Therapy at NEST

The problem

Erica runs a multi-faceted organization: clinical therapy, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, psychedelic harm reduction events, consulting, and a retreat property. It had outgrown a single Squarespace site. The therapy practice was not findable on Google, had no way to book retreats or sell workshops online, and the digital infrastructure did not reflect the sophistication of the clinical work. A legacy nonprofit (SHINE) was adding operational overhead. The client needed a trusted technical partner who understood both the clinical context and the psychedelic community, not just a web developer.

Approach

I embedded as an ongoing strategic and technical partner, meeting weekly with Erica. Rather than a one-time build, the engagement evolved continuously: starting with team profiles and visual identity, moving through a formal two-site brand split, then a full custom CMS rebuild, then SEO, analytics, CRM, and event infrastructure. Each call surfaced new scope (retreats, workshops, Google Business, interest form routing) and I executed between sessions.

Process

1. 1

   Discovery & Visual Identity (Aug 2025)

   The first working session established the therapy site's content architecture: team profile format (quote, photo, bio), individual clinician URLs, and a decision against search/filter functionality (team size did not warrant it). Logo direction was explored in Canva: a nest-inspired bottom-half-circle with gradient options. The stated priority: therapy site launches before business cards are printed.

2. 2

   SHINE Sunset & Brand Separation (Oct–Nov 2025)

   I managed the digital dissolution of the SHINE nonprofit in parallel with NEST website work: updating the Google listing, migrating HubSpot contacts, setting up email redirects, and reducing the SHINE site to a single resources page. This cleared the path for NEST to operate as the primary brand. A short-term rental restriction on the ranch property (federal land adjacency) was discovered during this period, leading to the adoption of an Esalen-style workshop model for retreat revenue.

3. 3

   Two-Site Architecture Decision (Dec 5, 2025)

   A pivotal call formalized the split: therapyatnest.com would host only therapy and KAP; nestharmreduction.com would carry event services, education, and consulting. Password-protection strategy was decided live: static passwords for Family Picnic Ranch pages, event-specific passwords for individual retreats. This architectural decision shaped all subsequent development work.

4. 4

   Custom CMS Rebuild on GitHub/Cloudflare (Mar 2026)

   I rebuilt the therapy website using Claude Code, hosting it free on GitHub/Cloudflare and eliminating ~$300/year in Squarespace costs. The new site is database-driven with dynamic page generation, a custom admin backend, therapist profiles linked to specialties automatically, a Learn section, and integrated retreat and event ticketing. The rebuild was presented and approved in a single call.

5. 5

   SEO, Analytics & Content Infrastructure (Mar 2026)

   Service-specific landing pages were created for trauma therapy, ketamine-assisted therapy, and couples therapy. Geographic targeting was updated from Los Angeles to serving California, Colorado, and Texas. A Looker dashboard was built connecting Google Analytics and Search Console, with clinician capacity tracking fed from EHR exports. Sixteen blog posts were drafted for the Learn section to support organic client acquisition.

6. 6

   Design Refinement & Clinician Profile Sync (Apr 2026)

   Erica provided direct design feedback: remove serif headers (looks too academic), prefer Marcellus/Poppins/Railway fonts, yellow-orange plus dark teal palette, larger team photos with infinite scroll, and proper service icons replacing emojis. Clinician profiles were synced with Psychology Today data. A therapist ordering system was implemented (Tier 1: CEO through Tier 4: Associates). ADA accessibility (alt text, color contrast, screen reader compatibility) was added.

7. 7

   CMS Handoff & Admin Training (Apr 21, 2026)

   I walked Erica through the GitHub admin backend in a live session. GitHub authentication required multiple attempts (auth glitches documented). The sync content button, save vs. publish workflow, and collections structure (articles, retreats/events, settings) were all demonstrated. Sarah was queued for GitHub access. A Google Doc was created for collaborative copy editing. Placeholder content on workshops and events pages was flagged as urgent after USC students noticed it during a live presentation.

8. 8

   Workshop & Event Registration Launch (May–Jun 2026)

   Training registration went live with 50+ signups and 48 uses of discount code LIBNESTY for the Lightning in a Bottle pipeline. An ethical psychedelic care workshop was built in Squarespace at $39 flat, with a custom registration form (role checkbox, experience slider, CE credits question). Erica chose manual order review over Zapier automation to stay personally engaged with who was registering. Recurring monthly Ethical Trip Sitting office hours were added (second Tuesdays, Aug through Dec). Nav was renamed Events to Groups, interest form routing was fixed, and Google Business verification was initiated.

9. 9

   Ongoing Operations & CRM Rationalization (Jun 2026)

   CRM moved from Folk to Google Sheets when Folk proved too expensive for the whole team and associates needed data access. Therapy groups launched with August cohorts. The engagement continues as a weekly retainer: new clinicians onboarded, service pages refined, and the multi-site NEST brand architecture evolves as clinical and educational offerings grow.

Outcome

Rebuilt therapyatnest.com from a static Squarespace site into a custom, database-driven platform hosted free on GitHub/Cloudflare (saving ~$300/year). Launched service-specific SEO landing pages, a Looker analytics dashboard, a training registration system that captured 50+ signups with 48 discount code uses, and recurring event infrastructure. Supported the formal split of two distinct brands (therapyatnest.com and nestharmreduction.com) and the digital sunset of a third legacy nonprofit (SHINE). Google Business verification initiated Jun 2026.

Stack & services

• • Website design and development
• • Custom CMS build (GitHub/Cloudflare)
• • SEO and content strategy
• • Analytics and reporting infrastructure
• • CRM setup and migration
• • Event and workshop registration systems
• • Ongoing retainer (weekly calls, continuous updates)
• • Digital sunset of legacy nonprofit (SHINE)