Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Feldman.
Lauren, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Social work is in my blood. It’s so much more than what I do, it’s who I am. I have created a social work element out of basically every job I’ve held. That’s the ultimate sign. For instance, my first job out of college was as an AmeriCorps VISTA in Washington, DC. I taught dance classes to elementary and middle school students through an after school program. However, all those students wanted to do was talk to me. I became very invested in what was going on in their lives. I would show up at their homes if they missed my dance class. I started learning more about their families, and what was going on at school. It didn’t take me very long to realize that I was doing more social work than dance. I think that was when I knew that it was time to really look in the mirror, so I moved here to go to graduate school at the University of Chicago.
My experience in graduate school completely solidified my commitment to providing therapy. After I graduated, I took a job as a teen parenting counselor and I worked in 3 high schools on the South and West side of Chicago. I absolutely loved that work. There is something really amazing about working with teens – especially teens who are in the process of becoming parents. It’s like two developmental stages rolled into one. I have so much respect for those clients. I think of them often.
After I had been working in the teen parenting job for a few years, I realized that I had created mini drop-in counseling centers in the schools. Each one functioned pretty autonomously, and I knew that I didn’t want anyone coming in to tell me how to run them differently. That was the first sign that I was a budding entrepreneur. Every business owner I know has a different moment when they realize that it is time to go off on their own. I can tell you exactly when that moment came for me. I was sitting in a staff meeting at my agency, listening to the clinical director give us instructions and I thought to myself, “That is not a very client-centered policy. I think I can do this better… wait… I know I can do this better.”
Five years later, I run my own social work private practice, and I am also a lecturer at the University of Chicago in the same graduate program I attended. It doesn’t get more full-circle than that!
Has it been a smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, but that’s better. Think of it this way- when you are driving down a straight road, you can zone out for long periods of time. But, when you drive down a winding road, you have to be alert. That’s what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. I always need to be conscious of everything that is happening. It becomes a mindfulness practice to operate my business. Isn’t that how it should be?
I think my biggest struggle was betting on myself enough to quit my last job and take some time off before opening my practice. In this field, we can feel the weight of our work tremendously. Self-care becomes more than a buzzword, it is an essential practice of living bravely and wholly. Self-care is also really scary because it often means that we have to dramatically change the things that aren’t working. I knew that what I was doing wasn’t working anymore. I knew that I had to leave my former job, even though I loved it. I also knew that I needed some space before I could build my practice from a place of integrity. So, my biggest gamble was to quit one job and take three months off to just return to myself. That time off ended up being truly pivotal, and it allowed me to create my practice from such an intentional place. But, I also quit my job with absolutely no back-up plan. The only option was to bet on myself and that’s why it worked.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Open Lotus, LLC – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I own and operate a clinical social work private practice called Open Lotus. I think what sets my practice apart is my willingness to be authentic and vulnerable with my clients. I consider myself to be in relationships with all of them, and I have a vested interest in helping them heal because of how much I want them to succeed as individuals. In the therapy world, my approach is described as relational. Sometimes, it sounds too abstract to call this way of providing therapy a clinical orientation, because I would rather just call it caring deeply. So, I care deeply. That’s my thing. I also think this is what my clients would say if you asked them what it feels like to work with me.
Also, the way I arrived at the name Open Lotus says a lot about my clinical philosophy. I knew that I wanted to name the practice after the lotus flower because it is a widely recognized symbol of resilience. The lotus is unique because it grows in muddy waters- so it uses the mud in order to become stronger and more beautiful. I really identify with this idea. What if we could use the hand we were dealt to grow into the most authentic version of ourselves? I loved it. I knew that ‘lotus’ was part of the name.
But, I couldn’t figure out the rest of the name. I remember walking around my apartment saying to myself, “Lotus…. what?” “something, something… Lotus?” It was actually a really frustrating two-day brainstorming session that left me with absolutely nothing. Then, I realized that I couldn’t come up with the full name on my own because I don’t do this work on my own. I pulled out all of the letters that my former clients had written about our work together and I looked for themes. Many of them used the word “open” to describe me, and our work. That’s how Open Lotus was born.
So, I think my philosophy is this: effective therapy must be collaborative. Even the naming of Open Lotus was a collaboration between me and my clients. Every time I tell someone the name of my practice, I get to picture all the clients who helped get me here. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
It’s really funny that you ask this question. I am originally from the suburbs of Chicago, and if you would have told me that I would end up here, I would have laughed in your face. And yet, here I am. I actually think Chicago is the perfect place to help people connect to their own resilience. It takes a lot of survival skill to live here. There’s something about being able to sit with a client on a very snowy day, knowing that we both worked really hard to get to the office. It builds a relationship to know that my clients and I care enough about this work to brave the weather for one another.
Contact Info:
- Address: 53 W. Jackson Boulevard
Suite 1331
Chicago, IL 60604 - Website: www.discoveropenlotus.com
- Phone: 773-242-9725
- Email: laurenfeldmanlcsw@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpenLotusLLC/
Image Credit:
Chicago Jobs Council (CJC), Kelly Viselman of KellyVis Photography
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