make the transition and do it FT but I just wasn’t sure how I would be able to survive without a traditional job. In 2017 when I was working at a mental health insurance company I was put in a situation where I would have to work hours that weren’t conducible to a healthy work/life balance. I had been doing the private practice for two years and I was building relationships in the community so I was getting more and more clients. I decided to take the leap and transition into the business full-time. I was scared because I had a lot of responsibilities but with my parents support I knew it was then or never.
Most of the work that I currently do is with the adolescent and young adult population. People have always asked how I work with the adolescent population, and I like to think that the population chose me. Early on in my career, I fell in love with working with teens, but there was one job where I primarily worked with teen girls, and that’s where I found my love for working with teen girls. When I started my practice, my website never specified that I only worked with teen girls, but that’s exactly who was coming. Call after call was a mom calling about her teen daughter and so I decided to niche down to working with teen girls. What I noticed was that every mom that was calling had similar concerns and/or experiences and I found that I was repeating some of the same information. Some of the primary issues were pertaining to the mother/daughter relationship. Many of the concerns were focused around communication difficulties that they were having and I knew that if each mom that I was seeing was having some of the same issues that there had to be mothers all over dealing with the same and I wanted to be able to help them too. So, I started to document the ongoing concerns that I was seeing to develop a book. Being an author was never a goal, but I knew that the tool could be helpful to so many. I started writing in 2018 and by 2019, I’m a mom of a Teen Girl, Help was self-published and became an Amazon best seller in the first week. I was elated, and the feedback was great. So great that I decided to start a podcast titled I’m a mom of a teen, help which is currently available wherever you stream podcast. I am currently in the process of growing my practice, and we now serve adolescent girls and Gen Z and Millennial women. I am still working with teen girls and their moms but also serving adult daughters and their mothers as well. I will also be relaunching my book and the podcast soon.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Growing my business has definitely had its challenges, but I am grateful for the learning process. The hurdles have made me a better clinician and a smarter entrepreneur. I think the biggest hurdle was navigating managing a business. I went to school to be a therapist, and there was not one business course, so this was definitely a huge challenge for me, but I knew that it was something that I wanted to do, and I connected with women who had also taken the leap to get me started and then again to help me scale the business.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Grow Encourage Empower?
Grow, Encourage, Empower is a group therapy practice serving women and girls in the RDU area and beyond. We specialize in showing up for teens that are struggling with navigating developmental challenges, parents struggling in their relationship with their teens, and Gen Z and Millennials struggling with navigating major life transitions, all manifesting with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Some of our clients do have a history of trauma and we are also able to help them navigate those challenges as well. I am known for my work with Mothers and Daughters and what sets me apart is that I not only work with teen girls, but I also provide parent coaching to act as an additional support for parents when it’s needed.
What I am most proud of is the work that I’ve done establishing I’m a mom of a Teen, Help. It started out as a book and grew into a podcast with many more ventures to come. If you research parenting books, you will often find that books are focused on babies and toddlers. It’s almost like potty training and tantrums is where the parenting difficulties stop, but I know as a child/adolescent therapist that this is so far from the truth, and I’m hopeful that I am creating a lane for parents who need support with their teens.
The Practice currently services clients throughout the state of NC providing individual therapy and family therapy when needed via in-person and virtually https://www.growencourageempower.com/.
I also provide Parent Coaching and Private Practice Coaching for individuals looking to start their private practice journey https://www.gretchenacampbell.com/.
My book is available on my website, amazon, and Barnes & Noble website and the podcast can be found on all platforms. https://www.amazon.com/Im-Mom-Teen-Girl-Help/dp/1733411909
https://www.growencourageempower.com/podcast
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I absolutely Love Raleigh. I was born and raised in New Jersey and spent most of my life there. I moved to NC in 2009, and it was one of the best decisions that I made. It’s changed so much since I’ve moved here, and I’m excited for the continued growth to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.growencourageempower.com/ https://www.gretchenacampbell.com/
- Instagram: @gretchenacampbell_lcmhc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Growencourageempower
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-a-mom-of-a-teen-help/id1538654115
Image Credits
Ricky Duncan
Dee Maze
Devante Campbell
