We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Tammie McCurry, LMFT a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dr. Tammie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I’ve always had a passion for and interest in helping others from a mental and psychological standpoint. The idea for Confidential Consultants stemmed from my first book, which started as a research paper in school. When I was earning my Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling, my research thesis focused on what the bible says about marriage. That paper turned into my first book entitled “Building the Unbreakable Bond.” I saw so many broken marriages in my friendship circles and groups and wanted to help families get back to what the bible says about marriage. This grew my desire to go into marriage and family therapy full time and sparked the birth of Confidential Consultants.

My purpose behind this business has always been to give people a consultant they could be confident in. My business started as a safe space for leaders, influencers, and those in senior positions to work on themselves, their marriages and family issues without being judged. I also saw that minority women, especially those in leadership positions, were the most impacted by trying to balance marriage, family, and business. I later expanded to include quality improvement for businesses, employees, and individuals.

What excited me the most about launching my business full time was the opportunity to show people, especially minority women, the benefit of seeking therapy and other personal and professional quality improvement services, since these types of services are often stigmatized in black and brown communities. I see therapy as no different than maintenance on your car – it’s maintenance for yourself and your relationship.

As a Christian counselor, I also often see that faith is a big part of who we are in the black community, and I have the liberty to be me with my clients. Clients can relate to me and see themselves in me, so the ones who would have been least likely to come to therapy (because of stigmas or previous misconceptions about faith and mental health support) are coming now. I get to help a lot of women see they can have the life that they want but don’t have to be superwoman all of the time.

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

I have worked in the mental health profession for more than two decades in both the public and private sector and have authored several books focused on marriage and family dynamics. I obtained my Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and my Doctorate of Ministry in Christian Counseling from Jacksonville Theological Seminary. I am licensed by the Alabama Board of Examiners as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). I am also certified by the National Christian Counseling Association as a Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counselor-Advanced. Outside of my professional work, I serve as the CEO and Founder of a Christian Sorority – Tau Rho Mu Christian Sorority, Incorporated – where we help women become the Proverbs 31 woman through education, empowerment, and mentorship. I am also the Senior Pastor of Unity Worship Center alongside my husband, Elder Michael McCurry.

My business, Confidential Consultants, is a quality improvement firm designed to provide businesses and individuals with creative solutions for quality improvement. Our business services include employee and leadership training and development as well as strategic project management and organizational auditing for behavioral health programs. Our individual services include marriage and family therapy, pastoral counseling, executive leadership coaching, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). I am also available for speaking engagements.

On the business service side, we strive to help small businesses, corporations, churches, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations improve their quality of service and productivity both internally for their employees and externally for their clients and stakeholders. On the individual service side, we strive to help individuals navigate the “ships” of life – Ownership (self), Relationship (marriage or partnership), Kinship (family), Leadership (professional development), Friendship (platonic dynamics), and Stewardship (Finances).

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I always advise leaders to treat their staff as if they are their clients. That means making sure your employees are taken care of and that they feel like they matter. Encourage work/life balance by making sure your employees are utilizing their PTO and sick leave, giving them access to Employee Assistance Programs, and ensuring they have the support they need to grow and succeed within the organization. If your organization does not have an EAP, Confidential Consultants would love to partner with you!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy I’ve seen for growing clientele for Confidential Consultants is being a results-oriented practice. Most, if not all, of our clientele come by word of mouth from other clients who have utilized our services. We pride ourselves on exceeding client expectations and providing consistent positive results and improvement for our clients. In turn, they recommend our organization to others in their networks. Our secondary strategy for growing clientele is marketing through social media and other nontraditional methods, such as branded apparel.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.confidentialconsultants.org
• Facebook: https://linkedin.com/company/confidential-consultants-llc/
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/confidential-consultants-llc/