Connecting and Creating in Spite of COVID

As many of you know, I have a part time private therapy practice and I also provide consultation in stress management, stress relief and relaxation. When COVID-19 caused most of us to work from home, my private practice experienced a decrease in the number of referrals. I found that interesting because so many people were sharing that they felt stressed and needed support. Instead of stressing out, I found other ways to be productive and to advance my business. Here are few of the highlights.

I completed a 10.5-hour certification course in telemental health:

The State of Georgia requires all licensed clinicians to obtain a minimum of 6 hours of continuing education in telehealth before providing the service. I completed the 6-hour training 4 or 5 years ago. Because of the demand for telehealth services, I chose to refresh my learning with current information.

To enhance my skills, I completed a 10.5-hour course of study and earned the TeleMental Health Training Certificate (THTC) through the completion of the comprehensive THTC program.

I made new connections:

I had the pleasure of interviewing Farzana Doctor, a clinical social worker, award-winning author, and activist. Her newest novel SEVEN was released in the United States at the beginning of October. I posted our conversation in a previous blog post. Farzana shared insight into her writing style and inspiration for her work. Read more about her book SEVEN.

In August, I attended the “Speed Mentoring for Women in Business” virtual event sponsored by the Savannah Chapter of SCORE. SCORE offers free business mentoring and educational programs to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

I met Malena Gauss, owner of Lammergeier Glass Recycling at that event. Malena’s company is the first glass recycling company in the Savannah Georgia region. Her company offers commercial and residential curbside glass collection services. The glass is transferred to glass recycling facilities. Malena is leading the effort to reduce glass waste.

Lammergeier Glass Recycling is also a finalist in the Savannah SCORE BizPitch Savannah competition. Congratulations to Malena on her accomplishment.

I opened an online bookstore to support local brick and mortar bookstores:

Those of you who know me, know that I love to read. I used to carry a novel with me everywhere. If I had to wait, I would pull my book out and read a page or two. If I needed an afternoon pick up at work, I would get my book and take five minutes to finish a chapter.

Unfortunately, I allowed other things, like growing a business take over my time and attention. Thanks to Farzana, I have regained my desire to read good books. She gave me two of her novels and when I read them, it was like an ‘Aha’ moment for me.

As a result, I opened a bookshop bookstore. The M.L. Bailey Consultants Bookstore features ‘my book choices for working women’ and ‘my intellect and understanding’ book lists. I am curating books that resonate with me and that might be of interest to you.

You may purchase books directly from this site. You can also search the site for books that are not on my lists. The Bookshop organization supports local bookstores by sending 75% of the proceeds to ‘mom and pop’ shops.

I created two online courses:

I developed two courses for working women who are overwhelmed with stress and approaching burnout. The first course is Take the “ISH” out of Selfish and Put Self First. This free course directly addresses the fact that working women put their needs aside to care for their spouses, children, and aging parents. They are expected to maintain responsibility for making sure the household functions while working outside of the home.

Many women feel guilty when they take time for themselves. Some feel an angry when family members selfishly think only of themselves. This free course will open eyes and establish the groundwork for working women to take care of self without guilt, anger, or anguish.

The second course is called From Burnout to Balance or Finding Balance: The Foundation of Stress Relief. The target audience for this course is working women as well. A balanced lifestyle is the foundation that is needed to experience consistent stress relief.

We discuss the truth about balance and dispel false beliefs. We also enable working women to find the hidden causes of imbalance in their lives. Finally, working women are guided to develop their own individualized plan to incorporate stress relief, stress management and relaxation as a natural part of their day.

Take the “ISH” out of Selfish and From Burnout to Balance will be available soon.

“I want to be happy, whole, satisfied and successful. What about you?”
Visit the M.L. Bailey Consultants website. We are sprucing it up, so please be patient with us. You may join the conversation like our Facebook page, follow me on Instagram and connect with me on LinkedIn.