SCORE Mentor Gives Therapist Confidence to Launch Private Practice

SCORE Bucks County mentor Kathleen Donohue recently assisted therapist Kristen Spear, a Bensalem native, in launching her own Newtown-based solo practice.

Kristen Spear loved psychology since her senior year of high school, but the thought of operating her own therapy practice seemed too daunting.

Until recently. Spear’s path to becoming a mental health practitioner began with a fork in the road as her initial degree and early profession was in the creative writing and editing field.

“I went to therapy, realized how much I loved psychology and that’s what I wanted to do,” said Spear, the sole practitioner of Newtown-based Clarity Mental Wellness, LLC.

About the same time, she had gotten laid off from her editing position, which enabled her to pursue her master’s degree in a full-time capacity. “It actually all aligned.”

After graduating from La Salle University in 2012, Spear worked in community mental health, then as part of a group practice.

“When you work for a group practice, you’re giving away a significant amount of money. It’s very hard to make a livable salary,” Spear said. Still, she continued, “I didn’t think I could do it on my own.”

Her therapist encouraged her to start her own business. In August 2023, Spear established her LLC. By October 2023, she began counseling her first client, on the side from the group practice.

In February, the Bensalem native started mentoring with SCORE Bucks County mentor Kathleen Donohue, who supported Spear and guided her with budget tracking, financial projections, a transition plan, task prioritization, and identifying software programs. Donohue connected her with SCORE Bucks County mentor Robert Purdy to assist with business insurance.

“She was very helpful,” Spear said of Donohue, adding that she’s been recommending SCORE mentoring to her patients. “I’ve been promoting it to anybody I know that’s considering their own business. I thought it was something I couldn’t do. I’m so happy I did it.”

By April, Spear had officially launched her own practice, which has since grown to include 45 clients. Spear counsels individuals 18 years and older who are dealing with depression, anxiety, ADHD, transition into parenthood, postpartum depression, building healthy personal boundaries and more.

“Ms. Spear had to accelerate her transition plans, but her planning enabled her to adapt to the new situation and get her business up and running quickly,” Donohue said. “Within a few months Ms. Spear had a full book of clients, tools to track her accounts and keep her data safe, and to deal with all the other work beyond her client meetings that an entrepreneur has to take on herself without the company team of being an employee. Her launch was quite smooth and quick.”

As both a patient and provider of therapy, Spear offers sound advice for choosing a mental health practitioner.

“The relationship with your therapist is always the most important. You have to like and feel comfortable with the person,” she said. “If you don’t like them, you’re not going to go.”

Spear uses psychodynamic therapy – “not just the here and now” – to better understand the things that shaped her clients from childhood and throughout life.

“Look for someone who wants to see progress, someone who is as motivated to see you doing better as you are,” she continued. “Ultimately if you’re trying to make progress you want someone who wants that progress too.”