We were lucky to catch up with Keisha Barnes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Keisha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

It was time for my practicum and internship and my graduate program, and I was completely lost. After multiple conversations with seemingly random people, the same lady and organizations name kept coming up. I reached out to her once with no response. In my mind, that meant that was not the place for me. A few months later, the Holy Spirit led me to reach out again, despite my resistance. My second pursuit resulted in she and I meeting for lunch. We immediately clicked and she decided to take a chance on me as her first Intern. Since then, her agency has grown from from just her to a full time staff of over 10. I returned as a full time counselor for 6.5 years and now serve on the board. Restoration Place Counseling will forever be a part of the foundation that has made me an excellent therapist.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I currently own a private practice, I do corporate and church trainings around the topics of mental health and balance, while also being a published author. My passion is seeing others understand their value and worth resulting in them living lives that are healthy and whole. I am able to help individuals do that in both group and one on one settings.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Shortly after the passing of my father, I was presented with the opportunity to become part business owner in an agency. After multiple conversations between my husband and I and the Lord I fell into business ownership not having a clue about what I was doing. Being thrown into an area where I lacked expertise exposed insecurities, that I was not aware of. Where I had for years, focused on remaining balanced in my work, and home life I found myself conforming to typical western standards of imbalance. After only three years I was unrecognizable to myself into others. I had lost all confidence, while also being depleted, mentally, and emotionally. That led to an abrupt departure from business to focus on rediscovering, who I once was.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for building, my clientele has been word-of-mouth. After my first year, as a clinician, I had built a reputation of being challenging yet loving, knowledgeable yet humble, strict with boundaries while being transparent in self-disclosure. My clients loved me and we healing in remarkable ways leading them to share my information with their circles of family and friends. For 10 yrs I have not struggled to remain as busy as I want to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.keishabarnes.com
• Instagram: @kbbalancedlifestrategist
• Facebook: Keisha Barnes: Balanced Life Strategist
• Linkedin: Lakeisha Shaw Barnes