Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamilah Thomas.
Hi Kamilah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey started in the mental health field more than 15 years ago, long before entrepreneurship was ever part of the plan. I became a therapist because I was deeply drawn to helping people heal, especially high-achieving women who looked “successful” on the outside but were silently struggling on the inside. Over time, I built a private practice that allowed me to do meaningful, impactful work, and on paper, everything was going well.
But behind the scenes, I was also living out the very patterns I was helping others unpack— high functioning depression, anxiety, and burnout presenting as overworking, perfectionism, carrying everyone else’s needs, and tying my worth to productivity. I learned firsthand that you can be accomplished and still exhausted, committed and still disconnected from yourself.
That realization changed everything.
As my career grew, so did my understanding that healing can’t stop at the therapy room. The women I was serving (entrepreneurs, professionals, leaders) needed support that addressed not only their mental health, but how stress, trauma, and burnout were showing up in their leadership, decision-making, and overall quality of life.
That’s what led to the evolution of my work and the launch of Boss Up Wellness — a leadership and wellness brand designed to help professionals and organizations “boss up” without burning out. Today, I work at the intersection of mental health, leadership, and entrepreneurship through speaking, workshops, strategy sessions, and wellness experiences that focus on doing the inner work required for sustainable outer success.
The rebrand reflects not a departure from my roots, but a deeper alignment with them. My work is still about healing, it’s just expanded to include helping people build lives, businesses, and legacies that don’t require self-sacrifice to succeed.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road…and some of the hardest parts were the ones no one could see.
One of my biggest struggles was realizing that being good at helping others didn’t automatically mean I was building a sustainable business or taking care of myself in the process. What made it especially challenging is that high-functioning symptoms don’t always look like what we expect. They can look like productivity, competence, perfectionism, and “having it all together.” Even as a therapist, it took time for me to fully recognize what was happening — because when you’re high-functioning, suffering can hide behind success.
I learned firsthand how deeply the quality of your mental health impacts the quality of your business — your clarity, creativity, boundaries, energy, and decision-making. You can’t sustainably lead, serve, or grow from a place of chronic overwhelm and internal pressure. When the leader is dysregulated, so becomes the business.
Another challenge was navigating growth while outgrowing old identities, especially the shift from being seen solely as a therapist to stepping fully into leadership, entrepreneurship, and public-facing work. Rebranding meant letting go of what felt familiar and safe, even when it had worked before, and trusting that evolution wasn’t failure…it was alignment.
Those experiences forced me to slow down, reassess how I was leading my life and business, and redefine what sustainable success actually looks like. That’s why my work today centers on helping high-achieving professionals and entrepreneurs recognize the signs of burnout early, tend to their mental health proactively, and build success that doesn’t require self-neglect.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Boss Up Wellness?
Boss Up Wellness is a leadership and wellness company designed for high-achieving professionals, entrepreneurs, and organizations who want to succeed without burning out. My work centers on helping people do the inner work required for sustainable outer success—because how you think, feel, and function directly impacts how you lead, earn, and live.
I specialize at the intersection of mental health, leadership, and entrepreneurship, bringing a trauma-informed, emotionally intelligent approach to performance, burnout prevention, and decision-making. As a licensed therapist, I support high-functioning individuals who carry a lot—often silently—and need practical tools that create real, lasting change.
Boss Up Wellness offers:
1. Trauma-informed therapy
2. Inner CEO Strategy Sessions (personal + business analysis, self-care assessment, and 30–60 day action plans)
3. Wellness experiences and activations
4. Quarterly themed co-working + connection events
5. Leadership development trainings and retreats
6. Professional conferences and trainings for clinicians
7. Speaking engagements at women’s empowerment, leadership, and wellness events
What sets Boss Up Wellness apart is that wellness isn’t optional, it’s operational. Mental wellness is positioned as a leadership and business strategy, not an afterthought. Whether I’m working one-on-one, facilitating a room, or speaking on a stage, the focus is always on clarity, regulation, boundaries, and aligned action.
I’m most proud that this work gives women permission to redefine success—building careers, businesses, and legacies that don’t cost them their peace, health, or sense of self.
To learn more about me, how we can work together, and what’s on the horizon, visit www.kamilahthomas.com.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was very much an extrovert and a busy body — always involved, always moving, and always saying yes to opportunities. I participated in a wide range of extracurricular activities, including basketball, track, gymnastics, dance, and Girl Scouts, and as a teenager I also worked during the summers.
In many ways, I grew up being “the strong one,” which shaped both my work ethic and my leadership style. I was raised with high expectations of excellence, both academically and in how I carried myself. Success wasn’t just encouraged, it was expected. From an early age, I learned the importance of discipline, responsibility, and presenting yourself well. Alongside that, I developed a strong sense of hyper-independence early on. I was very much the “I can do it by myself” and “let me handle it” queen, comfortable taking the lead, figuring things out, and carrying responsibility without hesitation.
Personality-wise, I was naturally curious about people…how they thought, why they behaved the way they did, what motivated them, and what they carried beneath the surface. Friends often came to me for advice, and I was frequently told I was very “mature” for my age. I was a strong student, consistently on the Dean’s List, and I was often the first to be picked for teams or recommended for leadership positions in group settings.
I was also fortunate to be exposed early to traveling, music, different cuisines, and diverse experiences, which broadened my perspective and deepened my appreciation for culture, connection, and curiosity. Looking back, all of this — the leadership, the independence, the high expectations, and the curiosity — were early signs of the therapist and coach I would eventually become.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kamilahthomas.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_kamilahthomas
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamilahthomas
