Show Notes

In this episode, Patrick Casale talks with Azizi Marshall, an award-winning entrepreneur, psychotherapist, and media trainer who recently pivoted from running a group practice to founding a cutting-edge video and podcast recording studio, about empowering professionals to communicate with confidence and clarity, as well as what opportunities might open up as a result.

Here are 3 key takeaways:

1. Embracing Career Pivots: Sometimes your true calling means letting go of what no longer serves you—even if it’s been a big part of your identity. Azizi’s decision to close her group practice wasn’t easy, but it created space for new opportunities and greater impact.
2. The Power of Rehearsal and Authenticity: Public speaking is vulnerable, even for seasoned professionals. Practicing, role-playing difficult scenarios, and accepting your nerves can make all the difference. Show up authentically—people relate to real over perfect.
3. Your Skills Go Beyond the Therapy Room: As therapists and leaders, your expertise is invaluable outside of traditional settings. Bringing mental health knowledge to workplaces or creative projects can lead to broader impact—for individuals, organizations, and the community.

More about Azizi:

Azizi Marshall is a licensed psychotherapist, media trainer, and award-winning entrepreneur whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, NBC, ABC, FOX, and Success Magazine. She is the Founder of the Center for Creative Arts Therapy and Content Studio Lab, and she has been recognized as a 2x Titan 100 honoree for her leadership and innovation.

With a unique background as a professional actor and director, Azizi blends psychology, creativity, and performance to help leaders, executives, and therapists alike build resilience, communicate with impact, and create safe, thriving workspaces. She is also an international keynote speaker and author, known for transforming how professionals show up in high-stakes moments with confidence and clarity.

• LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube: @azizimarshall
• Intensive Training: azizimarshall.com/executive-media-intensive

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Transcript

PATRICK CASALE: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the All Things Private Practice podcast, joined today by Azizi Marshall, who is a licensed psychotherapist, media trainer, and award-winning entrepreneur whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, NBC, ABC, FOX, and Success magazine. 

She is the founder of the Center for Creative Arts Therapy and the Content Studio Lab. And she has been recognized as a two-time Titan 100 honoree for her leadership and innovation. That's an impressive start to this. With a unique background as a professional actor and director, Azizi blends psychology, creativity, and performance to help leaders, executives, and therapists alike, build resilience, communicate with impact, and create safe, thriving workspaces. She is also an international keynote speaker and author known for transforming how professionals show up in high stakes moments with confidence and clarity. 

Welcome back to the show. And reading your bio is impressive. You've done a lot of incredible things.

AZIZI MARSHALL: Thank you. It's so good to be back, too. Thank you for inviting me. 

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, of course, it's been a while. And the last time you were on here, you were talking about, like, painting rocks and getting therapy referrals, because you left them all over your city and ending up on the news for it. So, a lot has obviously changed since the last time you were here.

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yes, yes, absolutely. Oh my gosh. That takes me back. That was a lot, a lot of work, more than I had expected. But the payoff was definitely huge on that one.

PATRICK CASALE: It inspired me, if I'm being honest, I remember leaving that conversation like, “Wow, I really need to get more creative about how we market for referrals.” 

So, we've been talking a lot on this podcast recently, myself included, about pivoting in our careers, of like, figuring out our next creative venture, where we are putting our energy and how we are shifting gears. And you have a big one. You've taken on a big project. And I think I'd love to highlight that and talk a little bit about why and what that's been like for you. So, can you share a little bit about what you've created and what that looks like right now?

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yeah. And it seems so random, but when people know a little bit more about me, they're like, “Oh, that makes total sense.” 

So, we transitioned into a video and podcast recording studio, because a lot of the clients I was working with needed a place to come and practice those skills. And also, I was recording in my basement, which it's okay, but when you have children, and picking up the toys, and then, setting the lights, and you have to tear everything down before they get home, it was really frustrating. 

So, to build a space now where people can come, photographers have been using the space, coaches who have their own online training programs, or want to do a LinkedIn live. They're all coming to the studio now to have that peace, and calm, and professional setting for the work that they're doing. And it has been so wonderful to see these businesses grow because of using this new space.

PATRICK CASALE: That's really cool. And I think having a collaborative, communal space to create in, and the support, and the coaching that you also offer in terms of how to speak, I think, like you said, like a badass. And so many of us maybe have wanted to step into speaking as a form of income or a new career path. Can you share a little bit about what that's like for you? And what that is like in terms of, like, how you're supporting the people who are coming in and want that type of accountability?

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yeah, when I first started speaking as myself, I remember a class, it was a speech class, and I had to talk about different ways to do a sit-up or something like that. And I remember my voice was shaking so bad. And it surprised me, because I was a professional actor. I've been a professional actor since I was 16 years old. It was the fact that I was standing up there in front of my classmates as myself that’s when I was like, “Oh, what is this? Why is my voice shaking? Why is my neck totally red?” This is nothing I had ever experienced. 

And I realized that when I was standing just vulnerably as myself, that's when I started to have all these judgments and things that were happening in the moment. 

So, learning from my own experience of how to transition that, how to stand in my own power as who I was, not as a character, but then taking a lot of the things I had learned as an actor, and connecting that, and being able to then spread that love and that knowledge to other people, that has been so helpful in the work that I do now. 

And so, that transition into speaking as myself, and being really nervous, and using all those tools that I learned as an actor. But then, also, after getting my degree in community counseling, to talk about the psychological effects that happen, too, when you're speaking, the performance anxiety, working with a lot of artists when I first started working as a therapist, as well. Just, you know, they can play the cello, know one's business in rehearsal, but then when it comes time for the performance, the nerves, the fingers start shaking. That affects how the instrument sounds. So, all of those things come into play with just working with my clients, in general.

PATRICK CASALE: I love that. And you know your experience as a professional actor or an actress has to be such an interesting dynamic in how you show up, not only as a coach, a speaker, and a trainer, but as a therapist and a human. Because I know my wife, who's not a professional actress, but has done quite a lot of acting in like local theater. When I first started making content, she'd be like, “Do this.” Or, “Sit like this.” Or, “Say it like this.” 

And me as, like, an autistic ADHD human with very flat affect a lot of the time, like, “I can't do the things that you're asking me to do. I can't just naturally do it.” That's gotten easier over time, and you know? But even with that being said, I've done a lot of international speaking. I did a TEDx. I've done a lot of speaking, in general. I still find myself nervous and shaky for the first couple of minutes. And for me, what is always helpful is telling some self-deprecating jokes about myself and getting the audience to laugh. And once they laugh, I'm like, “Okay, I know what I'm doing.”

So, you mentioned before we started that I have this thing on my wall. It's a Ted Lasso quote that says, “Don't you dare settle for fine.” From Roy Kent. I'm curious, did you watch the show? 

AZIZI MARSHALL: Oh, I love the show. 

PATRICK CASALE: When you're describing your process, I'm thinking of Rebecca standing in the mirror and, like, accessing her power, where she starts really low, and gets really, really big, and like, steps into her true, authentic self. And I love that scene, especially with the mirror, with her little kid image in the background, too. 

So, does any of that stuff come into play when you're, like, tapping into your acting roots, about stepping into power, and like, how do you get your clients more and more comfortable on stage?

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yeah, it definitely connects to… Any time that you have stood on stage, or you've spoken in front of the class and somebody laughed, or they snickered, or they rolled their eyes, and I'm just even thinking of my own children right now in school, and the experiences they've had, and the nerves that they get, it stays with us. 

And so, if we're not aware of that, if we're not reconnecting with that, if we're not basically going back and saying it's okay, come with me, and let's stand in our power together. Like, all of those pieces are so important, to bring all the parts that felt like they were being judged, and to let them know that they're okay. 

And there's many different steps depending on the individual that we would take to make them feel more confident in standing in front of somebody else and like little micro verse. And especially, being a drama therapist, too, we do a lot of acting things out before the event even happens. So, they practice all these things before standing on the actual stage.

PATRICK CASALE:  I love that.

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: Just being able to rehearse that, and act it out, and get comfortable with the uncomfortable, because even when you're acting it out or you're practicing, you are experiencing a lot of those jitters. Like, when I did my TEDx, I practiced forever, because I'm not the type of speaker who scripts things, and doing something off of a script felt so unnatural to me. 

I remember I was just like killing time in this Airbnb in Colorado Springs, and it was winter time this year, and it's dark and it's cold out, and I'm like doing this speech ad nauseum. And my Airbnb hosts were also weirdly therapists. So, we got lunch together one day. And they were like, “Will you come and practice your TEDx on us in our living room?” That's pretty low stakes, you know? Like, I'm like, “Yeah, okay, I can do that.”

I was so nervous, like, even in that space, but it was unbelievably helpful, because it helped me get into that rhythm of like, “Okay, I'm going to feel really anxious in this moment when I'm talking about this specific thing. Ooh, that is really uncomfortable.” So, it was really, really helpful to have that rehearsal time, and certainly not something that I'm used to.

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yeah, we actually have been using that a lot with the executives that we work with, because they have to speak to the media about something catastrophic that happened in their organization, or they have to address all of their team members and say, “Hey, this is how we're moving forward after this big event.”

PATRICK CASALE: Sure.

AZIZI MARSHALL: And we practice the heckling, the questions that are going to make them feel highly uncomfortable.

PATRICK CASALE: Sure. 

AZIZI MARSHALL: And they can just kind of sit in that. And they're just like, “Oh, I knew you were going to ask that.” So, they can get out those automatic responses that they would have, but then have it come back as a more professional response when they have those moments actually happen. 

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, that's so great, because I think that just allows you to get a little more comfortable and build in those neural pathways too, of like, “Ooh, I need to change how my brain is processing information and reacting.”

And it helps your nervous system regulate, too. And that's a big part of this, because I know a lot of you listening want to get into speaking, and you get nervous speaking, maybe it's virtual, maybe it is in person, maybe it's like pretty low stakes. But the reality is, I think when we're speaking and we're standing up there, all of that self-doubt, that perfectionism, that impostor syndrome comes over us, of like, “Do I even know what I'm talking about?”

And that can really keep us frozen, and keep us stuck, and prevent us from pursuing some of the things that we'd like to be doing. So, it sounds like a lot of what you're helping with is navigating through that process and just making people feel more comfortable and embracing who they are.

AZIZI MARSHALL: Absolutely. And especially just us in the mental health field, I feel like when we're talking about what we're so passionate about, and what we went to school for, and studied, and live and breathe, that we think everybody knows it, too. And there have been so many times where I've done just a basic de-escalating angry customers workshop. And they will come up and say, “Oh my gosh, I never knew that you had to do this.” Or, “That breath was really helpful.” And these are things that we use all day, every day. We talk about all day, every day with our clients. But it's not new news to them.

PATRICK CASALE: Right, yeah, exactly. And I think we forget that when we surround ourselves with people with similar training or backgrounds, that not everybody has that access to those skill sets, or to that information, or knowledge. And I think that's really important to notate. 

So, I want to talk about pivoting. You own a group practice. Is that correct? Or is that-

AZIZI MARSHALL: The group practice has been closed.

PATRICK CASALE:  The group practice is closed. Okay. So, you have pivoted away from that. Are you still doing therapy at all?

AZIZI MARSHALL: I'm doing therapy, but in workplaces, still. So, that part of my business is still very much active.

PATRICK CASALE: Got it. What's that been like to kind of make a big shift and pivot in this stage of career?

AZIZI MARSHALL: A breath of fresh air.

PATRICK CASALE: Sure, I get that. 

AZIZI MARSHALL: You know, and I'm very mindful of people who are in the thick of running group practices. It is not for the week and running your own company, just in and of itself, and then adding on the nuances of staffing, and training, and turnover, and insurance, the challenges are robust. 

And so, I came to a point where, after looking at, again, it's a business. So, I'm looking at my PNLs. I'm having my husband looking at it. I'm having business associates looking at it. My own coaches, my own mentors, and all of them were saying, “You need to close. Here's what you keep open, because this is actually generating revenue. This is losing you money every single day.”

PATRICK CASALE: Sure.

AZIZI MARSHALL: And that was the hardest thing to see, and realize, and had to make a shift, just because I couldn't keep using all of these other businesses that were thriving to keep the other one alive. 

PATRICK CASALE: Absolutely, I can really relate to that. And then, there's grief in that. There can be shame in that. There can be this reckoning with, like, sense of self and competency and capability of like, “Do I just not know how to do this thing, or did I fail at this?” It's just a hard thing to keep a group practice afloat that's profitable if you don't want to take advantage of your staff. It's a hard dynamic. If you prioritize people over profit, it's really a challenge. 

And so, that's fascinating. So, coming to terms with that and then closing that to pursue these other goals and ideas, breath of fresh air, though. It sounds like liberation. 

AZIZI MARSHALL: Oh, yes.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, yes. So, I imagine your day-to-day looks very different now than when you're like in the thick of running a group practice and you have to be bogged down with the like behind the scenes stuff that a lot of people don't see.

AZIZI MARSHALL: In the process of making that shift, it was very interesting how the universe just opened wide up for me, where there were many things that I didn't have time to pursue because I was bogged down in the day-to-day of running the practice, and keeping it afloat, and fighting with insurance, all those pieces. 

And when I let that part go and was closing everything down, I started getting emails, and messages, and all these different things where I would never have had the time to even respond to them, let alone even notice they were coming in. And it was like the universe saying thank you for making this decision and for moving forward, because now we can offer you these other things. And it sounds very woo-woo and hokey. But I truly believe that once you find that center, that true north of where you need to be going, and you realize that the other stuff is holding you back, that the world will show you this was the choice to make.

PATRICK CASALE: Absolutely.

AZIZI MARSHALL: It's the belief that that's going to happen is the heart of that.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, it's scary to let go of something, and it's scary to pivot, and evolve, and change, and lean into something that feels like a risk or new. And I think it's important to everyone listening, like, to remind you that if you're in that space, if you're thinking about that, you've probably encountered these emotions and these feelings before. 

Like, for me, leaving my secure community mental health job back in 2017 was horrifying to start a private practice. It was horrifying to start a group practice when I didn't know what I was not doing or doing well. It was horrifying to start a podcast, to launch retreats, coaching programs. Like, all the things. 

And every time I encounter that emotion, I have to sit with it and just say, like, “Okay, what is lighting me up in these moments? What am I feeling energetically pulled to and trying to pay way more attention to that?” Because I know I can do a lot of things well, but if I don't enjoy them, and they're not creating passion or excitement, I feel really bogged down. It feels like the walls are closing in and that things are really heavy. And that's definitely not where I do my best work.

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yeah, it prevents you from pursuing the passions that are actually going to make the biggest waves, I like to say, where, when you're bogged down, you're dog pedaling. You're trying to just stay afloat. But when you have this freedom, and you know that what you're doing is connected with your true north, with your passion, with what's in alignment to you, then you're swimming, you're making these waves, and everybody's feeling them, and the world around you starts to shift, even. The people who are in my life now are, I would always say, much more open to other possibilities, just because of who now I'm connecting with and their stories. 

And I remember shifting from one-to-one therapy to then into the workplaces, and getting a lot of pushback from my colleagues. Like, “Oh, you can't do that. Oh, what are you doing?” I was like, “No, because insurance is preventing me from giving the best treatment to my clients, I'm going to take my treatment to them where they are, so that complete roadblock is gone.”

And so, that was a huge tidal wave. So, instead of just working with one person per hour, I'm now working with entire companies and making a huge shift. So, that was much more in alignment into the work that I wanted to do personally.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, that's an enormous amount of impact. And then, that ripple effect into the community, and how those people are now going to be in a better situation in their workplace, and that's going to create a healthier environment. It makes such a change. 

And I think it's hard sometimes for therapists, especially who don't have a lot of business knowledge or expertise, to say, like, what else can I do outside of the one-on-one therapy space? And I just want to highlight that, like, so much, your skills are so valuable, and your training is so valuable, and it's probably more so needed now, more than it ever has been, because the state of the world is pretty rough, and people are struggling. And I think it's important to think about all of the ways that you can create those waves, and that impact, and have that touch point with a larger audience, as well.

AZIZI MARSHALL: And that's the thing. The ones that I've been able to connect with are not ones that you would see outwardly struggling, especially a lot of my clients are executives, high-level, high-profile clients. And you don't see them ever posting about the divorce they're going through, the mental health issues that their children are experiencing, and the caregiving. Like, they don't see any of that. 

And I think that's been another struggle with what the world is going through, is everybody sees this perfect image of people. They don't see even what's underneath, even just the first layer, let alone what's truly going on underneath.

PATRICK CASALE: 100%. Yeah, couldn't say it better myself. They don't see the burnout that people are going through, and all of the impact that has mental health-wise, substance use-wise, on relationships, etc. So, very well said. 

For those who are listening, if they want to work with you, if they want to come to your studio, if they want to do coaching, like, how do you approach that? How do they find you? Like, what's that look like?

AZIZI MARSHALL: Yeah, head to my website, azizimarshall.com. And you will find all the information. There's a nice little robust Contact page, so we can set up a time to connect and figure out how we can best work together.

PATRICK CASALE: I love that. Easy enough. That'll be in the show notes for everyone listening as well, so that you have access to everything Azizi mentioned and her new venture. Congratulations on all the growth and success. And I wish you nothing but the best. I'm definitely , like, rooting for you and cheering you on every time I see your posts on social media. 

AZIZI MARSHALL: Thank you so much, Patrick. I appreciate that.

PATRICK CASALE: You're so welcome. And to everyone listening to the All Things Private Practice podcast, new episodes are out on Saturdays on all major platforms and YouTube. Like, download, subscribe, share. Doubt yourself, do it anyway. See you next week.