Today we’d like to introduce you to Thera Storm.
Hi Thera, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I decided to become a social worker focused on serving the military when my twin sister was almost killed during her combat deployment in 2004. At that time, I quit my marketing job and moved into the Fisher House in San Antonio, TX to be near where she was receiving medical treatment for severe burn wounds (she was about ~10 feet away from a suicide bomber.) She had an incredibly long journey for both physical and mental recovery. At that time, there were very little supportive resources, especially for female veterans. I remember after long days at the hospital, I would spend my evenings doing research on trauma, symptoms, mood, career impact, and organizations that could provide support. I felt so powerless and ill-equipped. I wish I knew then what I know now. I wish I understood grief.
Years later, I am married to a Marine helicopter pilot and had the opportunity to earn my Masters of Social Work degree at George Mason University in 2013. As a military spouse, I gained the perspective of more needs for resources and support for active duty and their families. That’s when my “grief lens” emerged. While providing outpatient therapy for active-duty military, I started connecting that most of my patients were experiencing a loss of some type. Loss of a relationship, loss of stability, loss of health, loss of career, loss of stability, loss of finances, loss of trust, infertility, loss of expectations… every client was grieving. With this “ah-ha” moment, I sought out grief-focused training. I found the Grief Recovery Method and completed an intense training to become a Grief Recovery Specialist.
A year later, I became an Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist. Being a licensed clinical social worker and grief specialist has become the most fulfilling educational mix to aid my journey in providing help and support services for grievers. I opened up my private practice Clarity Corp. in 2018 and have been providing this evidence-based method ever since. I am currently employed full-time for the Navy, and I’m able to provide this method both for active duty, Gold Star family members (family members who have lost a loved one), and clients in my private practice. Helping people get to the other side of their grief has been one of the most beautiful and fulfilling experiences of my career. It’s more than a “job” – it’s my passion.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Opening up a private practice is not easy. The first barrier is licensing. As a military spouse, we move frequently. I was licensed in Virginia for about 20 seconds before we moved to California. I then had to go through the painstaking process to also become licensed in California. I had to also become a California resident in order to open up a private practice. These barriers make it difficult for military spouses to thrive in new duty stations.
Being a military spouse is a challenge in regards to frequent moves as well as deployments. In fact, my husband is currently deployed. The responsibility of solo-parenting while also working full-time and running a private practice can get super challenging. I have to be very aware of my “compassion tank.” If I’m running on empty, I’d be no good to my clients or my family. I have to be very aware of what fills my tank and I have to be intentional on filling it up.
For the most part, I’ve enjoyed every part of this journey. Creative marketing is fun. Meeting new people is wonderful. When the world shut down and I lost 90% of my clientele during the early stages of them pandemic – I used the extra time to write a children’s book about equipping children for loss. My 5-year-old daughter was my focus group and helped me in ways I never could have done without that downtime.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Clarity Corp?
Are you grieving? Have you experienced a significant emotional loss recently or long ago? Do you find that fond memories turn painful? Are you angry? Confused? Depressed? Is the grief affecting your work quality? Are your relationships suffering, too? There is hope. Clarity Corp. is dedicated to providing grievers a safe place to be honest about their feelings surrounding loss. When a person feels heard and validated, they are more likely to recover from the pain and isolation. I founded Clarity Corp. with the intention of helping clients recover, heal and move forward in life after intense emotional loss and the grief that comes with it. I have been trained as an Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist and can provide the program online or in person at my office in Pacific Beach.
As a licensed clinical social worker, I can provide traditional hourly therapy focused on grief. My favorite program, however, is the Grief Recovery Method. This is a 7-8 session program with a book and homework. Each session is about an hour and a half and we journey together through past losses and the unresolved grief that comes along with it. It is challenging and freeing at the same time. I get to be side by side with my clients as they gain insight and experience the sunshine coming out again. Please check out my Google reviews to see what actual clients have shared about their experience with this method.
I am dedicated to all things grief and loss. Because of this, I have a podcast, free e-book, free activity downloads, blogs, videos and even a published children’s book. Podcast: Portraits of Grief (available on any platform where you find your favorite podcasts). Free 17-page e-book PDF “Grief 101” download on my website. Hurt: Equipping Children for Loss available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, Target Online.
Can you talk about how you think about risk?
My perspective on risk-taking will expose some deeper fears that many of us may experience but don’t quite realize. We tend to focus on risk-taking as entrepreneurs, but no business book or marketing blog helped me get over the risk-taking hump as much as a deep dive into my own childhood has.
When I was a little girl, my stepmother would tell me that I was ugly and stupid. Their home had no indication that I was a family member. Photos of her children decorated the walls. You wouldn’t know I existed by the decor. I didn’t even have my own bed. At McDonald’s, she’d buy her daughter a Happy Meal and I would get a burger and water. These are just some examples to illustrate my takeaway, which became my core belief: “I am insignificant I am less. I am not worthy.”
When I became a business owner, I remember looking up the average price a therapist charged. If others charged $150 an hour, I’d charge $60. In the back of my mind, I feared bad reviews, being unliked, being unworthy. My intuition was to provide this service, but it came with internal doubts and compensating for insecurities. This affected my Identity, Belonging, Confidence. What a waste to be so fearful!! I have done some deep diving into this and actually used the Grief Recovery Method on many of my past relationships to heal from these fears. It’s been a beautiful process that has made me less averse to risk-taking. Those fears were bullshit.
For anyone reading this: 1) Be aware of your shadows / distorted core beliefs. 2) Forgive that past relationship/experience. 3) Focus on the real truth every day.
Pricing:
- $100 Individual sessions
- 7-8 Session Grief Recovery Program $970
- Hurt: Equipping Children for Loss $12.99
- Grief 101 e-book FREE
Contact Info:
- Email: tstorm@claritycorp.us
- Website: www.claritycorp.us
- Instagram: @griefrecoverygirl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thera.storm
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoTmNxK1w_W2FSq1GUjo4ig
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/dp/109831364X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_W3TY5FQCZF7ADTPXBXXX
Image Credits
Kristina Attwod Alisha Mowry
