Storie: 0:15

Welcome back to Market it with Atma, where we share the tips, tools and strategies to help your business be successful. Today we have on the show a very special guest. She is the founder and psychotherapist of Core Counseling and Wellness, dr Galit Burke. Welcome.

Dr. G: 0:32

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Storie: 0:34

Thank you for coming today. So tell me again what do you like to be called? How are you feeling right now?

Dr. G: 0:43

You know I get called all of the above, from Dr Berg to Dr Ghali to Dr G and even G. So whatever works for you, I'll answer to all of the above.

Storie: 0:55

I like Dr G to be honest. Perfect, it's great, we'll go with that. So what I want to ask first is kind of how long have you been doing this and what inspired you to start your own counseling and wellness center?

Dr. G: 1:10

You know I've been at this for a long, long time. For me, where I am today is really closing a loop. I started a long long time ago. I did my undergrad in psychology. At the time my mother, who is currently a psychologist in Michigan, was going through school and I watched her and decided to kind of follow in her footsteps. At some point I dropped off and decided that isn't what I wanted to do. I pivoted, I went back and forth and I got my PhD quite a while ago. And then life happened and I went back to school and got another degree in counseling and eventually got licensed.

Storie: 1:54

And here I am Wow, that's. It's amazing. You know, we all go through that right, the roller coaster of what do I want to do with my life and, and then this isn't what I want to do, and then something else comes along. It's kind of what do you call it? Where the universe kind of aligns and you're like ding.

Dr. G: 2:13

Synergy yes.

Storie: 2:15

Perfect synergy. So tell me what type of counseling services you offer and what encouraged you specifically to focus on those Sure offer and what encouraged you specifically to focus on those Sure?

Dr. G: 2:29

So part of it, I would say I found, and part of it found me. They always say when you're going through school that your specialty will find you.

Dr. G: 2:36

When I got started I thought I wanted to work with women and trauma and eating disorders and that is not at all what found me. What found me was actually couples counseling and relationships and it really surprised me, but I found that I loved it and I would say that that's the major focus of my work today. I do a lot of couples work, individuals who are dealing with relationship issues. I also work with teenagers. I work with families a little, a little bit of everything, but mostly I would say, relationship focused with that being said, what?

Storie: 3:18

what encouraged, what spoke to you about the couples counseling and what discouraged you from diving deeper into helping trauma victims and things like that.

Dr. G: 3:30

You know that world and that work is really really hard doing therapy. Back in my 20s or even before, I thought that I wouldn't be able to separate kind of what my clients are going through and myself and my life, and I think that I have deep respect for those who work in that heavier trauma world because you have to be really really, really good about your own self-care and about boundaries so you don't take that on and take that home and I still do that right. We think about our clients even outside of the office. So that's an important thing for all therapists.

Storie: 4:19

You know, as a patient, I guess you would say Client.

Dr. G: 4:24

Yes, client.

Storie: 4:25

I've done plenty of therapy and I strongly encourage it for anybody. Just to keep up with yourself, right? But I like that my therapist will text me just to see how I'm doing. I love that that personal relationship is there and she cares enough to message me. But how do you turn it off? At the end of the day? I think any entrepreneur or you know business person out in corporate America has that issue. How do you turn it off?

Dr. G: 4:53

I think it's so important really in most industries and absolutely for mine is that you, you have to.

Dr. G: 5:04

You have to figure out what your boundaries are, communicate them and then the hardest part is honoring them yourself, right? So if you say that I'm not available past, you know, 8pm, let's say unless it's an emergency, and then someone writes you or texts you or calls you after 8 pm, you have to hold yourself right, honest to your own boundaries, and not respond and remind yourself you know what. I'll respond in the morning, right, right, unless it's an emergency. It's a whole different situation, but you just have to be really, you have to put yourself first. Right, which is actually something I talk to my clients a lot about is putting ourselves first.

Storie: 5:47

And how do you define? I guess? I know, for instance, what you just said is a great point, but I had to learn the hard way, right? I didn't have somebody to help me through. It is you can receive messages, you can receive e-mails after 5, but it's your choice as to whether or not you respond. So I always take a deep breath and I think am I mentally able to answer this and still be present? Yeah, and most of the time I'm not, of course, and you know what? It can always wait, but having to learn how to do that is so hard, especially when you're an empathetic person or you want to help everybody it's practice.

Dr. G: 6:25

We have to be gentle with ourselves, we have to be compassionate with ourselves and we keep practicing, just like anything else. When we fall, we get up again, we start again right, whether that's a business or a career choice that we've pivoted and come back to, or other boundaries or goals that we start and stop and we can always start again. We always have that choice and that capacity as human beings to start again.

Storie: 6:54

Yes, and what I just realized is you also coach.

Dr. G: 7:01

I do. Yeah, I am a women's empowerment coach as well.

Storie: 7:07

What does that entail?

Dr. G: 7:09

Essentially, it is giving women the space and the time right to carve out the time for themselves, to dare to imagine the life of their dreams and then to begin to create and design what that looks like and then step into it together in a safe space. And I do it both one-on-one with women as well as in groups.

Storie: 7:38

Really one with women as well as in groups. Really, do women, do you see a lot of response when they're in a group with other women?

Dr. G: 7:45

that are trying to empower themselves. The group is really powerful right. It's about connection, it's communication, it's support, it's. There's just something really powerful about the togetherness.

Storie: 7:58

Wow, and so it's a coaching program. So how long does it last for?

Dr. G: 8:05

I have various ways to work with me in coaching. I don't so much like the one-off. I think, to be honest with you, both with coaching and with counseling, that there is a thing about the commitment right. If we come once, or once a month or once in a while, it doesn't work. I agree, right, we need to be like anything else that is important to us and that we want to work on. We have to be consistent in order to see results, in order to really make change right and transformation and so while I do offer um one-on-one, um a la carte, if you will, I prefer uh programs.

Dr. G: 8:52

So I have a six session, a 12 session and an 18 session one-on-one program, and then I have a group, a 90 day coaching group. I also have a support slash empowerment group coming up for counseling clients in Texas, so that's also based on divorce, it's for single moms and again, it's it's. I shy away from the traditional support groups because they often turn into opportunities to sit together and talk about all the negative things that are happening, and that is not what I'm about.

Storie: 9:44

So you have a different focus.

Dr. G: 9:45

I have a different focus With all the different varieties of counseling you offer.

Storie: 9:49

How do you tailor your approach to each demographic? You have teens, you have women, you have couples. How do you approach and advertise who you are and how you're different?

Dr. G: 10:02

Yeah, so it's a really great question. I consider myself eclectic and integrative in my approach. So, I don't do a cookie cutter you know which I love. Absolutely. I meet you where you are, depending on who you are right and depending on what your needs are, and then I tailor my approach to you.

Storie: 10:27

Wow See, and that's a lot of the way we do it. So, um Advent Trinity Marketing Agency, we work off of a build, launch, grow scale methodology and we absolutely especially in what you do, especially in marketing If I can't understand you, then we aren't going to go anywhere.

Storie: 10:45

Marketing has to be customized in any industry, right, of course. So I saw your website and I saw that you have some social media Great, by the way. How do you leverage social media to connect with your audience? Are you reaching out daily? Are you updating them on your day-to-day life? How does that work for you.

Dr. G: 11:09

I wish I had a streamlined approach or process. It's actually I try to stay away from the word should, like I should do that and all my clients know that I prefer that something. I am committed to somebody. I'd like to work on my growth opportunity if you will.

Dr. G: 11:32

I do post a lot on social media, mostly on my professional page on Instagram, at Dr Galit Burke, as well as I just recently started doing it on LinkedIn, and I do probably a good mix of written content and videos. I think that there's something about seeing your face, seeing your voice. You know, sometimes this morning I did it, you know, with my bedhead straight out of bed.

Storie: 12:03

Because you're real right.

Dr. G: 12:05

You're a real person just like everyone else and you bring up such a good point. That's something that I think differentiates me is that I like to show up real. I like to show up authentic, raw, as I am, transparent, all those things. I always tell my clients that I am perfectly imperfect, just like they are. I'm human. I'm not always going to get it right. I don't always get it right and I like to. It's kind of my, I guess, part of my process of normalizing for my clients where they are, in sharing, where I am right in a in a appropriate manner of course, therapists have to be careful with how much they share, but they have to feel like you understand.

Storie: 12:50

And how can you understand if you haven't experienced a portion of of your experience? Yeah right, I mean I know that when I saw your energy is amazing, but you could tell you're authentic and in everything you do. I think in any industry, if you're not authentic, people can feel it.

Dr. G: 13:06

Yeah.

Storie: 13:06

You know it, it's out there, guys, so just be yourself good bad ugly, just be yourself. So I also see here that you've started writing a book as well.

Dr. G: 13:17

I also see here that you have started writing a book as well. Yeah, so this has been a long time dream of mine, and you know, what separates our dreams from staying dreams and becoming reality is action. Yeah, and not just action. But back to that word I think I used earlier is consistency, absolutely Right. So we have to show up consistently in order to get the results that we want and to turn our dreams into reality. And so I turned 50 a couple of weeks ago. Congratulations.

Storie: 13:51

Thank you.

Dr. G: 13:52

And I decided you know what the time is now. Like all these things I cast off into someday. Someday I'm write a book, someday I'm gonna start a business, someday I'm gonna start a get a tattoo which, by the way, I got a tattoo, thank you.

Dr. G: 14:05

It's very pretty too, thank you four days before my birthday, I got a tattoo it says so she did, which for me is a very meaningful, empowering um statement. It's not like a part of a quote that I live by. And so you know, with the time being now, and this fire that kind of got lit under me with turning 50, I decided that this is the year, this is the year I'm going to write a book, this is the year I'm starting a business, all the things.

Dr. G: 14:37

So I started basically getting up a little bit earlier every morning to have time to write. And back to that perfectly imperfect thing my goal is to do it every day. Do I do it every day? No, and when I don't, it's okay. I do beat myself up about it a little bit because I'm human. And then I remind myself to meet myself with compassion and to get up and start again.

Storie: 15:01

That's amazing. So is there? Is there one thing that you look back on in your journey into into this industry, or even in life, that you wish, dang, I wish I'd told someone would have told my younger self this, or I wish I knew?

Dr. G: 15:16

Probably so many things.

Storie: 15:19

We all have so many.

Dr. G: 15:21

I would say probably the number one thing and I've had this lesson over and over and over again at different points in my life is that Even when you don't have all the answers or you don't know how it's going to turn out, or you feel like you don't know what you're doing, do it anyway Right. For a long time I said I had no business running a business because I I really did For years. I said this because I felt like I didn't know what to do or how to do it. And you know, I don't have a business background, don't have a marketing background, don't have an accounting background, like I don't know how to do any of these things, and what I really needed to do was to change the narrative and change the conversation. And I still don't know what I'm doing, but I'm running a business.

Storie: 16:09

Do you have mentors or you know people you look up to that kind of help you guide? Would you say that that's a key influence that you need to have as a business owner?

Dr. G: 16:19

Absolutely. I have my own therapist, I have my own coach. I have, you know, other people in the industry that I regularly meet with that I look up to right, like people who run group practices, who have their own business, who have been doing it longer than me, and I meet them for coffee and I say, okay, what can you teach me?

Storie: 16:42

Right, and maybe you teach them something in the process as well. Right that mutually beneficial? Exactly those are awesome relationships to have. I love that. So you still see you're a therapist and you still have those mentors because you're always growing right, we never stop, of course, therapist and you still have those mentors, because you're always growing right.

Dr. G: 17:00

We never stop, of course. We're always on a ongoing journey of becoming.

Storie: 17:01

That's what I like to say absolutely and to touch on that to never stop, even if it's one step at a time. I know I had a problem with that. It's like I want to do everything in a hurry, but then life kind of sits you down. So even if you're moving, to move forward right right.

Dr. G: 17:18

Yes, the baby steps get us there too. They add up.

Storie: 17:21

They really do and it's hard to kind of slow down and focus on those. So I'm glad that you encourage people to do that. So can you tell me maybe we've talked kind of about what's one thing you wish you would learn an experience with a client that really changed your way of thinking or really touched you that you can share with us?

Dr. G: 17:42

god there's so many. Um, this is gonna sound funny, but you know, I I often. I tell my clients always that I'm direct in my approach, that we all have people in our life who tell us what we want to hear. And if we're lucky enough, we have us. We have people in our life who tell us what we don't want to hear but need to, and I put myself in that category and, as such, I tell my clients that you know, push back If I say something in therapy that doesn't fit for you.

Dr. G: 18:16

you know, if I say, oh, I'm noticing X or I feel as if you're anxious today, or whatever it is, and I get it wrong and I will because I'm human push back and so I often have clients pushing back. And I have this one client of mine who is part of a couple that I see and for some reason I seem to push his buttons and he often gets mad at me and I can tell and he either shuts down or he says something and I'll say what's going on for you.

Storie: 18:54

Are you?

Dr. G: 18:54

upset, are you angry? And he will often tell me that he is really angry at me right now. Right, and I actually love that because that's a place from which we can explore and we can explore what's going on for him. But I also get to check in with myself and say, okay, where did I go wrong, where was I misunderstood? I get to own up and clean up and repair with a client right and say, okay, what about what I said? Upset you and take responsibility. That's hard, it is, but I find that it's so powerful and it helps me be a better therapist.

Storie: 19:36

Wow, that's amazing. I think a lot of people can say, oh yeah, I want that feedback, that honest feedback, but a lot of people don't deep down if it's not going to change. This team that we work with up here that's one thing that I emphasize to everybody I talk to is, no matter what, I'm going to know what kind of mood I'm in, because they're going to tell me and they're going to love me, right through it and that's okay and I hope everyone out there has that in their life in some way, shape or form.

Storie: 20:07

Do you think that's necessary to have to have a positive life or mindset?

Dr. G: 20:13

Absolutely. I mean we can't be positive all the time right. But we do always have, again, the capacity and the choice and the ability to redirect our thoughts, to change our thoughts, to choose what to focus on right To focus on the positive, because what you focus on grows. What to focus on right To focus on the positive because what you focus on grows and to shift. When we do that, we shift our, our mindset, yes, but also our experience in the present.

Storie: 20:46

Be a better person. It turns you into a better person at the end of the day. So how would you gauge or consider success in your business? What is success to you? It seems like you're ever growing and changing. When is it successful?

Dr. G: 21:01

Yeah, that's a great question, I think for me. You know there's two pieces to this. One is success in terms of being a business owner, right, and I think. For me that is again consistency. I feel like I say that word a lot, but I guess we could call it scalability, right.

Storie: 21:24

In a business sense. Well, consistency turns to habits and habit becomes routine, right? Yes, so it all flows.

Dr. G: 21:32

And then, from a clinical standpoint, it's the wins, it's the client wins.

Storie: 21:39

As long as you're still seeing those wins.

Dr. G: 21:41

Yes, well, and when they share them with me, right, that's huge for me. When they tell me oh, I hear you in my voice, you know in my head, like I hear, oh, what would Dr Burke say? Oh, dr Burke would say this, that is wonderful, right. So, for me that's a win.

Storie: 21:57

So you've already succeeded in your, in your life, and you're just making the best of it? Now it seems like yes.

Dr. G: 22:05

Well, you definitely have a client in me for sure so.

Storie: 22:06

is there anything as we kind of wrap up this little session that I've absolutely adored? Is there anything else you'd like to share with the audience, particularly those looking to live life?

Dr. G: 22:18

love. Yeah, you know I would say go for it, be you, do you? I know it's hard sometimes to um, quiet the noise, whether it's your own inner noise, like the negative self-talk, the self self-limiting beliefs, all that you know I can't or the outside noise. Right, people have a lot to say about a lot of things. Right, but remember that we can have the lives that we imagine. We can have our dream lives. We can have dream lives. We can have our preferred futures. We just have to believe that we can. We have to be willing to dream it up and then to, little by little, begin to step into it, to be your future self now.

Storie: 23:13

I love that. It's kind of scary to take that first step.

Dr. G: 23:17

Absolutely it is. It's worth it though it is. We need to be willing to feel the fear and do it anyway.

Storie: 23:23

Well, thank you so much for sharing, and if anyone wants to reach out to you to learn more about your program or one-on-one counseling, how can they reach you?

Dr. G: 23:32

They can reach me at drburkspsychotherapy at gmailcom. And I would be happy to talk with anyone. I do a 20-minute free phone consult, both for coaching and counseling, and I'd be honored.

Storie: 23:48

Awesome. Thank you so much, dr Burke. Thank you so much for having me and to all of our listeners out there. We'll see you next time on Market it With Atma.