TikTok Content Creator Advanced Bitches Combines Therapy Background With Empowerment

Entrepreneur: Elizabeth Kupferman

Biz: Advanced Bitches

Tilt: Mental health support can thrive online if you enter authentically

Channels: TikTok (259.9K), YouTube (4.K), Instagram (37.5K)

Rev Streams: TikTok, Instagram, workshops, book, one-on-one clients

Our Favorite Actionable Advice: 

• Pick your most authentic platform: Elizabeth found TikTok a magical choice for her no-BS empowerment messages.
• Bring your experiences to the story: Though she’s a professional, Elizabeth doesn’t hesitate to share her personal experiences to connect with her audience.
• Don’t freeze: Instead of planning every content creation or business step, just start doing it.

The Story

Elizabeth Kupferman is a licensed therapist along with being a TikTok content creator, but she doesn’t offer therapy services through her screen. She’s found wild success on the platform, sharing empowerment tips for women, encouraging them to be their authentic selves. Her posts dive deep into trauma, grief, interacting with manipulative people, and more – much of what you may discuss in a clinical setting. Elizabeth’s approach takes healing tips and applies them in a less rigid way. 

“Even though I’m a licensed therapist, this is not therapy, nor is it intended to be therapy, and it’s for sure not a replacement for therapy. I would never want to rob you of that life-transforming experience,” she writes in the disclaimer on her YouTube about page.

She calls herself the Advanced Bitch, and her followers are Advanced Bitches. A successful licensed therapist, Elizabeth published a book in 2020, The Irreverent Grief Guide: How to F*cking Survive Months 1-3, for people mourning the loss of a loved one. It skyrocketed to No. 1  in the grief and loss category on Amazon. Her offline success has been substantial, but it’s TikTok she credits with making “magic” in her career. 

“I felt I had more to say and felt compelled to start sharing what I know on social media. I started on Instagram and YouTube, then a magical thing happened – TikTok,” she says.

On TikTok, Elizabeth combines her no-BS attitude with adult language and tips for overcoming both traumatic and just plain frustrating situations. Her videos combine a pinch of humor with a whole lot of confidence presented in the most relatable way. Elizabeth has dealt with her own problems and wants to help women solve their own. And it seems she’s already helping her viewers live stronger, more thoughtful lives. 

A few conversations repeatedly surface on the Advanced Bitches TikTok account. “Ultimately, I think people are longing to talk about mental health in a down-to-earth, more open, and genuine way regardless of the topic,” Elizabeth says. “People are longing for mental health issues to be destigmatized. The Advanced Bitches that follow me are interested in trauma responses (especially the freeze and fawn trauma responses since they are less known) and eating disorders since I am personally familiar with those issues.”

For viewers looking for a more personalized approach, Elizabeth works one-on-one with clients who find her on TikTok or Instagram. She also offers trauma workshops for anyone looking to overcome a difficult past. “The trauma workshops evolved from my social media lessons about complex PTSD. People had a lot of questions not only about the information but my personal healing from it,” she explains. “My business has grown through private clients and workshop attendees reaching out to me from first seeing me on TikTok.”

Most profitable content

In terms of monetizing her content, Elizabeth has found TikTok and Instagram to be the most profitable. TikTok is where she has the largest following, and as many TikTok content creators have figured out, the algorithm caters to exposure. Landing on anyone’s for-you page gives creators an incredible shot at gaining followers who otherwise may not have found their content. 

And the timing is key, too. With the pandemic, people are longing to find stability, be it with an in-person therapist or a positive influence online. “Almost all the therapists I know are full. I think the intersection of availability of online therapy, the stress of the pandemic, and the popularity of mental health TikTok is part of that,” Elizabeth says. 

Despite the obvious gains from TikTok, Elizabeth relates to the platform in a personal way. “It’s so much fun, and my favorite thing to do in life is to laugh. TikTok works how my brain has always worked,” she says. “I have always been lip-syncing, making myself laugh and making little skits before TikTok and will continue to do so after TikTok.”

Advice for content entrepreneurs

Elizabeth’s tips for new content entrepreneurs may come as a surprise: Ditch the planning. “This is really, really important advice that I refused to take most of my life,” she says. “It is THE biggest secret to my creativity and success that I truly wish I had known as truth and trusted: Start before you’re ready. There is magic in it.”

She also speaks to the importance of authenticity: “People are tolerant of imperfection on YouTube if the information and education are on point. On TikTok, there is no tolerance for insincerity, and being real cannot be faked.”

Elizabeth’s advice to her past self may spark some creativity in you, too. “Oh, sweetheart, all the things you are ashamed of will become the things that connect you with your people. And you’re ready now, bitch. Follow your bliss, record imperfectly, and publish that shit.”

About the author

Kelly Wynne

Kelly Wynne is a journalist and creative writer living in Chicago with her pet dachshund. She's an advocate for women's rights, mental health, and chronic illness.