Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Ladd.
Hi Julie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Do you have a cup of coffee or your favorite drink to sit for a while? I think, like most people, my story is unique and “average” in a lot of aspects. My parents met in college in Texas. I came a little earlier than planned which moved my parents to Pennsylvania to be near my maternal grandparents (had a very large role in who I am today) and obtained a job at Harris Pine in Hamburg, PA. Both of my younger siblings were born in PA.
When I was 6 years old, Harris Pine Mills closed and this moved us across the country down south to Corinth, MS where both of my parents’ obtained jobs at Palmer Handrails. We joined a small little community and church which has also added a large portion of my experiences growing up. With this move, a lot of life shifted. Not only the culture from Northern US to Southern US but overall life.
“TRIGGER WARNING” I started elementary school in a 1 room school and at the time there was only 4 students total. A family from the church started babysitting us and during this time me and my younger sister experienced sexual abuse from one of the older boys of the family. Thankfully my sister said something which did get us out of the situation. This was the first time I experienced shame and felt as though I would get into trouble if I said something, so I did not. I did not tell anyone until later in life. This experience shifted a lot for me emotionally. I became more angry, defiant and a somewhat challenging kid. My parents didn’t know how to support me in the way I need, which was not by any fault of their own. 1. They did not know what I had gone through, 2. This stuff wasn’t talked about much. 3. Mental health support wasn’t something easily accessible at that time.
As a family we pushed through, financial struggles, 2 young parents raising 3 kids close in age. There were the normal disagreements, not wanting to do our chores, fights between siblings. My dad has undiagnosed ADHD, growing up with that leads to an ever-changing life. Projects that are started and have every intention on finishing. Life was not boring. Dad would pick up random items, one of these exchanges led us to owning a mountain lion at 1 point. She had been owned by another person and life shifted for them and we ended up with her. Man, was she loud during certain times of the month… Poor girl ended up dying while eating a chicken that had gotten in the cage and she accidentally rolled on top of the chicken, killed it, and choked on the bones when she was trying to eat it (a good reason why most animals should not be in captivity, in my opinion). Last I knew though, she had been taxidermied and was at a local church camp in the nature center for kiddos to learn. Through all this, my mom was the one keeping the house in order and maintaining as much consistency as possible.
I really enjoyed school. I think it provided me a place of consistency and I loved being challenged. My favorite part of the year was always back-to-school shopping. I loved getting a new backpack and all the supplies I would need for the year. I felt a sense of control in that environment. Because we lived in a small town, there was not many educational experiences and my parents were cautious about putting us in the local public school, so I attended a boarding school for high school. Usually this is something you only hear about for “rich” people. I can guarantee you that was not the case for us. Our family qualified for state insurance for us kids and my parents didn’t have health insurance for themselves for the longest time. They believed in helping us the best they knew how and that was with an education. They sacrificed late nights, early mornings and so many other things to ensure we had a good education.
At 14, I started attending a boarding school in South Mississippi. We worked half of the day and went to school the other half (work ethic is a theme in my family). I had such bad home-sicknesses and I wanted to come home so badly, but my mom was encouraging and I am thankful now that I got to have this experience. While I was there, I had my struggles, mainly within romantic relationships. I wanted connection and this led to many relationships coming and going so I could feel that connection.
September 11, 2001, I was walking to Algebra class when a classmate started yelling “They hit the twin towers.” The panic and uncertainty of what our world would look like has never left my heart. Events like this leave a mark and I remember wanting to help those in pain even if they don’t have the opportunity to talk about it.
At 18 I attempted to leave the school to be with a relationship. which led to me being put on dorm arrest. My parents had to come down, and we met with a therapist to try to figure out a solution. We came to one which encouraged me enough to not leave with my boyfriend at the time and to enroll and finish college. The therapist attempted to connect with me after this event, but I did not feel as though she understood, and I felt utterly judged by the situation. I started becoming the one that a lot of girls would come to, to talk and that is when I started to think that I may want to be a counselor someday. I wanted to be someone who people could talk to and feel connection and a non-judgmental space. I graduated with honors and enrolled at Union College in Lincoln, NE. Another move across the country.
I started my B.S. in Psychology. This was also the first time I started therapy on my own where I was fully invested. One of the professors was also a counselor trained in EMDR which was the first experience that I had in a technique that made a huge impact in my healing. Up until this point I would often have nightmares about being sexually attacked or my sister or mom and I would wake up crying often. I was living in a constant state of fight or flight, and I did not even know it. Working with Dr. Brown was life changing and I made a promise to myself that I would get trained in that technique someday to help change other people’s lives. During the 4 years of college, I worked to earn my way financially and pay my tuition. I taught swimming lessons, lifeguarded and was a custodian for the fitness center.
I didn’t get through college without heartache; several relationships came and went. I met Adam (my now husband), the end of my junior year. We had a long-distance relationship for the last year of college. I moved to Wichita, KS to be with him after graduation. I got a job within the first 2 weeks at a daycare which was a great experience right out of college. There was a theme of the helper field that I felt drawn to. I transitioned to working at Child Start as an in-home family educator that really opened my eyes to the struggles that so many families and children face. My heart hurt for the generational trauma that I started witnessing and the impact of poverty on our community. While working at Child Start, I was accepted into Friend’s University to begin my masters in marriage and family therapy program. I worked full time while also completing my master’s program because I honestly had no choice if I wanted to maintain the life me and my husband were starting to build. I didn’t grow up with money and had no savings to support me through school, so I had to work my way through.
I completed my master’s program August 2011, past my national exam 8 months pregnant and my husband and I welcomed our first child November of 2011 all while still working full time. I transitioned to St. Francis Community services as an in-home case manager and therapist when my daughter was 6 months old. I was in a severe car accident a month into this new job. I did not know at the time the amount of secondary trauma I was about to experience through the 7 years at this job which ultimately impacted the way I see life and parent. I witnessed what it was like firsthand for families to live in homes in the worst conditions imaginable, families in generational poverty and trauma, human trafficking, drugs, infestations and court involvement. This fueled my desire to help change as much as possible. My husband and I brought another child into the world in 2015, and I quickly started to realize that I was not the parent my children deserved. I was irritable and grouchy, and I ended up in another car accident which put me into such a severe depression. I remember the turning point of sitting on the couch but not really being present. The awareness that came of “I have to change something” hit me like a ton of bricks. It was in 2017 that I decided to leave community mental health because my own mental health was suffering and it was starting to leave its mark on my family.
In September 2017 I joined in a group practice, with this change our finances changed enough to allow me to start adding new trainings to my modality toolbelt, I signed up for EMDR training. I was so excited to be able to finally offer this to others. I left community mental health February of 2018 following a very trying few months within the agency. All throughout these years I, myself was in therapy to continue the healing journey I had started in college.
2019 I was introduced to a technique called Brainspotting developed by David Grand in 2003. This technique blew my mind wide open with the ability to heal. This somatic experience that I went through within the phase 1 training rewired so much of the fight and flight I had experienced growing up, the healing from EMDR back in college went deeper and further with Brainspotting (my therapist still uses this technique with me to this day). Through the training I felt a peace that I should open my open private practice. I was grateful for the opportunity to work with a group but I knew I needed to grow beyond that. End of 2019, I started the journey of opening my own business. “Learning to Thrive Therapeutic Services LLC” was born.
March 1st 2020, I found an office and opened my doors, trusting in God that I was doing the right thing. Mach 15th 2020, the world shut down. I was so incredibly fearful that the new journey was about to come to an end, but as the community’s mental health declined my business started to thrive. Not exactly the way I was hoping for it to, but I remember telling anyone who would listen, depression and anxiety are both going to get so much worse. We need people, our nervous systems are meant to be around people. My schedule quickly got full. I was so thankful for the training I had to help everyone barely surviving. In June of 2021 I completed phase 2 of Brainspotting, and October of this year I completed Brainspotting phase 3. I have seen first-hand these techniques help clients go from surviving to thriving and I’m in awe of their strength. It gives me purpose EVERY SINGLE DAY. My office is one of my happy places. My hope every day is that the experiences that I have had, allows me to continue to show up for those coming to see me, this is why I do what I do. To walk along the journey of others barely surviving to find out what makes them thrive.
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?
I did not know how to effectively communicate about my emotions or needs which did lead to a lot of different struggles with my own mental health, severe anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks. These are still things that I will continue to need to support for the rest of my life, but it has gotten easier with the healing that I have done.
I am constantly questioning whether I am good enough to help others, imposter syndrome is a real challenge for me. Struggling to think that I have something worth offering to others is an area I am actively working on.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in treating anxiety and trauma disorders. What I am most proud of is me and my husband starting to heal so that the generational trauma stopped with us, allowing our kids to have more opportunities than we did.
I think what sets me apart is my absolute love for an adventure, whether that is in session with each client that I’m honored to work with or in my real life. I would do this work for free if my personal life could afford it. I plan to continue helping others heal until I absolutely cannot anymore.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
To be honest, I don’t believe in luck. I don’t think things happen by happenstance. But, I do believe I was led to be in this small community. Moving to Rose Hill offered me an opportunity to give back to others which also got me connected to people and allowed me to buy the small office building that I have now. I’m so blessed this opportunity was given to me in October of 2020.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.learningtothrivellc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learning_to_thrive2020
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cz6n3okEj/?
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-ladd-lcmft-lmft-b4392342
