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Check Out Cindy Chia’s Story

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Chia.

Hi Cindy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi, it’s been such an honor being featured on here.

So yes, my name is Cindy and I was born and raised in Kuching, Malaysia. I’d say my family would classify as lower-middle-class Chinese Malaysian household. Growing up, I remember watching my parents having to work 3-4 jobs just to support our family of 4. I am forever grateful to have such hardworking parents and they really aspire me to work as hard as I can to have a better life for myself and my future family. After graduating high school, I furthered my studies at the University of South Australia to pursue a Bachelor of Psychological Science, for which I received a lot of pushbacks because of my culture. In my culture, mental health is a huge taboo, and obtaining a career in psychology was just not something that is respectable. However, I really wanted to see it through, so I did, and I’m glad I did.

While my time in Australia was productive, what really changed my life was during my study abroad program at Oklahoma State University in 2020. I was privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside some phenomenal professors and scientists who really laid a solid foundation for my career then. After my program ended, I loved the school, people, and culture so much that I decided to stay on to pursue my Masters in Science in Counseling Psychology at the University of Central Oklahoma. My Master’s program was truly life-changing, to say the least, and I owe it to each and every professor who took the time to teach and guided me to not only find myself but also to use my authentic self in my work.

So after my Master’s graduation, I moved to Utah for residency, and once I obtained enough hours to obtain my full licensure, I decided to establish my own private practice, Aspire Psychological. I remember working 60-70 hours a week trying to learn how to run an effective practice from scratch without any support or mentorship. I remember all of those sleepless nights doubting my own knowledge and abilities to be able to do this.

Well, fast forward to 5 years later and I am so glad I never gave up on my dreams. Aspire experienced a whopping 840% growth in just the last 5 years, we have won 4 awards of excellence AND we have had 0% clinical staff turnover so far. Furthermore, we are also one of the few private practices in Utah that implements and tracks patients’ progress through Blueprint Health Assessment, and our clinical treatment effective rate has been soaring above 83% since the implementation in 2019.

If you’d asked me 5 years ago where I’d be today, I wouldn’t have thought I’ll be where I am today- so fulfilled in my own personal life and with Aspire’s contribution to society thus far. I’m so grateful to be doing this with an amazingly talented team who truly dedicate their lives in helping as many people as we can.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Not at all. Some struggles include financial hardships in setting up a private practice and finding a healthy work/life balance.

I remember living frugally for the first 4 to 5 years after graduation just to save up enough to set up my own private practice. Although the overhead costs are not as much as most businesses, I still had to pay for everything on my own without help/support.

Additionally, it is also a challenge to keep a healthy work/life balance when all you want to do is to help everybody. I remember taking on every crisis calls and offering to work nights and weekends to accommodate everyone’s needs, to a point of burning myself out. Over the years, I’ve learned to have better boundaries between work and my life outside of work, so I can live a healthier lifestyle that nourishes me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CMHC) who specializes in trauma and mood disorder treatment. I have had the opportunity to help adults and children cope with depression, anxiety, trauma, stress, grief, loss, relationship problems, and other disorders/disabilities. My practice focuses on rapport-building and applying scientifically-proven theories to help our patients achieve their goals.

As an employer, I am most proud of my leadership skills to my staff members. I create a non-judgmental and healthy work culture at Aspire, in which my employees appreciate and thrive. I am also proud to be one of the few private practices in Utah that implement patients’ outcome measures via Blueprint Health Assessment in our treatment plan.

Blueprint is a digital service that allows our patients to complete questionnaires and assessments about their mental health in between sessions and on their own time. Each provider at Aspire Psychological uses this information from Blueprint to obtain a better understanding of our patient’s mental health and wellness through moods and symptoms tracking/reporting.

In this way, our providers are able to make sure that therapy is progressing as expected and that patients are meeting their treatment goals and objectives. As a commitment to our patient’s mental health treatment, we provide this valuable service at no additional cost for our patients; regardless of their insurance coverage and benefits.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Don’t be afraid to constantly check in with yourself (and your biases), as well as let your true self shine through your work.

I think as a therapist, we sometimes get so guarded and fearful of what to say and what not to say that it prevents us from being able to connect with our patients on a level that promotes healthy growth and vulnerability.

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