Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Khara Croswaite Brindle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Khara, thanks for joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

Christina Murphy started out as my boss and became my colleague and co-founder years later. I was hired by her at a time when I felt most vulnerable in my career because of a horrible supervision experience that left me questioning my abilities. Christina was the first person in mental health work to ask what I wanted or needed in a supervisor, which opened the door to a conversation about what had happened and what I needed now. She showed me what quality supervision could look and feel like, and we came together years later to capture that essence in our Empowerment Model of Clinical Supervision. Together we started a business, published our first book, and continue to provide quality trainings to clinical supervisors all over the US!

Khara, 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?

I am a mental health therapist, Financial Therapist, published author and professor. My mission is to provide quality content and services to fellow mental health professionals that spark curiosity and possibilities in alignment with professional growth and work-life balance. I haven’t always had a focus on my colleagues, but it’s been an amazing and rewarding experience to help the helpers! I’m proud to serve folks through online courses and live trainings in suicide assessment and safety planning, Medicaid Mastery in private practice, and clinical supervision, in addition to providing Financial Therapy and professional consultation on secondary income streams like course creation, writing a book, and becoming a professional trainer. I like to think that I focus on pain points for mental health therapists and attempt to improve on things, whether it’s confidence with suicide assessment, competence accepting Medicaid in practice, connection through courses, or burnout prevention through my Amazon #1 best-seller Perfectioneur: From Workaholic to Well-Balanced. As a serial entrepreneur, I find a lot of joy in new projects and am working on my seventh book for clinicians!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have to admit that I champion pivots for myself and others! One significant pivot was moving from community mental health to private practice in 2016. Then I pivoted to a group practice model later that year. In 2017 I began trainings in suicide assessment and safety planning for mental health professionals, and in 2019 I pivoted towards a focus on clinical supervision and consultation. My most significant pivot to date occurred in early 2021, which was discovering Financial Therapy. I happened to be interviewing a colleague about it and upon learning what Financial Therapy could do, immediately felt inspired as to how it could support the work I was doing with mental health professionals. Needless to say, I pitched the idea to be a contractor and mentee of this individual, and we started later that month. Currently, I’m pivoting more fully into serving mental health therapists and colleagues through consultation, courses, trainings, and Financial Therapy, which means letting go of former identities related to client work. It’s a process and has some grief connected to it, but I’m excited to see where this decision takes me in the next part of my career.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Because I serve mental health therapists, putting out quality content was a must in building trust and presence in my community. This started as free trainings, video content and free downloads, followed by affordable and relevant trainings that showed up consistently each year. I continue to listen to my colleagues about the pain points they are experiencing with the hope of creating something that will either make things easier for them, streamline their process as business owners, improve productivity, support creativity, or prevent burnout.    

Contact Info:

• Website: https://croswaitecounselingpllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kharacroswaite/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/croswaitecounselingpllc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kharacroswaite/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQgj11beay2JONTl1qVg5w

Image Credits
Jessica Christie Photography Kelly Weaver Photography TEDxCherryCreekWomen