Therapist Coach Mom on the Street: Patience Riley
Therapist Coach Mom on the Street, Patience Riley helps many through her speaking engagements, therapy, and coaching every day. She balances her life as a military spouse, mom, and therapist entrepreneur with grace and compassion while helping others do the same. Read on to learn all about her!
Meet Patience
Patience is a creative, Licensed Mental Health Therapist, foodie, military spouse, and mother of two currently residing in Georgia with her family. She graduated from Winthrop University, where she earned her BA in Psychology and her MA in Community Counseling from Clark Atlanta University. She is in private practice and has over a decade of experience in the mental health field as a Licensed Therapist in Georgia, Florida, and Nebraska. Patience offers individual & group counseling services and partners with organizations to provide workshops and trainings on various mental health topics.
In 2019, Patience started a blog and social media channels for her platform, WHOA MAMA, where she shares simple but effective mental health tips for everyday life. She also started volunteering with Postpartum Support International (PSI) 2020, where she is a support group leader for the Military Moms Pregnancy and Postpartum and Mindfulness Support Groups. Patience recently joined PSI as the Communications Strategist for the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for People of Color, where she gets to create and share information for providers and communities of color about perinatal mental health.
Therapist Coach Life Beginnings
When did you first begin to be interested in therapy and coaching?
I’ve been interested in working in the mental health field since I was in high school, but decided to pursue the track of becoming a therapist during my senior year of college (2009-2010). After starting my practicums and internships in 2011 grad school, I haven’t looked back and have been practicing as a Licensed Therapist ever since.
What sort of areas do you coach or do therapy in?
I specialize in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders; however, I have an extensive amount of experience working with clients going through life transitions, anxiety, depression, military, and crisis-related issues.
What are your top tips for going through hard times or stress?
I’m very proactive as I believe our mental health affects everything about our person. With that being said, I would like to encourage you to be intentional about taking care of yourself now. Don’t wait until you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed because that is what leads to burnout.
Also, don’t discredit the little things. Wearing your favorite cardigan, meeting a friend for coffee, a morning walk, listening to your favorite song, and keeping those boundaries are all important in maintaining your mental wellness. Also, be open to speaking to a Licensed Mental Health provider. If you’re struggling, looking for a different perspective, or want to prioritize your health overall don’t hesitate to reach out to someone in your state.
Therapist Coaching Business
What are the most challenging and rewarding parts of owning and running your own therapist and coaching business?
My clients are the most rewarding part of my practice. Whether I’m working with an individual or an organization, I love actually doing the work around helping others shift their perspectives, learn new skills, and prioritize their mental health.
When I started my private practice, the logistical aspects of running a business were challenging. I learned how to be a therapist, but I didn’t learn how to be a business owner. There has been a lot of trial and error, figuring out what systems work best for me and adjusting as I’ve become a more seasoned business owner.
How do your family, friends, and husband support you in your business endeavors?
My husband, family, and friends are my biggest cheerleaders and supporters. My community is my personal hype squad and love celebrating my success with me. Whether they’re congratulating me on being featured on a platform, sharing my speaking engagements, watching my kiddos so I can work, listening to my ideas, or referring my services to others I know I can count on them to have my back.
Therapist Coach Speaker
When did you become interested in speaking engagements and events?
One of my responsibilities as a Military Family Life Counselor was to participate in a lot of speaking engagements and offer workshops. Once I started doing this in 2017, I fell in love with speaking and decided to continue doing it within my private practice.
What is your favorite event?
This is a hard question to answer so I’m going to share two as I’ve spoken at some phenomenal events. My favorite virtual event was the Mental Wellness Event with A WOC (women of color) space, while my favorite in-person event was the PSI 35th annual conference. I’m big on using my speaking engagements as a place to promote a collective learning environment, and I couldn’t have asked for a better audience for both events. I left learning just as much from those in the audience as they learned from me.
What are the main topics you speak about?
- Boundaries
- Simple but effective coping skills & strategies
- Maternal mental health topics
- Mindfulness practices
- Military lifestyle (including pregnancy and postpartum)
- Stress identification and management
- Work-Life harmony
Where can people find you online/ on social media?
The best way to find out about my services is through my website www.whoamamas.com or through my social media channels. Outside of emailing me, I am most active on Instagram.
IG: @whoamama_blog FB: @whoamama_blog
LI: Patience Riley
Therapist Coach Military Spouse
When did you become a military wife?
I married my college sweetheart in 2015. In addition to being a military spouse, I was a military kid. My parents met while they were in the Navy and then I switched sides by marrying my husband who is in the Air Force.
What are your favorite and least favorite places you and your family have been stationed?
I don’t have a favorite place we’ve lived so far, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Bellevue, NE. Other than the incredibly cold weather I would uproot the city of Omaha, surrounding areas, and our support network with us if I could.
What is your advice to other military spouses, especially ones going through long-distance/deployment?
Be proactive and find a support system! Whether it is one or two other people, a support network is extremely important for your well-being. So, ask a spouse you met if they’re interested in grabbing a cup of coffee, joining a local workout class, or chatting often with your neighbors.
Therapist Coach Style
Which three words best describe your style?
Simple, comfortable, and high-waisted.
What are your favorite places to shop?
I don’t do a ton of shopping but anything online. Amazon and Target are the first two places to come to mind.
What’s your best style advice?
I’ve always struggled with getting ready in the morning so picking out my clothes, shoes, and accessories the night before has always helped. I even do this with workout and lounge clothes too.
What article of clothing/accessory would you not want to live without?
This is tough. I’m stuck between high-waisted leggings with pockets and a cardigan.
Which trend would you want to see make a comeback?
If you would have asked me this a few years ago I would have said fanny packs, but they did make a comeback and I’m so happy they did.
What should NEVER make a comeback?
Large plastic costume jewelry
What fashion/style did you love at the time but now cringe when you see old photos?
The same one that should never come back. Large plastic costume jewelry.
What’s your best style secret?
The tinted moisturizer by Lip Bar. It’s so light and easy to apply and makes your skin look flawless while also being a substitute for foundation.
Stilettos or flats?
Flats more specifically sneakers
Therapist Coach Family
What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family?
I really like going on walks with my family and having playtime in the house. Even though I’m not a big fan of cooking my oldest loves it so we have a good time cooking.
Best parenting advice:
Apologize to your children when you’ve done something wrong. It’s okay to show them this kind of vulnerability.
Parenting true confession:
I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m just winging it.
What’s your go-to family dinner?
Usually, fajitas or tacos but about a month or so ago, I fell in love with a dijon mustard air-fried salmon recipe I found on Pinterest. I add oven-baked veggies (usually green beans or asparagus).
What’s your favorite family restaurant?
Takeout! It’s a log of work taking the boys to restaurants so take out is our jam. Hibachi and Korean are our favorites.
Therapist Coach Life
If you could pick anyone to star as you in a movie based on your life, who would it be?
When I was in high school, I was constantly told I look like Tracey Ellis Ross and was even called by her character’s name Joan a lot.
What song would you dance to when nobody’s watching?
I dance to any song regardless of who’s watching.
What’s at the top of your travel bucket list?
Greece
What’s your favorite way to unwind at the end of a long day?
It depends on what happened during the long day; however, yoga, a hot shower, or if I have time, a bubble bath with music and wine.
Therapist and Family Lifestyle
We love how Patience pours a personality full of compassion, grit, and grace into her therapist coaching business and life. We are inspired by her therapist coaching style and way of handling motherhood and military spouse life with love and understanding.
Be sure to check her on Instagram and her website to learn more about her therapist coaching and her speaking services. And for more fun and fabulous moms, be sure to read on at FamilyApp’s Mom on the Street!
