Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sweetgrass Counseling & Consultation, LLC. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sweetgrass , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we both worked together for an organization. Like many people during this time, we were laid off and catapulted into deeply examining our career paths. While navigating through our impending career changes, we were saddened at the thought of losing our professional relationship and bond. We spent much of our career development working collaboratively; subsequently, we formed one of the most authentic working relationships with each other. We truly found work soulmates in each other. Our reflection, combined with the soft nudging of others, led us to braid together our paths and form Sweetgrass Counseling and Consultation, LLC. We both not only have a positive impact on each’s other paths but we are also both driven to make a positive impact on our community. We learned many lessons early on and continue to learn lessons today.

Although we are experts in our field of psychology, we quickly learned we were not experts in the field of business. As a newly formed startup, we experienced a lot of uncertainty; we were learning while simultaneously working and just hoping we were making the right decisions. In an attempt to keep our overhead low, we relied on our trusted relationships and connections to help support our financial operations; however, we soon surrendered to the reality that investing in other professional experts was a necessity. We specifically sought professional support from other small businesses that reflected and understood the many hats and tireless hours one faces in starting a small business.

Another major lesson was extending grace and patience to ourselves. We are fortunate to have a partnership where we remind each other that mistakes are made in learning and encourage each’s growth. We shine a light on progress when the other is in the darkness of uncertainty.

We would not do anything differently when we started because all our learnings contributed to the businesswomen we are today. If we highlight one major learning, we should emphasize that quality relationships matter; they will always matter.

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?

Sweetgrass Counseling and Consultation, LLC is born from our passion for supporting the community’s mental health needs and our shared alignment in facilitating and supporting transformative work for people. Although we each have different psychology specialties, the heart of our work is partnering with others to support the mental health wellness of individuals, organizations, and communities. We each utilize our individual\ strengths and specialty areas, but the heart of our work is shared. We always say each other is the yin to our yang, and together we are whole.

Dr. Smith is our lead therapist and specializes in restoring relationships with your spouse, children, extended family, world, community, and, most importantly, yourself. With her clients’, Dr. Smith facilitates restorative work through therapy and consultation for businesses and organizations.

Cathy is a school psychologist who enhances organizational systems and structures, contributing to mental health and well-being. Cathy believes supporting and improving the adults, and the systems, in our youth’s lives is essential for a thriving community and future.

We both believe mental health wellness is a journey, and we work to weave together mental health wellness and others’ or organizations’ visions on their journey. We love working with motivated clients willing to partner to interrupt patterns no longer serving them or their organization. In addition, we were both raised in the rural landscape of the South, and much of our life experiences have confirmed the need for mental health wellness access in rural areas and minoritized groups. We both know the power of listening to the quiet and forgotten voices. Hearing the unique stories of healing and hope allows us to partner with others on their wellness journey. Those stories of healing and hope keep us motivated in our purpose, partnership, and business.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When we started, we actively took any client we thought we could impact with our services. In our line of work, transformative and sustainable change is the most significant impact we hope for our clients; however, only some clients are genuinely ready for that change. To live our business values of integrity and authenticity, we identify when a client is not aligned or prepared for our services. Being transparent during the consultation is critical to an authentic partnership with your clients, thus leading to sustainable and transformative change. We realize the longevity of our business is not based on sales volume; instead, it must be about the quality of service and the positive impact on our clients. We learned the hard lesson of misalignment, and we bounced back from that hard lesson. Now, we ensure mutual alignment with our clients by being transparent and staying committed to our values.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

As a new business, getting lost in the weeds of propelling the business forward through advertising, having a social media presence, and constant networking is easy to do. We learned that the critical components in garnering business from clients who are aligned with our values and purpose were quality services and “word of mouth”. We learned to take the time and energy used to hustle for new clients and instead place that energy into quality services and continually improve our processes.

For therapy specifically, it was important to establish a referral network and research directory platforms that connected with the general public and our target audience. Having a presence on online platforms such as Therapy for Black Girls, Psychology Today, and Hello Alma, was crucial in reaching prospective clients, establishing quality connections, and gaining more referrals.

Our clients know that we are client-first, which means we welcome their feedback and will pivot to meet their needs. Listening to our clients and adjusting to meet their success needs is all the advertising and marketing we need.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sweetgrasscac.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sweetgrasscac
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetgrasscac
• Other: https://secure.helloalma.com/providers/shaneika-smith/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/sweetgrass-counseling-consultation-cordova-tn/835742 https://providers.therapyforblackgirls.com/listing/sweetgrass-counseling-consultation/