I really, really like it when I get to see people following their passions. Like when I worked with Peter Golboro at a startup in Philly where I punched the clock as an engineer and he was a business analyst. It was nothing short of inspirational to see him quit his job, go back to school, and emerge as a Licensed Social Worker.
Recently I came across Eli Weinreb on LinkedIn and was once again able to get a taste of that inspiration. The first thing I noticed was Eli, a Clinical Social Worker at Pesach Tikvah Mental Health Clinic as well as Rambam Family Health Center, and CARE for Special Children, had created a WhatsApp group to share niche mental health content. There aren’t many therapists who branch out into content creation and the ones that do interest me because they’re showing both a passion to help others and an entrepreneurial spirit, which is not always such a common combination. I reached out to Eli with a few questions and he very kindly responded. I think you’ll enjoy his journey and his insight as much as I did.
How did you get started in the world of mental health and what was your inspiration for getting into it?
When I started out in the field of mental health, I knew the most important piece to be able to learn and grow was to get experience in clinical field. Although at that time it was hard to get an internship at a clinic, I agreed to do a dual internship as an HCBS care manager because I was able to get clinical hours as well. As cheesy as it sounds, I got into the field to be able to make a difference and allow struggling teenagers and adults to know that in this life things don’t have to be all or nothing.
What would you say are your specialities or focuses as a mental health professional?
Although people like to focus on specialties, I like to say I specialize in people. Meaning that I’ve trained in countless modalities such as CBT, TF-CBT, DBT, IFS, Somatic Intervention, CPT, Gottmans Method, Theraplay, and Sandtray, and I like to use different modalities based on what I feel would best fit the client. I feel like often when you choose one modality, you can be putting the clients in a box as opposed to seeing them and helping them from where they’re at.
You showed up in my LinkedIn feed thanks to a post about a WhatsApp group you run called Regesh Positively Psyched. Can you touch on your motivation for starting the group?
The group I started is called Positively Psyched which I try and post daily inspirational content. My goal on LinkedIn, as well as on all platforms that I post my content, is to spread positivity and inspiration to as many people as I can reach. Although I have about 19,000 connections on LinkedIn currently, I thought a group on WhatsApp can be a way to reach another broad audience to continue my goal of spreading positivity and inspiration. For the same reason, I chose to also collaborate and post content on Regesh such as videos as well as question and answer segments for the audience.
If people would like to join my positively psyched group, here is the link.
Author’s Note: I initially thought Eli’s WhatsApp group was called “Regesh“. It is called “Positively Psyched,” as you can see in Eli’s thoughtful reply.
I noticed on your LinkedIn that you started in sales and then marketing before transitioning into social work. One of my partners at Reflective has a similar looking career path (business development to psychotherapy) which I find very fascinating. Can you tell me a bit more about that path?
Although I have always had a passion for the mental health field, the journey is a long one and requires 6 years of schooling as well as interning. During that time I worked full-time in different industries such as sales, real estate, as well as warehousing. I believe that in every job we work at, we can take and learn things that can be tools for the rest of our lives. Some of the things that I feel help me till this day in the sales world is the communication skills as well as understanding others and what they’re looking for that can be very well applied and are crucial to the mental health field as well.
As a mental health professional who also seems to have a high-level understanding of marketing, do you have any tips for therapists who want to build an audience of their own?
Absolutely, I think when it comes to any industry, marketing is important for exposure. I believe that it’s important to be aggressive and try and put yourself out there on as many platforms as possible. I often say life is like sales, if you believe in the product you’re selling (which is yourself) others may believe in it as well. The key is to believe in yourself and then sell yourself to others as well.
On the one hand there is no shortage of inspirational content on the web. On the other hand, you’ve still found a way to come up with unique and well-presented content for Positively Psyched. How do you come up with ideas for posts and do you have a method for getting through writer’s block?
That’s a great question. I think part of my inspiration comes from my day-to-day work and seeing what beliefs some of my clients have that align with other beliefs. I like to take positive quotes and memes and put my personal twist and views on it as a way of making my content unique.
In regards to writer’s block, sometimes you just need to take a break and then try again later. I also think that the more positivity you look for around you, the more positivity you will find. It’s about paying attention to what’s out there and then noticing it.
Get in touch with Eli
Eli Weinreb can be found on LinkedIn. You can join his WhatsApp group, Positively Psyched, by clicking here. Reach Eli by phone at (914) 458-2323 or via email at ems94w@gmail.com
