We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tory & Teri Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tory & Teri below.
Tory & Teri, we appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
TnT Backstory points * Met on FB
* Both were tired of dating and wanted a Partner who had a relationship w/ GOD and was ready to settle down
* Both Looooove Music
* He was in MD/She was in Cali
* They were a Blind Date
* He looks like her Uncle who she called out in Prayer prior to meeting him.
* Same last 3 numbers of their last 4 (Soc Security) number In SEQUENCE!!
* Married 30 days after meeting
* Blended Family of 6 w/ 6 Grandchildren
* Wanted to start a Marriage Min. Did that and both went back to school to become National Board Certified Christian Psychologist/Therapist and opened their Private Practice for Marriage, Couples Individuals & Families in 2016.
* Teri has 20 years of Behavioral Health Experience.
* Tory also held a career in Healthcare for over 15 years.
Tory & Teri, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My wife and I are Marriage/Relationship Counselors and the Founders of our Private Practice, I Forever Will (IFW). We have been in the Behavioral Health/Medical field for over 20 years.
We met and shared our purpose then GOD provided a vision. From that moment forward we became intentional!! We created a Life plan that would help our Marriage and Family Thrive.
From that moment our ministry was birthed.
The story begins with my Wife and I meeting and marrying within 30 days! We immediately hit the ground running as we both relocated to Texas from the East & West coasts.
Together we formed a Marriage Ministry at our new church home and that is where our Counseling Ministry began to lay a foundation.
We were excited and it grew!! We committed our time and energy toward helping couples love last forever.
Over the last 7 years we worked diligently full-time on saving relationships and marriages along with attending school in the evenings to complete our Education & Certifications. This required intense discipline, determination, perseverance and a lot of prayer and Faith. That ‘RELENTLESS FAITH’ is what catapulted us into the Favour of BIGGER.
God chose us as His “poster children” for Christian Black Relationship/Marriage Therapists.
He Opened doors that led to various media platforms ie. Spotify, iHeart, Apple Music, Feedspot, Radio One, Fox Soul, A-STAR TV, Gospel Stellar Awards, etc.
Together my Lovely Wife and I are Blessed as we guide couples to love and live positively. Hence the name, ‘Love In Black with ToryandTeri’. The ‘Black’ in ‘Love In Black’ is a financial metaphor meaning Positive, you want your love like your Money in the Black.
We are committed to bringing our very best methodology, wisdom and over 40 years and counting of Marriage experience to guiding our couples toward a new mindset of Forgiveness, Faith and a Renewed Perspective of Forevermorre!!
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
This, I believe, is the ‘secret sauce’ of our Success in the field of Marriage/Family Counseling….
Together, my wife and I have over 40 years of Marriage experience along with our own Miraculous Marriage.
Collectively, we have been able to sit down and design a curriculum from a ‘birdseye’ view of things we’ve experienced, studied and triumphed over the years.
Our willingness & humility to Communicate and review the ‘hind sight of 20/20’ has made a huge impact on our ability to have compassion for the men and women in our Counseling sessions.
We have been Favoured with the gift to see couples dilemmas from various angles which gives us a keen perspective of the best approach to take in providing solution driven directives to our clients.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
To keep it Real, I would say it is a combination of our grass-roots approach and genuine love for helping people from day One.
My Wife and I have literally been in these “streets/trenches” Sowing into couples for 7 years straight no exhale!! From our 1st Calling as Marrige Ministry Leaders in the House of Worship to doing Social Media Lives, Zoom meetings, all the way to Coffee Shops, Lounges and Private Party appearances.
Our Purpose soon evolved and was enlarged to higher, larger media platforms such as Radio, Author & TV.
And over all these years our clients, viewers and followers Agree and Declare the same …. y’all are Consistent!! Your Chemistry is Unmatched and Never-changing. You’re just as Genuine in person as you are On Screen. You’re both Organically, Approachable & Authentic. That, right there, is ‘Real Love’!!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://loveinblackwithtoryandteri.com/
http://iforeverwill.com/ - Instagram: @loveinblackwithtoryandteri
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/i4evrwill https://www.facebook.com/LoveInBlack1
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/loveinblackwithtoryandteri
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/i-forever-will-christian-marriage-counseling-cypress-6?osq=Marriage+Counseling
Image Credits
Vinh Luong Photographer
Julien Photography