IAM2928 – Psychologist Helps People Become a Better Version

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Transcription:

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 00:00
Most people are walking around feeling like an imposter and that nobody’s better than you. As a younger person, especially in college, felt like, well, they’re smarter than me, or they know better than me, or, you know, I can’t possibly do that. And, and so there’s this, like, I wish that my, the adult part of me was there to say, like, they don’t, they’re not better than you. Like, why can’t you do it? Why not?

Gresham Harkless 00:52
Hello.

Speaker B 00:56
Hello.

Gresham Harkless 00:56
Hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO Podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Dr. Eleni Bousalis of Del Rey Psych and Wellness. Dr. Eleni, it’s awesome to have you on the show.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 01:06
Hi, thank you for having me.

Gresham Harkless 01:08
Yeah, no problem. Super excited to have you on. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Dr. Eleni so you can hear about all the awesome things that she’s doing. And Dr. Eleni is the co-owner of Del Rey Psych and Wellness in Alexandria, Virginia. She’s been a licensed clinical psychologist for 12 years. Her passion is working with individuals with anxiety and depression to help them become the best version of themselves. Delray Psych and Wellness is less than 2 years old and employs 8 therapists that utilize a holistic treatment approach in psychotherapy. Delray Psych was named a finalist by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce for the Best, Best New Business Award in 2019. Dr. Laney, are you ready to speak to the I Am CEO community?

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 01:45
Yes, I am. Yes. Thank you for having me here.

Gresham Harkless 01:47
No problem. Super excited to have you on. So I wanted to jump right in and hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to kind of start your business.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 01:54
So, um, my partner and I went to grad school together and we met, we actually didn’t know each other until we were in private practice after we graduated. And we were in a very, uh, private practice that we didn’t really enjoy being in. Then we started to kind of brainstorm and say, you know what, we need to do this on our own. So we very hesitant, I guess we’re in hesitation, but we left and we started our own practice. And at first we were independent, so we worked together, but independently. And fast forward about 8 years after that, we ended up purchasing a building here in Delray, in Alexandria, and joining And growing a practice and employing people. So it started off just she and I, and I think the way that it initially grew is we just started hiring unlicensed psychologists to supervise them towards their licensure. As that became, it was fun and we were helping others launch on their own.

Gresham Harkless 03:03
Right.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 03:04
We decided, why don’t we just do this on a bigger level? Right. Yeah. That’s how it kind of happened.

Gresham Harkless 03:11
Yeah, I definitely appreciate that because I think so many times, you know, you hear about, you know, a business, you think it just opens up and then it just kind of grows on its own, but there’s definitely a process that it takes to do that. And as you talked about, you know, the maturation of the business, the maturation of the people and adding people on, there’s a process that it takes to get to where you are. Yeah.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 03:29
Yeah. It’s definitely, you know, people say, oh, how did you know how to do that? And we’re like, we didn’t know what we were doing because it really very much was like a lot of growing pains and a lot of just kind of faking it till you make it and researching it, meeting the right people, uh, you know, talking to different lawyers, different accountants, different people until you find your, your team that’s guiding you along the way. And just realizing that really how many people know how to like just do that. That no, not, nobody really starts off being a business owner and knowing it, having been trained, you know, how, how often does that happen, right?

Gresham Harkless 04:13
Yeah, I, I would definitely go with never because I, I never met anybody that was born in the womb and knew how to be a business owner. So a lot of times you have to glean this information from all the people that are around you, as you talked about lawyers and accountants and all these people you ask questions to. And I think that, uh, I love kind of how you broke that down because I think so many times, you know, we as business owners, sometimes we’ll have that imposter syndrome where we feel like we shouldn’t do it or we don’t want to do it or we’re not good enough to do it. But a lot of times just that natural curiosity and the desire to want to create something to help out others is what fuels you to be able to have that engine to create something awesome.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 04:45
Yeah, completely. I think that imposter syndrome that I realized that I think most people have that, right? And so even these huge CEOs that you see are running these like humongous corporations and, and I see some of them in therapy, right? That’s how I know, because you’re telling me in therapy.

Gresham Harkless 05:06
Yeah.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 05:07
They’re not telling anybody else. And so I’m thinking, well, if, if they feel it and then nobody knows that they feel it, then, then it’s very natural and normal to feel that.

Gresham Harkless 05:18
Yeah, absolutely. And, and I think that once you understand that it’s natural and normal, you can kind of feel the uncomfortability, if that’s a word, and, and feel the fear or fear or whatever it might be and still continue on. ‘Cause I think there’s definitely, you know, power in doing that. So, um, I know you touched on it a little bit in, in some of the, the CEOs that you talked to, but could you take us through exactly like the services you’re providing, how you’re helping out this Alexandria and DC and Maryland, Virginia community? Yeah.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 05:42
So we do, uh, psychotherapy mostly for adults with anxiety and depression. But, uh, the reason why we say we’re holistic is cuz we, we consider a person, uh, mind, body, and spirit. So, but we do, we have acupuncture, we do, um, we have a career counselor, we have somebody that We have a naturopath physician that works alongside us and a massage therapist that works in our building as well independently. But we consider that people come and they are, there’s a lot of sides to them. There’s a lot of different parts of us. And that oftentimes in psychotherapy, I think that people go in and they’re like, oh, well, this is the psychological part of me. But we are really made up of so much, so much of us is made up of all these different parts of us that aren’t addressed in psychotherapy. And I think also in the US, it’s looked at as separate, right? The mind and the body are separate. And so we want people to see themselves as that, that’s one. So I also do hypnotherapy. I used to do hypnosis for weight loss. We have a lady here that does mindfulness for stress management.

Gresham Harkless 06:56
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 06:58
And, uh, we do family therapy, couples therapy. So, um, and we also do a lot of community outreach. So we’re involved in the Delray, uh, business community and we do free yoga in the parking lot in the summertime.

Gresham Harkless 07:13
Nice.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 07:13
You know, things like that. Try to give, we pick a charity of the month that we give money to, uh, for different, you know, free services that we offer through donation. So we’re trying to just help people that maybe wouldn’t be able to access these services. We also do take insurance. And so what we have found is, especially in this DC area, is that a lot of therapists do not take insurance anymore. And so we really pride ourselves in like, we just want to continue making psychotherapy accessible to people that may not be able to get it if they didn’t, you know, they had to pay out of pocket. Right. Yeah.

Gresham Harkless 07:54
Yeah. That makes so much sense. I definitely appreciate that, you know, for hearing, of course, that community feel. But I think, as you said, like a lot of times, you know, people might not, for one, they may not have heard of psychotherapy. They may not have heard a lot of the different kind of modalities as well too, but to be able to hear of that, but also hear, as you kind of talked about in the beginning, where the mind and the body are not two dissimilar things that have nothing to do with one another, but even creating awareness around the way that they integrate, the way they connect and how that helps us to be who we are and develops who we are and some of the decisions that we make.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 08:25
Yeah, totally. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that also we want to like destigmatize psychotherapy and that I think that I don’t know anybody that wouldn’t benefit from being in therapy, really. And what I have really found is that when people tell me that they absolutely do not need therapy, that those are the people that need it the most.

Gresham Harkless 08:49
Yes. They want you to work with them. That’s why they say that. It’s like, but no, it makes so much sense, especially from a lot of people that are listening to this and that are those type A, as I said, typically driven people that really are driving, driving, driving that often. You’re putting so much of yourself into your business and everything that you’re doing. And even people, especially in this DC, Maryland, and Virginia area, just with traffic in and of itself is stressful. So a lot of times you need that outlet, you need somebody to talk to, and just having that opportunity to kind of you know, lay it all out and, and talk about all those things helps out so much as far as, um, you know, being our best selves.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 09:24
Yeah. And, and realizing that a lot of what we do and our behaviors are, are led by our subconscious, you know, so that at least 80% of our behaviors are motivated by subconscious factors, which means that we don’t really know why we’re doing what we’re doing. So, um, there’s this, there’s a reason why we keep finding ourselves in this place where we’re like, why does this keep happening to me? Like, why do I keep repeating the same pattern in my life over and over again that I can’t break? And so it’s just like allowing people to see that you are, uh, you are choosing these things without knowing you’re choosing them.

Gresham Harkless 10:01
Right.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 10:02
So it’s like really how to get people to become more conscious and aware and intentional with their life. So that they don’t feel like their life is happening to them, that they feel like they are choosing it.

Gresham Harkless 10:14
Yeah, absolutely. And I think definitely, you know, you want to try to be in control as much as possible, but understanding that you’re not in control sometimes gives you power, but helps you to kind of maybe do the work and do the things to help you to control, not control, but maybe understand or direct that subconscious mind in the direction that you want it to go.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 10:30
Yeah. Yeah. And having like an unbiased third party say, oh, you know, What was that all about? Why did, why did you choose that? And so you can get like a little bit more introspective.

Gresham Harkless 10:41
Mm-hmm. Absolutely. So, and then I know you kind of touched on that holistic aspect. Do you feel like that is what, what you consider to be your secret sauce? And I mean, the secret sauce could be for you or for your organization, but do you feel like that’s the thing that kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 10:55
I think that’s usually what people seek us out for, but I also think that one of the main, uh, the main qualities is that we’re all, we pride ourselves in being authentic. You know, so that means like, I’m, I’m not opposed to telling my story on, you know, and being open about my path and our paths and, and being, because really, you know, when you go in to see somebody, you have to have that connection. And if you can’t have that connection at a heart level, then you can’t feel safe enough to open up to that person.

Gresham Harkless 11:27
I appreciate that tremendously. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, book or habit that you have, but what’s something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 11:40
So the one thing that I recommend everybody does, and I notice that when I do not do it, I am not as, I guess, balanced, is meditate. I use an app called Insight Timer that I love. And if I, I notice that if I meditate about 15 to 20 minutes a day, That my everything, whether it’s emotionally, cognitively, psychologically, everything is just better.

Gresham Harkless 12:09
Absolutely. I could definitely say that myself. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice, or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 12:21
I think it’s more like what we were just talking about, that, that, that like most people are walking around feeling like an imposter. And that nobody’s better than you. Really, nobody. It is like, I always, as a younger person, especially in college, felt like, well, they’re smarter than me, or they know better than me, or, you know, I can’t possibly do that. And so there’s this, like, I wish that the adult part of me was there to say, like, they don’t, they’re not better than you. Like, why can’t you do it? Why not?

Gresham Harkless 12:55
Yeah, that, that makes so much sense. So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we’re hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. So Dr. Delaney, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 13:07
Oh, I have to think about that. I feel like being a CEO is just to be, it’s like being a manager. And that doesn’t mean, maybe even if you’re just, you’re by yourself, like it’s just you. I’m just my CEO of me. But it’s just being like a manager and yeah, like just being in charge, but in a good way. Not like, not a boss. I don’t think of it like a boss. I think like being very intentional and being and managing, like managing yourself internally and managing your environment externally.

Gresham Harkless 13:44
Yeah, I love that perspective. And because I think it kind of speaks to some of the things that we talked about, you know, when we talked about understanding like your zone of genius, I think you’re not necessarily managing as like a boss as we were talking about, but you’re managing and understanding this is what I do well, so this is what you do well, or, you know, you’re managing your environment. So you’re making sure that you’re around that positive kind of, uh, I guess vibes. So to make sure that you’re managing your environment so that you can be more successful. But I do think that management doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doing everything. It, it means that you’re kind of creating that kind of environment so that you can be successful.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 14:16
Yeah. And, and along with what you said, that your vibes is that every, all energy is contagious, right? So you do have to just create your environment that fits the vibe that you want to create. And if there’s anything toxic in that environment, it’s going to mess you up.

Gresham Harkless 14:38
Yeah.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 14:39
So just get it out.

Gresham Harkless 14:41
Exactly. Be very conscious of it and kick it, kick it out, kick it out the back door. So absolutely. So Dr. Delaney, I truly appreciate your time. Appreciate that definition. And what I want to do is pass you the mic. So to speak, just to see if there’s anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best they can get ahold of you, find out about all the awesome things that you and your partner are working on.

Dr. Eleni Boosalis 15:01
Yeah. Um, yeah, we can be, uh, you can find us at delraypsych.com and in the upcoming new year in 2020, we’re going to be doing more groups on mindfulness, uh, weight loss and hypnosis, career counseling, dating. So check us out. And we also have a Facebook page and Instagram, Delray Spiking Wellness.

Gresham Harkless 15:23
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much again. Appreciate it. We will have the links and information in the show notes, but, uh, I thank you so much for all the awesome things you’re doing, helping out CEOs and, and helping us out, uh, during this interview. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.