Leah M. Niehaus

Above L to R: Front: Leah Niehaus, LCSW; Meaghan Monroy, LPCC; Brianna Barnes, ASW | Back: Erica Wolitarsky, AMFT; Vanessa Ramirez, AMFT; Michelle Parker, ASW | Not pictured: Anya Guinchard, AMFT; Rebecca Riordan, APCC

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The Wellness Collective is a group psychotherapy practice offering individual, family and group therapies. Owner/clinical director Leah Niehaus started a solo private practice in 2005 and expanded the business to a group practice in 2016. Previously she worked in community mental health and public child welfare with foster youth.

What is your advice about entrepreneurship?

I never considered that I could be a clinical social worker and also a business owner! I stumbled into it because I didn’t want to work full time as a mother and commute. I had no idea it would become the business that it is today. I would highly encourage young women to consider owning their own business or being an entrepreneur. It has been wonderful to be my own boss and have flexibility while raising our three children.

Tell us about a time when you felt like giving up but kept going.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I felt like giving up. We couldn’t see our clients in person, had a huge learning curve to figure out seeing people online, and the referrals stopped coming in temporarily. I felt motivated to keep going because there was such tremendous need—especially for the youth in our community. We figured out how to pivot—started seeing people on our office balcony, met families in the park, ran group therapies in our office courtyard by candlelight with blankets, and hosted workshops on the beach. I’m really proud of how we met the moment during that challenging time.

How do you and your team contribute to the South Bay?

I sit on the Student Mental Health Provider Task Force with Beach Cities Health District, am part of the MBUSD Medical Advisory Board and am involved with South Bay Families Connected. Our practice regularly attends mental health fairs at local schools and routinely speaks for National Charity League, Amigos Unidos and National League of Young Men. I offer a free weekly parenting newsletter, A Lighter Touch with Leah, available on my website.

Photographed by Shane O’Donnell