I posted a few months ago about making the difficult decision to leave the company that I had been with for a few years. The company was amazing at encouraging its employees to maintain a home-life balance. However, despite that encouragement, I struggled with severe mom guilt. Although I worked from home, I was having severe anxiety about working full-time during the day, especially during the summer. Due to location, summer school was not an option for my kids. So they would be home with me all day. Seth (my husband) and I had been talking for a while about me putting in my notice and focusing on my other business (Catey Rice Photography & Design), but I just could not do it. I highly admire and respect the women that I worked for and with and the thought of leaving the company was too much. So, I lived in a constant state of anxiety for some time, torn between continuing to work full-time and being a stay-at-home mom. One day, something happened, and I immediately knew it was time. I knew at that moment that I needed to send the resignation, so, with tears in my eyes, I did. I unapologetically chose my kids, my family, and my mental health.
But, after sending the resignation, part of my identity went with it, my identity as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). I love working as a BCBA, and I have an intense passion for using the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) to help families. So, I started to brainstorm how I could do both, how I could continue to use my education and training while putting my kids and family first. After a lot of consideration, internal debate, and hesitation, I decided that I would start a small ABA company and combine my graphic design skills with ABA to create materials that help caregivers with parenting. I started to do some creating and playing around with branding, colors, and designs. I had a dream of creating visuals, curriculums, trainings, and more to help caregivers with the inevitable challenges that come with parenting. By doing this, I would be able to combine several of my passions and have flexibility to work on projects when it was best for my family. After starting to brainstorm more on what my future looked like with ABA, I knew that eventually in the future when kids are in school full-time, I would want to continue working with clients, but I did not know at the time what that was going to look like or when that was going to happen.
I started to credential to accept insurances, with the expectation that it would take several months for credentialing to happen. That way, when I decided it was time, I would be able to add direct services to the company. Well, unexpectedly, the credentialing with two of the insurances were approved quickly. I then got an email and a phone call from one of the insurances informing me that the closest provider that takes this insurance is two hours away and providers that do accept other insurances have a lengthy waitlist and families are just waiting for services. They then expressed the intense need for services in the area. When I left my company, I did not realize the dire need for services to help families with children diagnosed with autism in our area. After a lot of researching, reading, not sleeping, contemplating, brainstorming, and a lot of discussion with my supportive husband, I decided that I would take on a couple of clients. I would be able to adjust my schedule so that I could continue my passion for working with kiddos, while still growing my other business, and be done to have dinner and spend time with my family before the boys go to bed. This journey has been a terrifying journey for so many reasons, and I know it is going to be a lot of work and sleepless nights, but in the end, it is what is best for my family. And for that, I will never apologize.
And that is how Bright Connections Behavioral was born...
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