Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin King.
Hi Kristin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
In 2004 I was a newlywed living in Nacogdoches, Texas waiting for my husband to finish college. I had gotten my undergraduate degree around the time we got married and our plan was for him to finish school and us to move out of Nacogdoches. My husband came home from an internship one day with a job offer that neither of us expected.
This job would keep us in Nacogdoches for several more years. I began to consider what I could do with that time, as Nacogdoches was not exactly bustling with career options. After considering what interested me, where my skills were, and what God had made me passionate about, I began the coursework to earn a Master’s degree in Counseling. Through the process of school, I fell in love with counseling. I had always been someone who ran towards hard conversations while others were running away from them and the idea of sitting in the space with people while they worked through the hardest and most painful parts of life felt like a tremendous honor.
After graduating with a Master’s in Counseling, we moved to Houston and I spent the first five years of my career working in an agency. Texana Center is a state-funded agency that serves the outlying counties in Houston. Among other things, the company offers mental health services to those who would otherwise not be able to access help.
While agency work can be challenging and many counselors in agencies are significantly underpaid, I will forever be thankful for the years I spent at Texana. Because of the nature of the business, I did not have control over what types of clients or presenting problems I would work with. It was my responsibility to learn how to help whatever client walked through my door. This taught me how to push myself to learn more, the value of consulting, and helped build confidence as a new therapist that I really could do this work.
Through the process of agency work, I became passionate about marriage and family relationships and helping people connect their spiritual lives to the psychological process of therapy. In 2012 I founded a counseling center connected to our church at the time. For seven years Freedom Counseling Center served individuals inside the church as well as the community in Katy. The mission of Freedom Counseling Center was to provide quality counseling to
As we moved into 2020, I was ready for a change. By this time I had become a mom to four children through birth and adoption, counseled for 13 years, and worked in ministry at the same time. I went to work for an established counseling center, Amy Wine Counseling. I needed a slower pace, a better balance of work and life, and the time to focus more on my children.
That first year at the counseling center was a vital reset for me in many ways. I fell in love with therapy again. I learned how to take care of myself while also doing the hard work of therapy. I spent more time in my own personal therapy. I learned the value of being part of a team of people who are passionate about what they are doing.
In 2021 I took the role of Clinical Director of Amy Wine Counseling Center. At this time the current owner was ready to step back from day-to-day involvement in the center and focus on other endeavors. For over a year I led the staff and all aspects of the business. I am thankful to have had the autonomy to grow and change the business and mold the culture amongst the staff during that time.
From the time I took the Clinical Director role, we had discussed my purchasing of the counseling center. This conversation continued throughout 2022 and we closed on the purchase of the business on December 1, 2022. Since December we have rebranded the business and become known as Sequoia Counseling Center. Today, I have the privilege of leading a team of 16 counselors, as well as administrative staff.
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?
No! Being a therapist has unique challenges. At the beginning of my career, I had to learn how to help my clients feel safe. I had to learn how to not take the emotional weight of the work home with me. I had to learn how to process when clients were angry with me or did not like how it was going or did not think I was the right fit for them. Therapists are forever on a journey to learn how to care while not taking the client’s feelings and responses and progress personally.
As I have moved along in my journey as a counselor, I have had to learn to process failure and how to process success. I have come to understand that burnout as a counselor is real and can happen quickly. I think at the beginning of my career I pushed hard to help everyone I could, without realizing that I needed to set myself up for the long haul. The further I get from graduate school days, the more I have to work to learn more and stay fresh.
In my career, I have had two clients pass away from non-suicide deaths. The connection a person has with their counselor is unique. I’ve had to grieve the loss of these two people that I knew intimately while also not having the freedom to grieve publicly or to grieve with other friends and family.
As someone running and now owning a business, I have had to grow as a leader. I have had to learn both how to build culture amongst staff and how to maintain it. I have had to learn how to balance my care and desire to help people with the fact that it is a business and we still have to make money. There is a reason most therapists aren’t accountants and so learning more about taxes than I ever wanted to know over the past several months has been a challenge.
And perhaps one of my greatest challenges has been learning how to be a human and live real life while also showing up authentically for my clients. Counselors are not immune from hard things happening in their lives. I have had to learn how to let my experiences make me better at my job while also recognizing bias and being able to discern when I am not in the right place to give someone the treatment they deserve.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am so proud of the counseling center and the work we do with clients. One of the things I am most proud of is the passion and capability of the 16 counselors who work directly with clients. The team I get to lead is passionate, genuine, brilliant, driven, and fun. I am inspired daily by these individuals and their passion to help their clients while continuing to grow as clinicians.
At SCC we treat all demographics of people, including kids, teens, adults, couples, and families. We have people who specialize in all different areas, including Play therapy, Teen Counseling, Adult Counseling, Couples Counseling, Family Counseling, Christian Counseling, Infidelity, Trauma, ADHD, Autism, EMDR, Anxiety, Depression, Life transitions, First Responders, Parenting, Grief, Self-esteem issues, Infidelity, Attachment, Foster Care/Adoption, Premarital Counseling.
In 2023 we have also added the addition of Neurofeedback to our services. Various studies of the brain have shown people who tend to suffer from anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, and other neurological conditions have shown high levels of delta wave activity. The IASIS Micro Current Neurofeedback system has been proven to reduce or eliminate high levels of delta wave activity.
Neurofeedback can help with many issues, including. Anxiety, ADHD, Depression, PTSD, Psychological disorders, Addictions, Over-sensitivity to treatments, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Pain, Insomnia, Migraines, Memory Challenges, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Emotional Regulation Dysregulated Nervous System, Sleep Disturbances, Stress Management, Headaches Peak Performance, PMS Symptoms. We are already seeing clients have significant improvement in quality of life while participating in Neurofeedback. Used in conjunction with counseling, it can make the counseling process more effective and productive.
Lastly, I am immensely proud of the culture of the business. Therapy is hard work. Over the years I have observed many therapists trying to provide quality counseling while also working in toxic work environments. I believe strongly that if I can provide a work environment where my counselors feel valued and safe and like they want to come to work, the clients will benefit.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Definitely traffic. One of my favorite things about this city is its diversity.
I love that Houston gives us a taste of what the world at large looks like and cultures beyond our own. As the mother of two internationally adopted children, I am forever grateful that although my children do not look like myself or my husband, they can look around them and see many who do.
Pricing:
- The counseling ranges from $140-$225 per session
- Neurofeedback intake is $125 and regular Neurofeedback sessions are $100.
Contact Info:
- Website: sequoiacounselingcenter.com
- Instagram: @sequoia_counseling_center
- Facebook: @Sequoia Counseling Center
