How Kelsey Hernandez, MSW, LCSW, left private practice behind and found the growth, connection, and support she was missing.
Before becoming a NOCD Therapist, Kelsey Hernandez ran her own private practice, treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety, a specialty she’d been focused on for years. But after a while, something was missing.
“Private practice is lonely,” Kelsey says. “I really wanted to have coworkers and a company support system.” She loved the population she was working with. She just didn’t want to keep doing the work alone.
Kelsey was looking for a place that allowed her to continue to provide specialized care, while also being part of a team. That search is what led her to NOCD.
Growth through support and connection
Kelsey calls her experience at NOCD enjoyable— and says it’s helped her grow more as a clinician than she expected. “I feel like I’ve grown so much as a clinician in the four years that I’ve been here,” she says, “because of the support—not only from clinical leadership, but also from other therapists in the network. The consultations and meetings help you to feel really connected, which you don’t get in private practice.”
NOCD Therapists receive continuous consultation from our clinical leadership team who, in aggregate, have treated OCD for decades. Kelsey points to these consultations as central to her growth. “Being able to attend consultations, and now running two consultation groups myself, have allowed me to grow tremendously,” she says, crediting supportive managers who’ve coached her along the way. “Those, I think, are the two big things that stand out.”
Kelsey also says that the isolation she expected from working remotely hasn’t materialized. “Being able to have regular consultations, a supportive manager, and the constructive feedback NOCD provides to help you continue to grow as a clinician and make yourself better—that’s really been a big part of why it doesn’t feel lonely.” She also credits monthly trivia nights, team meetings with breakout rooms to get to know teammates, and a virtual break room where colleagues can drop in for conversation and quick group activities between sessions with building the strong sense of connection she feels.
Freed up to focus on the work
For Kelsey, one of the biggest differences from private practice has been no longer having to juggle clinical work with business operations. “We are mental health professionals. We’re not always business folks,” she says. Balancing client care and running the administrative side independently had worn her down, and she’d gotten tired of doing both—it’s part of what had her looking to make a change.
At NOCD, that operational weight has been lifted off of her shoulders—and she’s also gained something else: a structured treatment protocol already in place. “You really come in knowing, okay, we’re going to be doing exposure and response prevention (ERP) today,” she says. “It takes a lot of that stress off.”
The technology reinforces that same sense of ease. Noto, NOCD’s proprietary, AI-enabled platform, she says, was built specifically for the population she’s treating and the modality she’s practicing, with tools for care coordination, transfers, and co-therapy included directly in the platform. She’s found Noto’s insights and note-taking tools especially valuable: “It allows us to be so much more present with our Members in session when we’re not having to kind of constantly jot things down,” she says. Being able to focus fully on the Members she’s working with also contributes to a better work-life balance overall.
Kelsey’s advice for private practice therapists considering the switch is to expect a learning curve. “You really have to have a passion or an interest for this population and modality, because it’s a lot to learn,” she says. “It’s basically like learning a new language.” Her other piece of advice is patience. “You’re learning a brand new thing, and there’s a lot to it. So be patient with yourself… it just takes time.”
Asked to sum up her experience at NOCD in one word, Kelsey doesn’t hesitate: rewarding.
Looking to make an impact like Kelsey? Explore therapist opportunities at NOCD.
