What's good!
I did something last month that I'd been putting off for over a year. I left an insurance panel.
If you're not in the therapy world, here's the quick version: being "in network" with an insurance company means they send you clients, but they also set the rules. And recently, one of the big insurance panels started making moves I couldn't get behind. I won't bore you with the details, but it was the kind of thing where you look at it and go, "yeah... nah."
Here's the part I actually want to talk about, though. Leaving insurance and moving toward a direct pay practice is something I've wanted for a long time. Like, a long time. I had a whole plan. I was going to wait until the end of the year, get everything perfect, and make the move when the timing felt right.
You already know where this is going. The "right time" is a place I was never going to arrive at.
What was really holding me up
It wasn't the paperwork. It wasn't the logistics. It was fear.
What if the clients I have don't follow me? What if nobody new comes? What if I make this move and the phone just... stops ringing?
Those aren't crazy questions. Some clients didn't stay, and that stung. Bills don't pause because you're chasing a vision. There have been nights this decision kept me up, running numbers in my head at 2am.
But here's what I keep coming back to. I sit across from men every week who are living some version of this exact thing. Staying in the job, the routine, the situation that stopped fitting a long time ago, because it's predictable. Taking care of everybody else's stability while their own dreams sit in the glove compartment. Waiting for a "right time" that never shows up on the calendar.
I couldn't keep asking my clients to face their fear while I let mine set my schedule.
So when that insurance company gave me the push, I stopped negotiating with myself and jumped. Not because the fear went away. It didn't. It still rides with me every day. But now it's in the passenger seat instead of driving the car.
Building in the quiet
Here's the part nobody posts about. After the big scary decision comes a stretch of quiet, and what you do with the quiet is everything.
I'm using mine to build. I joined a small mentorship group of other private practice owners so I'm not figuring this out alone. I'm getting my systems right now, while things are calm, so when the inquiries start pouring in I'm ready instead of scrambling. And I'm being intentional about relationships, showing up in rooms, connecting with people doing the work.
Because I'm not just trying to survive this transition. I'm building a business I'm proud of. One I'd actually want to work in.
Your turn
Real talk: what's your version of this?
What's the thing you've been telling yourself you'll do "when the time is right"? The move, the conversation, the change you keep pushing to next quarter, next year, after the holidays?
I'm not telling you to blow your life up this week. I'm asking you to do one thing: name it out loud, and take one small step toward it. Not the whole leap. One step. Have the conversation. Do the research. Get in the room with people who've done it. Fear gets quieter when you're moving.
And if doubt creeps in along the way? That's not a sign you're doing it wrong. That's proof you're doing something that matters.
Catch me on a panel this Friday
Speaking of the cost of carrying everything... I'll be on a panel this Friday as part of the Everyday is Black Mental Health Day series: "The Weight We Carry: Black Men, Mental Health, and the Cost of Being Strong."
If you've ever felt like being the strong one is quietly wearing you down, this conversation is for you. Tune in live Friday, July 17 at 2 PM CT on YouTube: youtube.com/@Calliopscornersa
Speaking of getting in rooms...
One of the moves I'm making this season is building community on purpose, and that's exactly why I'm hosting Mind & Mingle next month.
If you're a mental health professional (or you know one, forward this to them!), this one's for you. No presentations, no name tag networking. Just good people, good conversation, and folks who actually understand the work. We're meeting at Kefita Coffee in Houston.
Space is limited and registration is approval-based, so grab your spot here: https://luma.com/k4tz1hn4
One more for the community
You're the Assignment — My friend Yvonne Miller, LPC is hosting a free community event for anyone who's been curious about therapy but doesn't know where to start. What it actually looks like, how to find the right therapist, what to ask, what to expect in that first session. If you've been on the fence, or you know somebody who is, this is the room to be in. Saturday, August 1, 11 AM at Katherine Tyra Branch Library in Houston. Grab a free spot here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/youre-the-assignment-tickets-1993580007468
Until next month, stay the course and go for what you want. I'll be over here doing the same.
Brandan Vazquez, LPC
WeUp Counseling & Consulting
