MOMpreneur: n. defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur.
Welcome to our latest installment of MOMpreneur Monday, highlighting businesses and brands that were founded by female entrepreneurs and fellow Mommas!
Today’s featured Modern Boca MOMpreneur is KC Charette, a licensed Clinical Psychologist in Boca Raton. Dr. Charette also just published her first book: a children’s book!
Tell us a little about your background…
My career in Psychology began in Boston, where I worked as a Research Assistant at McLean Psychiatric Hospital. I went on to earn my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Tulane University in New Orleans. Following college, I relocated to Fort Lauderdale to pursue my Masters and Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University. During graduate school, I fell in love with the rich diversity and tropical climate of South Florida and decided to permanently call that area home (sorry Boston!).
Currently, I own & operate a private therapy practice in East Boca Raton. My areas of focus are working with patients who have experienced a life change, trauma, loss and grief, relationship/marital concerns, anxiety, depression and a range of adjustment difficulties. I provide therapy both in person and via tele-health for a range of psychological, relational and health issues in individual, couples and group therapy.
What do you specialize in?
In addition to the areas mentioned above, I specialize in perinatal mental health, which encompasses prenatal, birth and postpartum concerns. As a psychologist in Boca Raton and a parent, I am very familiar with a range of local services in our community such as mommy-and-me classes, lactation consultants, birth centers, online organizations, pediatricians, and OBGYN providers.
As I learned more and more about these services and experienced many of them first-hand, I recognized a gap in available services. It was the need to provide care for expectant and new parents’ psychological health. This recognition led me to private practice and to start offering the therapy groups that run: I run a Support Group for Pregnant & Postpartum Women and a Grief Group for Women Who Have Lost Their Mom. More information for these groups can be found on my website.
What inspired you to specialize in Perinatal Mental Health?
Prior to going into private therapy practice, I was a Psychologist at the Gainesville VA Medical Center (but must admit, I root for the Canes, not the Gators…sorry, Gainesville!) and then transferred to the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. It was a tremendous professional honor to provide psychological services for Veterans. I gained experience in working alongside medical providers and consulting on a range of psychological and health concerns.
After four years of working within the VA, I was selected to be the Psychologist for the West Palm Beach VA Women’s Clinic. In this role, I worked alongside the providers in the Women’s Clinic on OBGYN, family-planning and pregnancy-related concerns. This training and experience, compounded with becoming a parent myself, launched my passion for working with women and families struggling with adjusting. This included adjusting to changing family dynamics, prenatal and postpartum concerns and has led me to where I am today.
What is truly unique about your mental health services?
I provide therapy both in person at my East Boca Raton office and virtually, via tele-health; I work closely with my patients to accommodate their busy schedules, childcare arrangements and preferences for technology, as I know that these topics can be barrier to consistent therapy. I also work very closely with psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Many of my patients greatly value this collaboration as my colleagues and I can work together as a team, to best support our patients.
Why should Modern Boca Mom readers become your patients?
Training, experience and personal fit are key components of what I recommend a potential patient look for in a therapist. I believe that helping a patient to feel comfortable and safe in a therapy environment is key to maximize therapy outcomes. Additionally, I greatly value training and education; the American Psychological Association (APA) is the highest level of accreditation for graduate training in psychology. I am proud to have attended an APA-accredited graduate school, internship and residency program.
What exciting things are coming up with your business?
I just recently published my first book! Children often ask, “what will therapy be like? What will I do in therapy?” I created a simple solution (a book!) to help alleviate the confusion that often surrounds the experience of going to therapy. Going to the Psychologist! is a 34-page, fully illustrated book and was conceived for both grown-ups and children as a guide for navigating a child’s therapy session. In addition to serving as helpful tool, it is also an entertaining and imaginative story. The book is available now on Amazon!
What do you love about living and working in South Florida?
My family and I truly appreciate the year-long ability to be outdoors in South Florida. One entire wall of my office is windows and I welcome the bright light that pours in from the Florida sunshine while I provide therapy! The diversity in South Florida creates a wealth of unique experiences and we are so grateful that our daughter is able to learn about so many different forms of art, culture and traditions.
Connect with clinical psychologist in Boca Raton KC Charette:
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/drkccharette
WEBSITE: KC Charette: Clinical Psychologist
SUBSCRIBE to Modern Boca Mom here!
