Month: June 2019

Yesterday was exciting for me.  I met with the editor in chief at Montclair State’s newspaper, The Montclarion.  Her name is Haley and I also met the photographer named Olivia.  It was really a delightful experience discussing how I met my husband years ago at Montclair State and about our history at the school.  I also enjoyed discussing my hopes and my dreams for Your Best Self LLC.  I am currently looking for an office space to meet with clients and my insurance credentialing is coming closer to getting done.  This is teaching me patience which has never been a strength of mine!  However, in the meantime I continue to think about my goals for my therapy practice and how I truly want to reach and serve as many people as possible who may be struggling.  Life can be so challenging at times and I think that it can be difficult to find the “right fit” with a clinician, one who a person feels that they can connect with and truly be themselves with.  As I continue onwards with my search for a space which will help me connect and serve clients, please let me know what you think is important to a client.  Is it feeling secure within the office space?  Easy accessibility to the space such as convenience and distance from you?  What are the things which would make you feel good about coming in to see me?

Sincerely,

Alicia Joel – LCSW

I have been so lucky to have been invited and allowed into peoples lives so that we could journey together. I have worked with individuals, couples and families and have been fortunate enough to watch people transform themselves. It is my hope that with Your Best Self LLC, I can continue to work with clients to become the best version of themselves.

Why did I decide to start Your Best Self LLC? Because I truly believe in a person’s capacity to grow and change. I believe that all people should be able to have access to mental health services regardless of their situation. We turn on the news every day and hear stories of budgets being cut and services not being funded. Where does this leave the people who need it the most? I want to offer mental health services which are reasonable in rate so that people can access them.

I am currently in the process of being paneled with some insurances so that people will be able to see me in network with a lower out of pocket cost to them. In the meantime until the paneling is done I can, with a client’s permission, take their insurance information and ask the insurance company to see the client as a single case agreement, again keeping the cost minimal to the client. I truly want to help clients be the best version of themselves. Whether it is an individual, couple or a family, we only have one life to live. Why not give it our best shot possible?

In continuing to get to know me, I am a runner. I say that almost with a chuckle since I am a very slow runner. I call my run the turtle trot. Yet it is my determination to do something which comes so hard to me which gets me through. I am currently training for my third half marathon which is in March, 2019. I am doing the 9+1 program through NY Road Runners so that I can have guaranteed entry into the NYC marathon in 2020. I can say I will be one of the last to finish. And yet, there is a pride within me knowing that I keep on trying at something which I am really pretty bad at! It is this determination that has gotten me through difficult times in life and which will continue to get me through other situations. The first of the 9+1 race was this past Sunday. It was a 4 mile race. I began to get tired doing Cat Hill in Central Park (that is quite the hill!) A complete stranger saw me towards the end of the race and began speaking with me and saying things to motivate me. “You can do it, let’s get to the next light….” She ran with me and stayed with me through the finish line. Without knowing me she became part of me imaging my best self. To me, that is pretty remarkable.

Sincerely,

Alicia Joel – LCSW