Today we’d like to introduce you to Kindall Tyson.
Hi Kindall, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
“The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step,” has always been a salient quote that has guided my decisions and my life. My story began as a young, precocious little girl from Huntsville, TX who admired her diligent and caring mother, Chris, a counselor, and who loved tagging along with her hard-working and creative father, Phillip, a man who could do and build anything. They nurtured my curiosity from a young age, and I am quite grateful for that.
As I matured, grew into myself, and began to really lean into the things that interested me, I recognized that the through line for me was that I always found myself working in a capacity to help other people- that looked like babysitting, volunteering, being an English teacher, an Assistant Principal, a Professional School Counselor, running organizations, and being a confidant and safe space to my friends. I noticed that I always found myself connecting with others, listening to their stories, and holding space for them.
My journey has been a winding path. From graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005 with a Marketing degree and Spanish minor, to traveling across the country to work my first job out of college, to becoming an educator, advocate, and business owner, to being an expat in Beijing for 6 years while traveling the world, meeting new people, and healing myself all over the globe. Traveling is freedom personified, and it has become a pillar of wellness for me; it has also inspired my love of wellness and culturally responsive care and interventions in my therapy practice.
Now, after six years, I have repatriated to the United states, and I am thriving in Dallas, running my private therapy and consulting practice, building community amongst this kaleidoscope of clinicians and new people, and leaning into a life that feels aligned and free.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, I wouldn’t know what a smooth road felt like if I were walking on it. My path has always been paved with side quests and unanticipated turns. I’ve experienced hills and valleys, trials and triumphs, and failures and victories to arrive at this place in my life. Like many others, I’ve survived my own personal traumas, and I’ve survived collective traumas such as living through the COVID-19 pandemic in China; I’ve survived interpersonal disappointments, and I’ve had to grow from unmet expectations. Learning to pivot when necessary is a skill I’ve had to exercise time and time again.
As someone who firmly believes in the power of mental health and advocating for equitable care, a notable challenge that I’ve dealt with for most of my teenage years and adult life is being able to accept and manage my anxiety and fear of failure in order to live and thrive in my life. For as long as I can recall, I have lived with generalized anxiety, and I’ve experienced bouts of depression. and I am a woman with late- diagnosed ADHD ( I was diagnosed at 40 while living abroad). This recent diagnosis has really helped crystalize some of my formative experiences, helped me accept newly discovered and uncovered parts myself, and really acquire a more in-depth understanding about my journey. I choose to be transparent about my diagnosis because I believe in the power of sharing your story; doing so helps dismantle the stigma associated with mental illness.
Furthermore, I recognize that my diagnoses aren’t things to be ashamed of, and I live every day knowing that I am really empowered to prioritize my wellness, practice intentional self-care, learn how to rest, run my business in alignment with how my brain works, and connect with available support systems that see me, understand me, and hold space for my lived experience. My identity has shifted since learning of my ADHD diagnosis, and it has sparked a deeper sense of advocacy in me and the work that I do. I, again, am choosing to pivot.
Additionally, another challenge was repatriating to the United states from Beijing in 2024 after six years abroad. Living internationally really helped me return to myself, live in greater alignment, and step outside my comfort zone to grow in a multicultural sense. I had to pivot.
Repatriating made me focus on being a better business owner ; I’ve had to recalibrate my understanding of success, what it means to return to community, and what it means to reestablish myself in this new city, Dallas, and be intentional about living an authentic life.
I still am trying to figure things out, and I believe that I am further along the path of alignment- leading me to more joy, self understanding, self acceptance, and productivity. Shifting my perspective has been integral to my continued growth, connection, and self-acceptance.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
As I mentioned earlier, I am a licensed psychotherapist, a clinical supervisor, and I am the owner of Aspire Counseling and Wellness Center, a private therapy and consulting business based here in Texas offering virtual support to Texans and coaching to expats. I’ve operated my small business since 2016 both here in the US and in Beijing as well.
While I support a wide variety of community with different presenting problems, my therapy practice primarily focuses on providing equitable, culturally responsive mental health and wellness support to individuals, college students, and women that experience anxiety, depression, and ADHD. My clients also tend to need support with co-ocurring issues like executive functioning, perfectionism, interpersonal challenges, self-esteem and self-acceptance, improved nervous system regulation, self-compassion, boundary setting, and cognitive restructuring, etc. I provide individual therapy, family therapy (parent-child relationships), and group therapy, and I work with adolescents 13 and older, college students, millennials, and adults. I also offer mental health and wellness workshops and consulting services to schools and organizations about mitigating burnout, engaging in healthy stress relief, the importance of nervous system regulation, and implementing an applied relaxation practice to be a healthier, more productive person and employee. I am also positioning myself to delve into more corporate wellness and consulting.
I am known for delivering impactful, practical, culturally responsive workshops, webinars, and products to communities, schools, and entities in need, and I’ll be offering a series of micro-retreats focused on nervous system regulation and communal healing and wellness voyages to help people engage in holistic rest, build supportive community, and prioritize their wellbeing.
I believe my varied and culturally rich experiences here in the United States and abroad in Beijing, China set me apart from others. I’ve had numerous chances to immerse myself in other layered cultures, learn about myself as I express more cultural humility, and build bridges with others across the globe. This experience has widened the aperture of my life and understanding of others. My experiences and education have helped me become more empathetic and have helped me decolonize my perspective and mental health offerings.
I endeavor for my business to be a safe space for everyone’s lived experience. I believe multiculturalism has to be foundational to running an ethical therapy practice; therefore, offering culturally responsive care is tantamount to providing equitable care. I am proud of being able to work at the intersections of education, mental health, and advocacy, and I hope to continue to be a resource for neurodivergent individuals, college students, and women that need equitable, culturally responsive care.
I’m a small business owner; I am an author; I host the podcast, The Black Expat Experience, and I am an adjunct professor. I create journals and other reflective instruments that hold space for deep feelings, unexpressed emotions, and healing. Above all I truly believe that I am a connector of people, a conduit of community, and a catalyst for sustainable change.
How do you think about luck?
This is an interesting question because I don’t believe in luck. What others may attribute to luck, I attribute to being blessed, being creative, and working really hard. God has blessed me with a set of skills that allows me to connect with others, generate more ideas than I know what to do with, be able to hold space for other people, and create in a way that others benefit from.
I’ve been blessed to meet with, be developed by, and connect with so many wonderful people in my life; they’ve help shape my perspective, support me, love me unconditionally, and challenge me in ways that helped me grow and evolve. These people have been honest with me, have celebrated me, have connected me to various opportunities, and have been consistent strongholds in my life. I am grateful for my village.
I realize now more than ever, that to run a solid, ethical, and evolving business, it’s vital that you are able to build relationships, articulate how your business benefits the community, and that you speak up about the things that matter to you.
I value alignment, and I want to collaborate and connect with others that share similar values. So yeah… I don’t believe in luck. I know that I am blessed. I know that I’m favored. I know that I am hard working – sometimes to the point of being self-critical. I know that I am creative. I know that I am persistent, and I know that I have a desire to make an impact in the world. I am a life-long learner, and I embrace change and failure. I learn to pivot as many times as I need to. These are some things I can attribute to my personal and professional development.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aspirecounselingwell.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/aspire_counselingwell
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/AspireCWC
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kindall-c-tyson/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aspire_counselingwell
- Other: https://aspirecounselingcollective.myshopify.com/
