Spot to Talk is a space for children, teens and young adults to easily access affordable virtual mental health counseling services. Learn about Spot to Talk’s founder, Claire Ellison, and her journey to creating an innovative tele-health platform.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND WORK LEADING UP TO SPOT TO TALK.

I come from a pretty eclectic background. I was born in London, grew up in New York City from age 2 to 18, and pursued my undergraduate and graduate degrees in San Diego. For the past two years though, I’ve been living in the northwest part of Montana.

At the beginning of my career, I was employed in San Diego public high schools for an organization redesigning mental health services. I worked closely with students expelled from public high schools who endured tough situations like sex trafficking and gang violence.  I then moved to Montana conducting individual and family therapy counseling.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH SPOT TO TALK?

Throughout my professional experience as a counselor, I noticed a huge lack of availability for counseling services, specifically for children, teens and young adults to be able to reach  mental health service providers. When I was working on discharge plans, my students rarely had a follow-up place to go to. Mental health aftercare is critical to a person’s journey of self-recovery. Unfortunately, the average wait time to get on a practitioner’s routine schedule can be up to 8 months. That’s when I decided to launch Spot to Talk, an online therapy platform for teens and young adults looking for mental health support. 

Since my background is in mental health, I decided to specialize in this and provide services to people who prefer seeing a doctor from the comfort of their home. And especially during COVID, it’s the most convenient and safe way to get the therapy you need.

CAN YOU SHARE SOME PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS TO-DATE?

Two come to mind:

1. My favorite thing is helping new clinicians grow their confidence. It’s fun to see my grad students come back and be full-time clinicians. Seeing that growth and adding to the community of new clinicians is fulfilling. 

2. From the perspective of working with teens, I would say it’s about creating that foundation of trust and connection. At the end of the day, it’s wonderful knowing that you were part of a student’s journey of self-recovery. 

HOW DO YOU PRACTICE SELF-CARE? 

I have 4 dogs, so going out to play with them or taking them on hikes is my main form of self-care. Exercise is another big piece of my self-care regimen. Making sure that I’m gaining a workout sometime throughout the day is critical to my wellbeing.

HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ANY BARRIERS WHILE STARTING YOUR BUSINESS?

It's interesting to see how our mental health is so valued, but at the same time, mental health therapy is inaccessible to many. If you have to pay for mental health therapy and don’t have insurance, it can be seen as a luxury.

Mental health is often the first health service to go, which makes it seem like it isn't an essential health category. My long-term vision is a world where adolescents have access to mental health tele-therapy in every state, and eventually, internationally.

ANY WORDS OF ADVICE TO FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS?

• Make sure you’re staying true to your passion.

• Be comfortable learning new tasks, and lean into your business’ growth.

• There’s so much you can learn on your own, but make sure to find a mentor in your industry.

• And finally, make time for connection. We all need the space and time to connect with others. We all need people to be our sounding board once in a while.  And that’s what’s central to Spot To Talk. We are here to provide a source of connection for anyone looking for it.