Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Radosevich.
Hi Megan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I can’t say that it was a lifelong dream of mine to become a therapist or even that I knew anything about therapy, psychology, or mental illness, as I was never exposed to it. It was in adolescence that I grew more curious about my family history of alcoholism and other family dynamics that impacted my childhood, such as divorce. In high school, I was able to take my first Psychology class and upon completion of the class, decided it is what I would study in college. From there I got my bachelor’s in Psychology, with a minor in sociology, from Minnesota State University, Mankato. I moved back home to Rochester after that and immediately enrolled in the Master’s Program in Counseling & Psychological Services at the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. After my practicum, graduation, completing my licensure hours, taking my licensure exam, and a couple of positions at various organizations in town, I was offered an opportunity to work in private practice and felt like it was a perfect fit! Well, besides learning the insurance piece of the practice. I can laugh about it now, but it definitely had me in tears a few times. While educating myself on all of the ins and outs of private practice and becoming well versed in the insurance world, I became passionate about private practice and wanted to introduce some of my peers to it. Insert- dream of opening my own business, Onward Counseling.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say fairly smoothly, with a few road bumps. As I mentioned, the insurance piece of private practice has been a doozy. I also failed my licensure exam the first time, which was difficult to swallow because I prided myself on being a good student for all of those years. The most significant obstacle, which is shared by many other providers in the field, is burnout. I remember coming home from one of my jobs and telling my husband that I wasn’t going to do this type of work forever. I wanted to ‘put a bug in his ear,’ so that when I came home one day and said “I quit today,” he wouldn’t be surprised. (Obviously, that didn’t happen). When most individuals go into the field of counseling or clinical psychology, they do it because (to put it simply) they want to help people. Well, that type of rewarding work can easily get bogged down with excessive amounts of paperwork, quotas to meet, binding contracts, non-competes, high expectations for providers, and more. On top of these more administrative burdens, the work we do can be really draining. Sitting with people in their pain every day can be challenging in a helper role. If you need any evidence of burnout in this field, refer to the long waitlists in the community. Some of these struggles inspired me as a business owner to address the provider’s needs in creating an environment of work satisfaction, autonomy and balance; and in turn, being able to better serve the community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Onward Counseling?
Onward Counseling started in January of 2021. We started with two (Brogan Evenstad: co-owner and myself) and now have eleven providers in just over a year. We are currently in the process of hiring three more. We are a clinical outpatient mental health private practice serving individuals of all ages with varying needs in Southeastern Minnesota. We offer services via Telehealth or in office sessions and accept most insurances. We see individuals, couples, families, and sometimes groups. We recognize that our clients have the tools they need within themselves to change, reach acceptance, or to take their first step forward. We collaborate with our clients to evoke these tools within and to help identify how they can use their strengths toward their own progress, rather than focus on pathology and shortcomings.
What sets us apart and what I’m most proud of with Onward, besides our conscientious approach to preventing burnout within our staff, is our more modern clinical environment. Now, this may seem tedious and superficial to the outsider, however, is extremely important in creating a safe and comforting therapeutic environment. Several clients would mention a typical therapy office being stale, uncomfortable, formal, and “feeling like a clinic.” We put significant effort and intention into the aesthetic in our office spaces to create a place of comfort, familiarity, and acceptance. We want our clients to feel as if they were heading to a friend’s house to kick up their feet and unwind. We are detail-oriented from the comfort of the furniture, to the smell of essential oils, to the fun music.
We currently have a waitlist, but we continue to hire new providers to help accommodate the needs of the community. You can check out our website for a list of the providers and their specialties. We see a wide array of populations and specific mental health diagnoses. We have providers trained and certified in EMDR, ART, TFCBT, crisis prevention, and more.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Discipline, Optimism, curiosity, and funky dance moves never hurt.
Contact Info:
- Email: megan@onwardcounselingrochester.com
- Website: onwardcounselingrochester.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onward_counseling/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Onward-Counseling-111142814647547
Image Credits
Becca Haugen of Twelve Ten Photography
