Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Hayden.
Hi Hannah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
If someone would have told me that I would own a group practice while I was completing graduate school, I would have respectfully rolled my eyes and shook my head. I never aspired to be a business owner and to this day, I still do not identify as one. I read a blog post about “accidental CEOs” and that is a better description of the role I carry, and I’m okay with that.
I knew in college that I wanted to be a therapist but at that time, am not even sure I knew what that meant. After I received my masters degree and had my first outpatient therapist job several years afterwards is when I really knew that therapy was my calling. It was something that came naturally to me and I enjoyed being able to support each person in whatever way they needed to (as long as it was within my wheelhouse), and was always willing to “go the extra mile” to do it. Unforutanately, I quickly discovered that even if I stepped outside of my employed role with the only intention to support a client, would result in a wrist slap. It was something I had a hard time understanding and frankly, I didn’t often work within the boundary of my employed role because I saw how much support a person needed and if I “stuck to my role”, they weren’t going to get it.
After my husband heard me complain about this for the umpteenth time, he encouraged me to work for myself so that I could practice and support clients the way I wanted to. Recall that I never wanted to be a business owner so this idea felt far fetched for quite some time, but I eventually listened to his encouragement and took the plunge.
I had intentions of only providing therapy virtually (since I had no idea how to go about getting a physical space) and maintaining a small caseload while I continued working the full-time position I had at the time. My caseload started filling up more quickly than I expected and I was forced into a position of finding a phsyical space since so many individuals wanted in-person sessions. This is when I discovered co-working spaces and obtained my first 10×10 office amongst other professionals. Fast forward about 15 months (June 2024) and I hired my first two employees to help me keep up with the referrals I was receiving. Shortly thereafter, we acquired a larger office space (four offices and a lobby) so that the new hires had their own offices to complete sessions in. The referrals continued to roll in and I hired three additional counselors by the end of 2024.
Between then and now, our team now includes 16 counselors and we had to make another move into a much bigger space (14 offices, lobby, conference room, and a kitchen). Each time we grew and had to move, I entered a new learning curve and lost a little bit more of my sanity. Despite this, and because Sapphire Counseling has a fantastic team of counselors, I am proud for the reputation we have built that put us in the position of constant expansion. It is an honor to be able to support so many individuals in our community, especially in the Portsmouth area.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Since I had (and still sort of don’t) no idea of what it meant to be a business owner and employer of 10+ staff, I was navigating a learning curve constantly. This was something I kept to myself and because I struggle to ask for help, definitely created a lot of unnecessary stress for myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Sapphire Counseling was built on the belief and value that healing happens through authenticity, connection, and feeling genuinely safe enough to show up exactly as you are. We’re a group practice that provides therapy for children, teens, adults, couples, and families, but more than that, we’ve worked really hard to create a space that feels warm and welcoming. When someone walks into our office, it feels like walking into a cozy living room instead of a sterile waiting room.
While we use evidence-based approaches like CBT, DBT, trauma-informed care, and parts-informed approaches, we also deeply value humor, creativity, and real connection in the therapy room. Sometimes healing looks like processing trauma and smetimes it looks like laughing because your nervous system accidentally chose sarcasm as a survival skill. We make room for all of it.
One thing that sets Sapphire Counseling apart is that we genuinely embrace authenticity at every level of the practice. We don’t believe therapists have to sound robotic to be effective. Our clinicians are compassionate, highly skilled, and professional, but also approachable and relatable. Clients often tell us they feel comfortable here faster than they expected to, and honestly, that means more to us than any perfectly curated aesthetic ever could (although I remain proud of that as well).
We’re also incredibly passionate about education and innovation within the mental health field. Whether that’s creating psychoeducational content online, developing new therapy frameworks, supporting graduate interns, speaking at conferences, or finding ways to make therapy feel more accessible and less intimidating, we care deeply about growing alongside the community we serve.
Brand-wise, I’m probably most proud that Sapphire Counseling has managed to stay authentic while growing. The heart of the practice has never changed. We’ve never tried to become overly polished at the expense of being real people. We can talk about nervous system regulation one minute and then something silly and not-so-serious the next.
More than anything, I want readers to know that therapy does not require you to have everything figured out before you walk through the door. You do not have to be “bad enough,” eloquent enough, or perfectly self-aware to deserve support. At Sapphire Counseling, we’re simply here to help people heal, grow, understand themselves a little better, and maybe laugh once or twice along the way.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Without sounding cliche, I don’t really believe in luck and believe that listening to my intution has been extremely beneficial. With Sapphire Counseling, I knew that I was going to need to hire other counselors that operated much like I did in the counseling room because there was a “vibe” that needed to be maintained across the practice. When looking for bigger spaces, while I never felt truly ready to do so, I intuitively knew that it was going to work out even during all the times it felt like it wouldn’t. We did have a stroke of good luck with our current space because we were notified of it as soon as it went up for rent, and that was only because my realtor knew I was looking.
Pricing:
- We are in-network with most insurances including Medicaid and Tricare.
- Our self-pay rates are low to be accessible and range from $75-99 per session.
- We offer no-cost counseling for those without insurance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sapphiretidewater.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sapphirecounseling/
