Therapist and Okay Humans Co-Founder Christy Desai Believes 'We All Get to Be Who We Want to Be.'
Growing up, Christy Desai, LFMT, remembers watching her uncle run his beloved car repair shop in Kansas City. "I had good feelings," she said about her uncle's business, which he held for four decades, and way of life. "I loved knowing that [he] contributed to the community."
Those seemingly tiny threads often weave the most significant quilts later in life. Christy is a therapist and business owner today and—undeniably—contributing to her community. She co-founded Okay Humans, a progressive talk therapy experience that makes tending to our mental wellness more accessible with easy booking and gentler price points. "I started Okay Humans to normalize seeking support, to rethink the outdated therapy model, and to open the conversation about getting to okay," she says on her company site.
Christy’s innovative business is only a fraction of what's fascinating about her path, which she reveals below. A passionate advocate of therapy because of how it's helped her, Christy believes for a better present and future, we must work to break down the walls that interfere with our relationships, both with ourselves and each other. "We are interdependent," she says. That's how we're designed."
Chatting with Christy Desai
What pulled you into this entrepreneurial sort of path?
I owned a franchise concept out of New York, and that was my first go-round with starting a business, hiring and training the staff, and working with customers. But I don't necessarily think of myself as an entrepreneur. I got married really young and had kids really young. I wanted something for myself. I didn't have the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder or to get promotion after promotion. But I also was conflicted. I didn't fully want to immerse myself in the corporate world, so I had to carve out my own career path.
When I picked the [franchise] concept, which I experienced first as a consumer in New York City, I thought it would be a great thing for the community. That was my first lived experience of what it's like to run a business. When I exited with the intention of going back to grad school, I had been in therapy, and my life was changing in so many ways. I wanted to help people in the same ways [therapy did]. So, I exited the business, got my master's in clinical psychology, and became a licensed marriage and family therapist. I had no intentions of getting into business. Because I'd been there, done that. I knew how hard it was to operate and own a business. So, in many ways, I unexpectedly ended up here. It really was a passion that I couldn't turn off—because I really felt like there was a need. I felt that it had to be easier for people to get help.
It's amazing that you're doing this work, especially at a time when it's in the zeitgeist to be more aware of our emotions and mental health. Of course, you couldn't have planned such a thing launching a business in the midst of a pandemic. How have you been seeing people realize that they need to be investing in their mental well-being?
We were passionate about this from day one, way before the pandemic. There were some indications that there was some disruption and innovation in the space. But the pandemic accelerated all that. Not only did it accelerate the innovation and room for more players and growth, but it also really changed the conversation and helped to normalize our emotional wellness, seeking therapy, the humaneness of us all, and the connectedness of us all. We are in relation to one another. We need one another. And it's hard to get better without looking at and examining all those relationships. The pandemic brought up a lot for a lot of people in so many different ways, including the larger looming question of life and death and purpose and whether I am cultivating the life that I want. Also, loss and privilege, and even better health care and what that means for you.
There was a great reckoning and just this call to action that every individual got to take notice of their mental health and to step up to the plate, whatever their plate looked like. We wanted to be an option for people who wanted to explore all those things.
What does Okay Humans provide that you felt was missing?
One thing was normalizing therapy, making it visible, and making it easier for people to get to therapy. We really did want to demystify and destigmatize—and by demystify, we wanted to pull back a curtain and say, 'Hey, this is what therapy is like, and therapy is for anyone and everyone, and it can help you, and it can change lives, and it can help your family, and it can help communities. Even before the pandemic, we always wanted to be in a retail area. We wanted to be visible because we thought being visible could help to change the conversation.
Another thing is with our booking process. We have an app and a website where you can go and find your therapist. So often, just the barriers of entry are enough to make anyone want to give up because they have to search high and low for therapists. Then, they have to reach out to those therapists and see if your schedules match and if they can take you on. And most therapists in Los Angeles don't take insurance. So we wanted to remove those barriers and make it easier for someone if they wanted to get to therapy—you go on our website where you can watch a video of a therapist, see their schedule, and book with them. It takes out all that hassle of how do I get started? Where do I go?
It's amazing when we can look at our own lives and start to see through-line. Oftentimes, the road can feel way too windy.
That was my experience. I very much was like, Oh my gosh, this road is so windy, and like so windy, I feel sick, like what is going on? And what's the point? And so it is nice to have now the perspective that this all actually did come together. And it does make sense, and everything builds upon something. And it is important to just stick with it and write it out.
What did you liberate as you went on this journey to open Okay Humans?
I liberated the little girl who I didn't think would ever get to where I am. It really does feel like a liberation. We are not where we start. We are not our parents' bad mistakes. We get to become who we want to be. And entrepreneurship has liberated me in that way.
Interview originally conducted by Nada Jones for the Liberty Road podcast, which we edited and condensed for clarity. Catch the full conversation here.