Brittany Squillace shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Brittany, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
This may not be specific to my business rather my profession as a whole. It is often thought or misunderstood that because a therapist specializes in a certain area we aren’t able to work with clients who are wanting to address issues outside of that speciality. For example, just because the specialty focus of my practice is postpartum mood disorders doesn’t mean I can’t work with clients who want to address their battle with anxiety, depression, or a different life transition. The only time I would refer out (or not begin working with a new client) is when a client is wanting to work on an issue that is outside of my scope of competency (such as alcoholism, eating disorders, etc.).
I share this because I want it to encourage people to still reach out to a therapist if you’re really wanting to work with them; don’t let the specialization deter you. If you really like the therapist and believe you’d work well with them, ask if they are equipped to work with the areas of concerns you’re wanting to address. As licensed therapists, it is our ethical responsibility to inform a client as to whether or not their areas of concern fall within our scope of competency. If they fall outside of our scope, we are responsible for referring the client to a therapist who carries the proper specialization(s).
So the short of it, reach out to that therapist you believe you’d jive with, even if the areas you’re wanting to address in therapy aren’t spoken to on their website. You never know how they may be able to still help you in your journey.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’d be thrilled to! I am Brittany Squillace and I am a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of Minnesota. I own my private practice Best Self Therapy; a mental health talk therapy practice that carries a mission of guiding individuals in getting back (or continuing) to live a better life as their best selves. This interview actually comes at the perfect time as I am in the process of rebranding. Up until recently, my main focus at Best Self Therapy has been guiding individuals through their grief journeys after experiencing a loss (whether that be the death of a loved one or a none death loss such as the loss of a marriage via divorce). About 3 months ago, I made the decision to shift my specialization to postpartum mood disorders; specifically postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression. Why? I’m a new mom as of December 2024 to my sweet baby boy and went through my own battle with postpartum depression. Between this and experiencing first hand the major gap in the medical field around providing postpartum individuals with the proper mental health support, I knew I had to take action. My goal with this new specialization is to not only provide a safe space for those who are battling postpartum mood disorders (which is more common than you think) to process and grow (yes, this can also entail grief) within this transition but to also begin bridging the gap in the medical field.
How? I don’t want to fully disclose yet as I’m still working on the logistics of it all but know there are things in the works and exciting resources are coming! I invite you to come along for the journey via my social media platforms and website.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
I think there are a lot of different things that can break a bond between two people. However, I believe the biggest threats are unmet needs and the inability to effectively communicate our needs. Think about how a bond forms in the first place; the individual meets a need of yours. In order to ensure those needs continue to get met (and whatever new ones arise over a lifetime), we need to be intentional about effectively communicating those needs to one another, as well as be intentional about meeting those needs for the other person. Part of effectively communicating needs is 1) discussing how we are meeting those needs and 2) how we are expressing the need we have to the other individual (whether that be your partner, family member, friend, etc.).
Each person’s needs vary as we are all unique. However, the need I see across the board is the need for connection. What connection looks like and how it gets met may look different from person to person but the underlying need is universal!
What restores a bond? Attuning to the needs of each person in the bond, being able to communicate them and becoming intentional about getting each other’s needs met. And letting go of our egos a little bit to admit we were wrong and will work to do differently next time. We’re human; we get to screw up (i.e. we neglect meeting a need of the person we are bonded with)! It’s going to happen. When we don’t go back and repair, that’s what causes the true damage (the majority of the time).
When did you last change your mind about something important?
What an appropriate and fitting question for this time of my life! The last time I changed my mind about something important was having a child. For as long as I can remember, I had no need or care to have children. I didn’t believe it played a role in fulfilling my purpose in life and, in fact, I believed it would slow me down and hold me back from accomplishing all I want to in life. These beliefs (along with other factors such as the fear of it negatively impacting my marriage, the sacrifices I’d have to make (specifically the physical ones), uncertainty around how those sacrifices would impact/change me, and recognizing my views and beliefs about pregnancy and parenthood appear to be drastically different than that of society’s) kept me so incredibly far away from ever entertaining the idea. However, I knew for my husband, being a father carried quite a bit of purpose for his life and it was worth it to me, him, and our marriage for me to at least explore the barriers preventing me from welcoming the idea into my/our life.
Through years of therapy with my incredible therapist (who also happens to specialize in postpartum mood disorders) and countless conversations with my husband, I slowly began to soften to the idea of building a family and was able to see how a child would fit into my life. Fast forward to last December when our son was born (just two days shy of Christmas)!
Yes, I changed my mind. No, I didn’t let go of the beliefs that were originally barriers to building a family. I took this major change to use my beliefs that are so true and important to me as vehicles for making motherhood my own experience; not to conform to an experience I don’t resonate with. In doing so, I’ve found I’m actually becoming stronger and more grounded in what I believe which has allowed me to discover new paths/opportunities that will help me fulfill my life’s purpose. This includes having experiences that would never have been possible if it weren’t for my son.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Oh relationships 100%! They would tell you I love really hard and put a lot of energy into my relationships; almost to a fault sometimes. As Brene Brown says, humans are wired to connect. There are even numerous research studies that show strong healthy relationships (especially those in adulthood) can expand the longevity of one’s life. This speaks to why relationships are so important. I exert a lot of energy into my relationships not only because they make up my foundation but I also really care about people (a therapist cares a lot about people? I know! Shocker!) I am the most content and fulfilled when I know I’ve contributed to my loved ones feeling cared for, heard, and seen. We all thrive when we’re helping one another to do so.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What will you regret not doing?
I hope nothing! I hope I always chase after and try for what I really want (even if it scares me) whether that be in my personal and/or professional life. And this question actually plays into why I ended up deciding to have a child. I thought to myself, “Will I look back in 10-15 years, when I can’t (or it’s way harder) to have children, and regret not at least trying?” The answer was yes; immensely! I believe I would have carried a lot of regret around not having tried to build a family.
I don’t want to life a live full of what if’s; I want one filled with remember when’s!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bestselftherapy.net
- Instagram: @bestselftherapy
- Facebook: Best Self Therapy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp5BgKk8UeK425g_tebZ7RQ
