Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Prosser.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been doing community service all my life— I started when I was a toddler living in Pontiac, Michigan helping my family with their volunteer work with the Jaycees. Throughout my youth I would volunteer at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, an art studio for people w disabilities, do food & clothes drives and random fundraising events for the Clarkston optimist club, special Olympics, and more. After moving to Rochester, it became obviously clear how much more resources there were vs Pontiac and that drove my interest in helping 10x. I ended up trying to solve small social problems with wit and creativity, connecting what would be wasted (but still good) food to people in need and would drive it from the palace of auburn hills or the company that I worked for to homeless shelters in Pontiac. Community service is aligned with my ethics and when I was in college I learned about social work as a profession and never looked back. During my bachelors at Oakland University, I worked in community mental health as a case manager in Pontiac. Then I pursued my masters at Savannah State University and worked for the Savannah College of Art and Design for workforce recruitment programs that helped place veterans and people with disabilities into the workforce. I also worked as a college counselor representing those w disabilities for accommodations and helping them with brief therapy, plus I did research on Non-Government organizations in Africa on behalf of the university. I went to graduate school at an HBCU (Historic Black College or University) which helped inform my cultural competency of the black community and systemic politics that have been historically marginalizing. I graduated with my master’s degree in social work and became a therapist when I came back to Michigan and joined a great medical team to treat mental health conditions working closely with psychometrics and psychiatrists to help people improve our patient’s quality of life. After working in a traditional medical model I realized the gaps that needed to be filled specifically for young people and decided to take a leap of faith into entrepreneurship where I founded an integrative mental healthcare team called Convo. We offer a holistic approach offering services from therapy, medicine, dietitian, chiropractic, life coaching, mentors, tutors, personal trainers, meditation, art, music, and more. I wanted to provide preventative care with lots of options of treatment that was more approachable than the average clinic. I also am the chairman of the board of directors at a nonprofit in Liberia, Africa where we support 100+ kids to go to private school and take care of their needs, I’m certified to work with veterans, oncology patients, and professional athletes, and in my free time learned about the intersection of physiology, neuroscience and emotions all of which guide my practice today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Surprisingly smooth yes, it’s been overwhelming with the amount of work that needed to be done to get here but I’m thankful to have the determination and support systems around me. Financially I was able to find a huge relief through my graduate program where they covered my costs of school + paid for me to do research for them. I’ve had good mentors, professors and emotional support from my parents. The biggest struggles of entrepreneurship are keeping yourself organized and pursuing tasks that need to be done and learning quickly about things I never knew before, including managing a team of people. Also had to get used to not knowing what to do, failing, and trying multiple times to solve the same problem–this is literally my first rodeo.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are an integrative mental healthcare team that is offering preventative and palliative care for mental health disorders and conditions. We have an alternative approach to mental health with access to many different practitioners that can help improve quality of life including therapists, medication providers, chiropractors, dietitians, meditation and breath-work facilitators, art and music therapists, yoga instructors, personal trainers, mentors, tutors and more.
We take care of the most common mental health issues from ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, Bipolar, BPD, relationship issues, sexual dysfunction and more. We set ourselves apart from other clinics with our collaborative approach that aligns with each individual’s needs and comfort levels, we understand therapy isn’t for everyone, so we offer different services that are a bit more approachable. We also advocate for a “speed dating” approach to finding a practitioner that aligns with you! Sometimes is tough to find someone that you click with, but we don’t shy away from supporting our clients in trying new connections until they feel right.
I’m most proud of how gentle and soft our brand is, representing an approachable space to seek mental health care that’s not so “white coat” or intimidating, especially for adolescents. My hope is that breaking down these barriers will improve access to care and quality of life for society as a whole and we’re working on that one step at a time. We are all virtual, so access has never been more flexible, allowing us to work with the whole state of Michigan and with more availability of work hours (evenings and weekends too).
I’m personally specialized in working with professional athletes, oncology patients, veterans, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, OCD, relationships, sexual dysfunction, men’s mental health and more, while I oversee the clinical operations as a whole.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My parents certainly deserve lots of credit for my success; my mom is my biggest fan and has taught me that “if I can dream it, I can do it”, so I’m really thankful and lucky to have learned that so young. My dad was an entrepreneur in healthcare, so I was able to see his charisma and work ethic that paved way to his success, which normalized it and gave me a leg up. My professors at Oakland University and Savannah State University had such a positive for my sense of confidence as a soon to be practitioner and my first employer The Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine was pivotal in my development professionally. Some specific names come to mind; Dr. Scott Smith (professor at OU), Dr. Adrian Anderson (professor at SSU), Dr. Melissa Oleshansky and Dr. Joel Young (clinical supervisors at RCBM).
When I first started my career in my mid-twenties I had a really challenging client who tested me on purpose, they actually admitted to it after I spent my free time diving deep into these very specific and rare symptoms that they presented with and became familiar with how to help– after feeling extremely intimidated it shifted my perspective on doing what it takes to feel confident showing up for my clients.
Pricing:
- we take insurance (BCBS, BCN, Aetna)
- we help with out of network billing/reimbursement
- we offer cash services
- we offer sliding scale prices
Contact Info:
- Website: https://convowellness.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-prosser-457a67105/
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/julian-prosser-rochester-mi/1517099?msockid=076cd349481a6d383daec08b49646cdf
