Episode 195

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Published on:

21st Jun 2025

Episode 195: Centering Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Group Practice [featuring Erica Smith]

In this episode, Patrick Casale speaks with Erica Smith about creating equitable and accessible workplaces in private practice. Erica shares candid, real-life stories of navigating the mental health field as someone living with chronic illness, and discusses the imperative of designing work environments that are truly supportive and accessible.

Top 3 takeaways:

  1. Accessibility Goes Beyond Ramps: It means considering everything from office seating and safe, convenient entryways to virtual work options and clear communication about what your space does (and doesn't) offer.
  2. Culture Starts with Transparency: Erica models being upfront with staff and clients about values, policies, and decision-making—including the challenges and financial realities of running an equitable group practice.
  3. Intentionality Drives Inclusion: From pronouns on the website to supporting community initiatives and hosting know-your-rights cards in the lobby, every detail signals who you want to welcome and support in your practice.

More about Erica

Erica, a North Carolina native and clinical social worker, specializes in trauma, particularly interpersonal violence, racial trauma, and chronic/invisible illness, drawn from her personal experiences. She was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and then Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) at age 12 in 2003—also the year she experienced the sudden loss of her father—followed by Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) later in life. These events spurred her desire to help others, leading to international volunteering, non-profit work, and over 10 years as a therapist. Navigating chronic illness and being a Black woman taught her strategies to adapt and advocate. She now leads Whole Mentality, a Raleigh-based group practice focused on accessible and affirming mental health services.

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Mentioned in this episode:

NeuroPreneur Circle Community

NeuroPreneur Circle is an online community built by and for neurodivergent entrepreneurs who want a supportive space to build a business, a space where they can show up as themselves and in whatever way feels most comfortable. NeuroPreneur Circle exists because community built on masking isn't really community. And business advice built for neurotypical brains isn't actually useful to us, no matter how many times we try to make it fit. Whatever your neurotype, whatever you're building, there's a space here for you. You've been creating alone long enough. Visit: https://atppod.com/community

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About the Podcast

The Neurodivergent Entrepreneur
Honest conversations about building a business while Neurodivergent, the self-doubt, the chaos, and everything in between.
The Neurodivergent Entrepreneur is a podcast for ADHD, Autistic, and all other neurodivergent entrepreneurs who are building businesses, creative work, and lives that actually fit how their brains work. Hosted by Patrick Casale, LCMHC, this show is for people who
want to create meaningful work, create outside of the box, grow their impact, and build something sustainable without losing themselves in the process.

Being a neurodivergent entrepreneur can feel like holding a lot of contradictions at once. You may have big ideas, deep passion, creative energy, and a strong desire to do things differently. You may also be navigating burnout, masking, self-doubt, perfectionism, rejection sensitivity, executive dysfunction, inconsistent energy, and the pressure to keep showing up when your capacity is already stretched. This podcast speaks to that reality honestly, because building a business around your brain, your values, and your lived experience can be powerful, complicated, messy, and deeply personal.

Patrick Casale is a chronically ill, AuDHD, mental health therapist, entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, event host, group practice owner, and neurodivergent business owner who has built, grown, burned out, pivoted, and kept going. His work brings together clinical insight, lived experience, business perspective, and real conversation about what it actually takes to create something that feels values aligned. His conversations are direct, compassionate, unfiltered, and practical, with room for both the emotional reality of entrepreneurship and the concrete decisions that shape a sustainable business.

New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature honest conversations with neurodivergent entrepreneurs, creators, therapists, business owners, and leaders. Together, Patrick and his guests explore entrepreneurship, identity, mental health, chronic health,
creativity, leadership, systems, money mindset, visibility, community, sustainable growth, and the behind-the-scenes reality of creating work that matters.

Build your dream business. Protect your capacity. Work with your brain instead of against it.