Meet Katherine Nisbet of H.O.P.E. Counseling Group in Metro Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Nisbet.

Katherine, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I completed my bachelor’s degree through ASU, I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do but I knew it was going to be something meaningful. I took a job working in the direct care of women striving to get sober from using drugs and alcohol. I had found a way to do something meaningful! I connected, cried, laughed, and hurt for those women in their struggle to get through treatment; I was humbled when they said “thank you” to me. I continued to do this for the last ten years. Over this period, I went back to school for a master’s degree and obtained certification as a Licensed Independent Substance Abuse Counselor. I have worked in a variety of places: residential treatment, outpatient, prison, and a reentry center for parole. Throughout all of these, I come back to the same conclusion: no matter their socioeconomic status, their race, or their gender – all of these people just want to feel human and loved. I opened H.O.P.E. Counseling Group with my friend and business partner Dave Cottrell in April 2018 with a simple tag line: Hold On, Pain Ends. We opened our private substance use counseling practice to shift substance use counseling away from big clinics and provide something more personal. Through this adventure, we also found another need in the community for safe and supportive transitional recovery housing. We are working to open sober living homes with onsite therapists to help men and women on the road to recovery. This is through our sister (hopefully soon to be non-profit) agency, Sanguineness Transitional Homes. Sanguineness is a synonym for hope.

Has it been a smooth road?
What’s a smooth road in business? There are always struggles. For the most part, the biggest struggle has been finding enough time during the day. Paperwork is always endless, you learn that as a therapist. The documentation, the accounting, the phone calls, emails, and networking are all necessary but there just doesn’t seem to be enough time. It’s been challenging but also rewarding. We created and started programs and groups hoping to fill a need but then have to step back and stop them because they didn’t meet our vision. That is the struggle, maintaining the vision despite the financial payoff. I would love to do 10,000 things to bring in revenue all the time, but if I want to stay true to providing care that is individualized, genuine and gives back a piece of humanity – I have to stay true to the vision.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the H.O.P.E. Counseling Group story. Tell us more about it.
H.O.P.E. Counseling Group is a small private practice that specializes in substance use counseling. The original vision that I alluded to in my talk about struggles was counseling that brings back humanity. I had seen so many therapists in private practice that specialized in so many things, but hardly the main focus of substance use. So, we found our niche. H.O.P.E. Counseling Group is known for our ability to connect to a clientele who have felt isolated. We work exceedingly well with men and women on probation and parole because of our experiences working for the Department of Corrections. We are proudest of our SMART Recovery meetings that are free and open to the public, our Better Business Bureau A rating, and our small welcoming feel. What sets us apart is we aspire to de-stigmatize substance use. Our office setting, belief of humanizing, and offering endless support make us a place where someone can feel safe and supported in changing their lives.

Do you feel like there are certain traits that increase the likelihood of success?
Genuineness. I learned a long time ago to not act like I know what you’re going through. If you are shooting heroin, I am not going to sit across from you and act like I know how you feel. I will have empathy for you and listen to you but I am not going to minimize your experience by comparing it or saying I know what that feels like. Everyone’s story is different and I have to honor and respect those differences by treating each client as an individual. I can’t lump a client into a group of meth addicts and say “oh, you used meth, so you’re like this person.” No. I have to be genuine and learn their story to help them recover and not have cookie cutter treatment. That’s a disservice and is disingenuous to do.

Pricing:

• Intake appointments are $100 (this is the first appointment where we get to know each other and come up with a plan)
• Individual counseling sessions are $85 per hour

Contact Info:

• Address: 11225 North 28th Drive, Suite B-222
  Phoenix, AZ 85029
• Website: www.hopecounselinggroup.com
• Phone: 602-730-4297
• Email: hope.cg.2018@gmail.com

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