Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Miles.
Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
If you would have told me ten years ago that I was going to be a licensed therapist running her own private practice and building a practice management app for other therapists, I would have been quite confused!
Most of my life, I pursued theater and performance and got my bachelors from the University of Texas at Austin for just that. It wasn’t until I was about 23 years old when I had what I like to call my “quarter-life crisis” that I started to explore what else I had passion for. It was very jarring to realize the thing you’d been planning for your whole life wasn’t what you thought it would be! I was very privileged to have access to my own therapist at the time, and so that made navigating my confusion and anxiety much more manageable. Through this, I identified my values, what brought me to life and what made my gears turn.
Some people may think the jump from theater to therapist is a big one, but for me, both of these professions share my passion. I love the intimate study of human behavior. We’re so fascinating, and I truly have a passion for helping people understand what makes us who we are. More so, I love connecting with others, being a witness to their stories, and helping them get curious about themselves and the people around them.
I attended the University of San Diego for my Masters in Marital and Family therapy, and honestly, I was more thrilled with my classes and academia than I had ever been before. I did my training and first few years of practice at UCSD outpatient psychiatry, where I worked with my greatest mentors and started to become the kind of therapist I am today. In March 2020, I opened my own private practice, and what timing that was! Now, I run a full private practice, providing teletherapy and coaching to individuals and couples.
In 2018, my brother approached me with an idea to start an online business called Habitbetter, that helps people build and stick to healthy habits by using therapy practices. I like to say he tricked me into it because I was blinded by my excitement that my big brother wanted to do something cool with me! The little sister in me really kicked in!
Fast forward through major learning moments, pivots, googling “how to build an app”, plans A, B, and C, and now we are about to launch a product I am truly proud of. Habitbetter is now an incredible practice management software for therapists. But what truly makes it my favorite thing (and essentially a tool I built for myself) is that it also has an entire dashboard that prioritizes client care, full of tools like assessments, coping skills, journal prompts, and mini videos for the therapist or coach to assign directly to the client through their own personal app. For the therapist, you can manage your practice, provide client interventions, and track their progress all in one program. For the clients, it’s like having your therapist in your pocket.
So here I am today, running two businesses that I’m very proud of. Twenty-year-old me would have been very surprised, but 32-year-old me is already wondering what else I can do!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was definitely a bumpy road!
I joke that what really jumpstarted me becoming a therapist was a full-blown panic attack in the middle of a shift at a restaurant in Austin, Texas. But it really is the truth!
I had to fail a couple times before I figured out what was really a good fit for my life and who I was. And let me tell you, it’s very jarring to suddenly realize the dream career you’ve thought was for you since you were little, is not what you thought it was going to be.
Jumping into a master’s program when it seems like everyone else knew they wanted to do this, and got the bachelor’s to match it, when you’re coming in with a theatre major, was a major trigger for imposters syndrome. I had to work hard to catch up and also to find what I really brought to the table. I was so lucky that through my training site at UCSD, I found two amazing mentors who helped me become the type of therapist I am today.
But that doesn’t mean I still don’t have imposter syndrome! What helps is that, with being in the field I am, I know every single person deals with this. It’s truly universal. We all feel like we don’t belong, or don’t know enough, or should know exactly what “they” know. But that’s just not realistic, and honestly, they’re thinking the same thing about you.
With starting two businesses, the most difficult part was that I didn’t know how in the world to start a business! Unfortunately, most Master’s programs in healthcare don’t teach you about business. They teach you about client care. So, I didn’t even know what I didn’t know about business! I definitely made some mistakes and had to ask for a lot of help. I was lucky in that I found some great resources through other established therapists.
With Habitbetter, I got some great support because my brother and co-founder, Sean Miles, has his MBA and has started a few different businesses! However, none of us had ever built an app before! There’s a lot of stress that comes with feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing!
We’ve been impressed with Katie Miles, LMFT and Habitbetter, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I run a private practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist. I work predominately with individuals struggling with anxiety, and with couples who are looking to improve their connection and manage conflict better.
I’m what you would call a relational therapist. Essentially what this means is that you get an authentic human in the room with you. I’m not a blank slate. I am active in exploring with you and helping you get to where you want to go. I’ll laugh with you when things get kooky, I’ll sit in the suffering with you, and I’ll call you out-with empathy- when you’re doing something that we both know isn’t good for you!
What my clients say they love most about me is my humanness and ability to sit with them where they are. Life is messy, and there is no reason we need to be perfect or handle everything perfectly well. I give my clients permission to be messy and the tools to clean up what’s necessary for them to live the life and build the relationships they want to have.
I genuinely enjoy meeting with all my clients. I get so much joy out of being there and witnessing them grow, and discover, and try new things, and even mess up! I also very much value being a resource for other people, which is a large part of why I show up on social media with free mental health and relationship content.
With Habitbetter, I’m building the system that allows for me to be the therapist I want to be. When you’re running a private practice, there are so many things you have to juggle, that it sometimes takes over what you love- being with the client and creating good, individualized treatment for them. What Habitbetter does is it helps you manage your private practice scheduling, admin, and billing, but it’s also an entire platform where you get to interact with you clients’ treatment, assign them evidence-based interventions, send reminders and encouragement, and even track their mood and progress. It creates a private, HIPPA-compliant space where client and therapist can track everything they’re working on and collaborate on their treatment together. I’m incredibly proud of creating this platform and can’t wait for therapists to start using it with their clients.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I have a lot of really great memories, but I’d have to say a favorite is visiting Coronado Island on summer vacation every year with my family. I’m originally from Texas, and we would regularly vacation on Coronado Island. My dad would drive through the night to get there, and I would wake up just as we were driving over the mountains into San Diego. I would always get so giddy as we would cross over the Coronado Bridge, usually listening to the lion king soundtrack- or whatever other Disney album had just released that summer. And now, I’m lucky enough to call San Diego home.
Contact Info:
- Email: katiemileslmft@gmail.com
- Website: www.katiemileslmft.com and http://habitbetter.com/app/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katietalkstherapy/and https://www.instagram.com/habitbetter/
Image Credits
Morgan Poor
