We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kezia Jackson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kezia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents have always been the most supportive people in my life. They have been there for me from day one, helping me with anything I’ve needed from simple tasks to life-changing decisions. They encouraged me to be self-sufficient, yet they also encouraged me to ask questions when I needed help. I think this provided me with the confidence to take risks, knowing that I would have support along the way to lend a helping hand when I needed it.

I remember in high school I told my parents I was feeling overwhelmed and stressed and I wanted to stay home from school. My mother, without hesitation, said, “well stay home.” She did not question my decision and trusted that I would not have asked for the space and a ‘mental health day’ (without even realizing that was what I was asking for) unless I truly needed it. She also recognized that I would get my assignments done and stay on top of my schoolwork. While this may seem like a trivial experience, it helped me to learn to be aware of my needs, trust my judgment, and understand that my parents would have my back always. Their support and trust helped give me the confidence to open up a business, shortly after graduate school, with no business training based on a vision and dream.

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

Healing Spaces Psychological Services is a group practice made up of caring, compassionate, and trauma-informed providers eager to help clients to meet their goals. We provide comprehensive, quality, and inclusive psychological assessment, therapy, and training to members of the St. Louis, Missouri community, particularly to those in minoritized populations. I founded Healing Spaces in 2018 after working in community mental health services for years. I was inspired to start the practice after feeling exhausted by a system that does not always provide equitable services and treatment to people of color, particularly the Black children I was working with each day, as well as a system that underfunds clinicians and therapists of color. After working in the business part-time for a few years, I quit my full-time job and have been devoting my time and resources to the practice full-time since December 2019. As a clinical psychologist, I have the knowledge and expertise of providing a vast array of psychological services. As a Black woman with mental illness, I also share lived experiences.

At Healing Spaces we strive to support and uplift clients in their journey to improve their mental and emotional well-being by creating a safe, therapeutic, healing space. Ultimately, we seek to heal individuals and empower them to prioritize their mental health. I am so proud of our staff, who are mostly Black women and/or people who identify with a minoritized identity. Our clinicians strive to practice what we preach, meaning we strive to prioritize self-care and our own mental and emotional wellness. We work to prevent burnout by holding smaller caseloads, allowing us to attend to our client’s individual needs and maintain a positive good work-life balance; we aim to be in the best shape to serve our clients recognizing that we cannot help others without feeling well ourselves.

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

The most effective strategy for growing your clientele is being genuinely ourselves. The more that we can connect with people (clients and other providers) on an emotional and genuine level, the more our business seems to grow.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I have been an employee enough times to recognize what I appreciate and what I do not appreciate in a supervisor. For me, it is all about communication, respect, and gratitude. A supervisor that is willing to actively listen to suggestions and concerns will gain the trust of team members more than those who just push their own agenda on others. Maintaining morale around a team can be done by giving praise and recognition when it is deserved, and by being authentic and forthcoming with employees when improvement is warranted.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.healingspacesstl.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingspacesstl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healingspacesstl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keziajackson/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drkeziajackson/