Meet Dr. Cortnie S. Baity, LMFT | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Cortnie S. Baity, LMFT and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Cortnie S., we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I launched my business because I wanted more freedom and autonomy over my therapeutic practices. While I do still operate under the governing boards of my profession, opening my own business has afforded me the ability to create a better work life balance for myself, while simultaneously meeting availability and accessibility needs of my clients. As a mental health provider and private practice owner, I am able to provide high quality mental health services based on ethics rather than politics that often negatively impact healthcare in the United States.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My name is Dr. Cortnie S. Baity, LMFT, but you can call me whatever feels comfortable to you. Many call me Dr. Cortnie, Dr. Baity, Dr. C, or Doc.

I am the owner of Onward and Upward Psychotherapy & Consulting Services, LLC. We are a Tallahassee, FL based, online (mental health) therapy practice. I am fully licensed in the states of Florida (MT4057) and Georgia (MFT001905). This allows me to serve all Florida and Georgia residents in need of therapy. I will soon be licensed and serving in the state of New York also.

You may be wondering how did I come up with the name of my practice, so here’s my story. “Onward and Upward” is an idiom that means, “to move toward a higher or better condition”. I believe that when people get to the point of considering and seeking out mental health and relationship support services, that is exactly what they are hoping to do–to move toward a higher or better condition in the areas that they find difficult to navigate and succeed in. I myself have reflected onto this phrase at different times in my life when I felt “stuck” and just wanted to feel better, be better, and just finally be happy.

Currently, I provide online mental health therapy to individuals, couples, and whole family systems, helping people to navigate a wide range of mental health and relationship problems.

I’ve always been fascinated with gaining a better understanding of human psyche, behavior, and relationships. This lead me on a 11 year college course of study, earning a B.S. in Psychology from Florida State University (2013), a M.S. in Family Science (emphasis in Couple and Family Therapy) from University of Kentucky (2016), and a Ph.D. in Human Development & Family Science from Florida State University in 2020. Subsequent of my studies, I decided to commit my life to helping people move toward better conditions in both their mental health and relations. Hence the name of my private practice.

I am a firm believer in having several tools in your tool kit to help manage relationships, life stressors, tough moments, and intrusive painful memories. Therapy is one of them.

I knew I wanted to open my own practice since 2016. This was always an on-going conversation between myself and my post-master’s degree clinical internship mentor. I just waited until I got ample clinical and business experience, working with and for someone else before venturing out on my own. Plus, I needed to wait until I reached full Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist status before launching my own practice.

Prior to launching, I also worked as a contracted therapist for a private group practice for nearly 3 years prior to launching my own. I learned a lot of the business side of private practice through this experience. I also gathered information on how to build a successful private therapy practice from various sources, including books, courses, professional groups, and mentors. I recorded and saved everything I learned so I could refer back to it once I was ready to launch. When I felt ready to leave my full time clinical job at the Department of Veteran Affairs, I prayed about it, filed my LLC documents, submitted my letters of resignation, and launched.

I launched my business in May 2021, we have been growing and going strong every since.

I would claim that my journey into entrepreneurship has been a relatively smooth road. I attribute this to the many years of exposure to entrepreneurship in various industries over the years, prior to launching my business. I believe these first-hand (behind the scenes) observations of owning a business, greatly helped my transition from employee to self-employed. As with all new experiences and growth, there is an element of trial and error and learning as you grow. To some, this aspect of business ownership may be viewed as a negative but I’ve always been able to appreciate a good challenge. Challenges are necessary for growth.

If I could tell the world one notable mention about my business, is that limitless growth and high quality experiences are my passion. This permeates throughout my personality, approach to life, and business. I believe that high quality and growth is available for those who seek, invest in, and work to obtain it. As a mental health provider, my goal is to improve the quality of my clients life via mental health interventions, one session at a time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If you are looking for a fun or relaxing time in Tallahassee, FL, I would recommend traveling to one of our nearby beaches. Enjoy lots of fresh yummy seafood, and if you appreciate sports and fine dining, Tallahassee certainly has some gems that can be appreciated, if you look for them.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my success to God, the love of my life Patrice L. Delevoe, Jr., owner of Delevoe’s Lobby, my family, mentors, my church communities, and clients I have served along the way. Without you all, my achievements and wisdom gained thus far would not have been possible. My heart overflows with gratitude to you all. Thank you for loving me as I grow and propel forward in my journey of service to humanity.

Website: www.onwardupwardtherapy.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/onwardupwardtherapy?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cortnie-baity-ph-d-lmft-aamft-approved-supervisor-c-5bba3091

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cortnie-S-Baity-PhD-LMFT-103576278054950/