Today we’d like to introduce you to Keona Harris and Danielle Bowman.
In the summer of 2016, Keona and Danielle “met” online in a Facebook group for networking mental health professionals. At the time, both were “soloprenuers” looking to connect and share resources in Houston’s behavioral health provider network. Keona and Danielle began to connect offline, cross-refer clients that fit the other’s niche, support each other’s events, and brainstorm marketing strategies. Keona and Danielle shared many of the same business goals for providing quality mental health services in underserved communities. They mutually decided that by partnering to leverage each other’s individual network, they could realize the African Proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. April 2017, Keona and Danielle officially formed D&K Counseling Group, PLLC with the focus to provide optimal therapeutic services, continuing education opportunities for the next generation of therapists, and advocate mental health awareness in at-risk communities.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The BIGGEST challenge has been the learning curve of administratively running a counseling practice with limited to no formal education on business management. It is very difficult to work ON the business while working IN the business. D&K Counseling Group, PLLC is primarily insurance based practice and the challenges that come with creating the financial infrastructure to support an insurance-based practice has been difficult as a startup. Along with that, being true to our mission of supporting under-resourced communities requesting no cost/low-cost services is difficult to uphold without leading our business to financial insolvency. We’ve had to restrategize and pivot a few times, but giving up is not an option.
More personally, finding balance in being present and active with our individual families (spouses, children, etc.) and still meeting the demands and deadlines of growing a business from scratch is definitely challenging.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the D&K Counseling Group, PLLC story. Tell us more about the business.
D&K Counseling Group, PLLC is focused on providing optimal therapeutic services, continuing education opportunities and advocate mental health awareness in at-risk communities by:
Providing optimal mental health services to children and families
Breaking down the stigma associated with mental health through advocacy, awareness, and community engagement and Providing professional development through continuing education, mentorship, and training.
We are known in Houston’s mental health community for our work with school-age children, early childhood to high school, and their families. We are proud of our work and partnership with HISD providing counseling services on their campuses and adding more campuses for the 2019-2020 school year.
We are also proud to roll out our practicum/internship program with connections to local universities to provide training, mentorship, and supervision services for graduate and postgraduate level clinicians.
We are set apart by maintaining our office based services by onboarding a team of contract therapists as we expand our school-based services with HISD and other local school districts.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Keona and Danielle were lucky to have met in a Facebook group of thousands of other mental health professionals. Everything else has been intentional and strategic. We are blessed and honored to walk this journey together, blessed to have the support of our families and friends who believe in our goals and dreams, blessed to have community and partnership with organizations that see and support our vision and allow us opportunities to carry them out, blessed to be able to give back to the communities that raised us. This whole process, the ups, downs, and pivots, has been hard earned and beyond luck.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5909 West Loop South, suite 640
Bellaire, TX 77401 - Website: dkcounselinghouston.com
- Phone: 346-320-3195
- Email: admin@dkcounselinghouston.com
- Instagram: @dkcounselinghouston
- Facebook: @dkcounselinghou D&K Counseling Group, PLLC
- Twitter: @dkcounselinghou
Image Credit:
Meghan Ashley, M. Perfect Consulting
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