Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Helms.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My whole life, I have been called persistent, creative, and independent. Those three traits are woven into the fabric of who I believe myself to be and how I interact with the world. I did not always know I wanted to become a therapist. As a child, I attended a small private school with project-based learning, and I often chose to do projects on people- cultures, customs, and life around the globe. My favorite book that I checked out over and over from the library was entitled “Entwined Lives- Twins and what they tell us about human behavior.” My world at that school was literally small as the school had a max enrollment of about 50 students at the time, but simultaneously my world was so, so big because the value was always on self-driven learning and exploration. That love of finding my own way sparked early, and I have spent most of my life feeding it.
At the age of 17, I bought a plane ticket to backpack through western Europe for about a month with only my two teenage friends. In hindsight, I probably deserved the reaction my parents had. However, the day I landed in Amsterdam with only my carry-on backpack after many travel delays and lost luggage, I remember looking around at the buildings and the canals and the people, and I thought to myself, “Wow, it’s a great big world out here.”
I completed cosmetology school in high school and then started college as a radio/television/film major. I had grand dreams of traveling the world and creating documentaries on human beings (think Lisa Ling and Anthony Bourdain or Humans of New York). I really hated film school. So, I made a decision on a random Tuesday to change my major to psychology. I honestly could not say why, which sounds silly in this context, but it’s true. Upon attempting to make this switch, I learned that I could only obtain that degree with four semesters of the same foreign language and since I was about 1 point shy of failing my second semester of Latin I was directed to another major with less criteria, Anthropology. Worked for me; I love people.
After graduation, I really didn’t know what to do next, so I did what I knew, hairdressing. I did this for much of my twenties. I learned that people see their hairdresser on all of the best and worst days of their lives; prom, engagements, weddings, breakups, funerals. One day, a client of mine confided a deep trauma she experienced in her life, and on my drive home, I realized suddenly that I didn’t just want to listen to others, I wanted to help too. I started applying to graduate school that night.
Six months later and half a country away in Denver, I was completely on my own and learning how to be a therapist. I am so thankful for my experience with highly accomplished and compassionate professors and mentors who fostered me and helped me learn when to persist and when to fall back, how to be independent and accept help from others, and how to creatively approach therapy. I had multiple opportunities to cultivate these skills in practicum and internships.
When I moved back home to Houston, I quickly got get hired on with The Harris Center for Mental Health (love them!). It was there that I worked in community mental health and then in the Harris County Jail. After leaving the agency, I started working at Devereux Behavioral Health under the mentorship of Dr. Belgin Tunali. I adored the kids and the staff that I worked with. I learned there that adolescents are my jam- double points if they are neurodivergent! After the birth of my daughter in 2020 I moved on from Devereux and spent time working in intensive outpatient at The Eating Recovery Center. I found the work to be rewarding and certainly a new flex of skills I had to learn. However, I knew that ultimately, I wanted to be able to have the flexibility of private practice as well as the autonomy to grow and help others grow too. One day during a session with a client just last year, I inadvertently created a simple metaphor about books. That is when Novel Changes was born.
As a therapist, I like to imagine everyone’s story as a novel with different parts; the first few chapters were written before birth and include intergenerational trauma, family of origin, where life started- ethnicity, race, religion, and social class. The next few chapters were likely written about them from the perspective of someone else or a writer who had the ability to inflict anything on them; these chapters shape our attachments, self-esteem, and how we view the world. I see clients as being in middle of their stories, coming to therapy to work on edits, rewrites, and rough drafts. I cultivate my office to be a safe place to explore life stories and find life worth living goals to reach towards.
While not a new therapist, I am a new business owner. I am currently building my clientele day to day while I simultaneously plan for the future of my brand and business. I have had the incredible fortune of linking up with Heather Murphy, LPC-S, and her practice, The Feelings Healers as a space to house my practice, facilitate consultation and collaborate with her team. It is the best of all worlds, and I am just getting started. As Bill Watterson wrote in his comic book about a wise beyond-his-years child Calvin and his tiger friend Hobbes… “It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy… Let’s go exploring!”
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Is anything in life a smooth road? Not if it’s worth traveling in my opinion. I like the scenic route better. I took a huge risk moving to another state alone for graduate school and couldn’t move home to Houston fast enough. I had to deal with significant pushback from the state licensing board due to my out-of-state degree. I was a pregnant essential worker during the height of the pandemic. More than anything, learning what I am and am not great at came from a lot of experience going out on a limb and trying different jobs and roles. I made many mistakes and had to adopt an “I don’t know what I don’t know” attitude and spent a lot of time learning from others. I think there is a bit of a shock when a baby therapist goes out in the world and realizes how taxing the work can be both physically and emotionally. To date, my largest barrier has been truly believing in and betting on me and my capabilities to start a business and keep it going. I still don’t know what I don’t know, but I have gotten a lot better about reaching out for guidance.
We’ve been impressed with Novel Changes Therapy, PLLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am currently the owner and sole therapist with Novel Changes Therapy. I practice an eclectic style of therapy built on my belief that the efficacy of therapy falls heavily on the therapeutic relationship and mutual collaboration. I pride myself on being genuine, authentic, and warm. I like to think that you get the same version of me in my office that you would get just about anywhere else. I am genuinely fascinated by and deeply supportive of the people who come to me for help, I always say “I will work as hard as you will.”
I specialize in working with teens and young adults although I do practice with older adults as well. I am known for my ability to connect and build rapport with even the most angsty and grumpy teens, mostly with a shared love of music and direct conversation. I hold continuing education certificates as an Autism specialist and as a DBT therapist. I will be leading a new DBT group in the near future.
I love working with clients who “don’t fit the box.” Neurodivergent, blunt, and oftentimes people who have suffered just existing as themselves in a world that isn’t built for them. I am a very strong ally with the LGBTQIA+ community and have experience both personally and professionally with people exploring who they are and engaging in the process of self-acceptance and living authentic lives.
I also accept clients with high acuity, people who have a history of higher levels of care and safety concerns who are motivated to stay in the community and work towards goals that make life worth living. I have a strong belief in harm reduction and meeting clients wherever they are at in the healing process, even if they are struggling to make it through the day more often than not.
My “brand” is “brand new,” but I envision a world in which I am able to consistently help clients to the max of my caseload and eventually work towards becoming a supervisor to help new professionals make their way. I am currently in the process of making connections with other health and wellness businesses in my community to encourage the people I work with to care for themselves in and out of therapy and create a network of other professionals that provide support for the whole self. I would love to lead a team of therapists dedicated to the values I hold dear and bringing their own values as well. Those are goals for the long term, and I am also loving the here and now.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I have to say, in the process of fostering my authenticity there are likely very few things people either would not know about me in a professional context other than that I am here and growing. I am trying to get the word out about my practice and skills.
Pricing:
- Intake session- $150
- Psychotherapy- $130
- I take Cigna, Aetna, BCBS, Oscar, and Oxford insurance through Headway
- I am willing to do sliding scale for clients in need
Contact Info:
- Website: www.novelchangestherapy.com
