We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Althea Dent, MA, LPC. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Althea below.

Althea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my mental health practice is Insights & Inspiration, LLC and my tagline is encourage, empower, equip. When I came up with the name, I thought about what I most like to do with my clients. I love to share insights or provide psychoeducation and watch clients apply the knowledge and skills in ways that bring value to their lives. I enjoy seeing clients gain insight into their behaviors, thoughts and feelings in a way that deepens their sense of self and allows them to move forward in life. I also like to inspire my clients who may have lost sight of hope, meaning or purpose. I love to see my clients regain creative inspiration and energy to meet challenges and engage in new ways in their lives.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

One of the things that has been consistent throughout my life is that I love people. I love being with people, talking to people and most of all I love learning about how and why people function and behave in life. I majored in Behavioral Science as an undergrad at the University of Chicago, and later in life chose to get a Masters in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. From there, I began my journey of walking with people through the sorrows, challenges, and stalled moments of their lives.

I see each person as a blend of the commonalities of life and their unique, experiences, backgrounds and personality. I meet clients where they are and help them manage the mental health challenges people commonly face and learn to cope with, and at other times overcome them. The client and I examine their presenting issues within the context of the complexity of the human body, of which the mind is a part, and the human experience. I believe the whole of a person is much greater than the sum of their parts. I think it’s important to address the presenting issue in light of the entire person.

I believe the success of therapy is largely contingent on the quality of the therapeutic relationship. I seek to create an atmosphere that is welcoming and comfortable where people can discuss and explore what is going on inside and around them without judgment. It’s a space where we can think freely, feel freely, come to new conclusions and ideas and gain positive outlook on ourselves, and our lives.

I usually describe myself as an active therapist, as I am actively engaged in the therapeutic process with the client. I once had a client refer to me as “boots on the ground“. I think that’s a great description of how I like to work. Boots on the ground is a description of how practical and engaged I am. I tend to think of myself as a liberator. I like to liberate people from things that weigh them down, confuse them, and keep them stuck. My desire is for my clients to experience a more complete, full, healthy life.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

What I love most about this book is that is intensely practical and spends more time on what works instead of defining the problem. The primary message of the book is there are few things that really matter. More is generated by prioritizing what is truly important and meaningful in one’s life and focusing there.

In today’s society, there are so many choices available to us from different types of cereal to viewing options on streaming platforms. For many of us, the plethora of options can sometimes make it difficult to filter them. Often, we can develop a mindset that having more is better because it gives us variety or makes us seem complex. But when I and others experience signs of burnout or ineffectiveness, we can almost always trace it to having too many priorities or straddling our approaches. What drew me to this book is it addresses the topic of essentialism not as a quick fix but as a lifestyle which complements my holistic view.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I first began my counseling career in a group practice. When you are new therapist in a group practice, the main objective is to fill your schedule, which can cast a wide net. I no longer focus on filling the schedule, but turn toward what’s the most important to me, which is assessing if my strengths and skills are a good fit for what the potential client wants and needs.

Learning to prioritize along with my group practice experience has enabled me to become proficient at dealing with a diverse client base. I am most proud that my client demographics includes a mix of ethnicities and cultures and backgrounds.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.insightsninspiration.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightsninspiration/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insightsninspiration/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/altheadent

Image Credits
Dana Mabry and William Drew Photography