We were lucky to catch up with Toni Kelly recently and have shared our conversation below.
Toni , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience is evidence of the resilient women I have in my life or the women who have touched my life in some form or fashion. The most resilient person I know is my mother. Growing up, I saw my mother, who was a teen mom, work her way up into a corporate job at a local bank. My mother didn’t formally graduate high school but went back to night school and completed her GED. Never once did I hear her complain. She did what she needed to do to work her way up from poverty. Though she struggled with depression, which she was open about, she still persevered and gave each day her best.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a native Nashvillan, a wife, a mother, and an entrepreneur. I graduated from Tennessee State University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work followed by a Master of Science in Social Work in 2014 from Middle Tennessee State University. Since 2009 I have worked in various social work related fields to include child welfare, long term care insurance, managed care, inpatient psychiatric care, and outpatient mental health treatment. The exposure in different social services fields led me to discover my passion for mental health and aging.
In 2021, I founded Toni Kelly Counseling & Consulting (TKCC) as I wanted to find a more personal way to serve my community and be more present for my husband and our two children. TKCC provides outpatient mental health services to support the mental and behavioral health needs of high functioning women and minorities who feel emotionally broken down due to stress, trauma, and/or mood related disorders. We specialize in working with women and/or minorities who are entrepreneurs, healthcare executives, medical students or residents, and higher education administrators. These high functioning individuals may be struggling with Anxiety, Depression, Stress Management, Racial Stress and Trauma, Self Esteem, Imposter Syndrome and/or Self Criticism. One of our unique specialties is that we also work with high functioning women or minorities who are healing from a Traumatic Brain Injury.
At TKCC, we believe that partnering with these individuals during their introspective journey will help them discover tools and resources to live a more fulfilling life. We believe that women and minorities need access to quality culturally sensitive mental health support throughout their lifespan in order to show up as the best version of themselves. We believe in creating a safe space that is free from judgment, easily accessible, and feels like home while allowing women and minorities to get the necessary help to ease the burden of mental, relational, and/or career related issues.
At this time, TKCC offers individual, couple’s, and group therapy, in addition to consulting services. Consulting services focusing on leadership coaching for medical residents, workplace mental health, and EAP services for small healthcare practices owned by women and minorities will be offered starting in Spring 2024. As the founder, I welcome speaking opportunities that allow me to educate others on topics related to women and minority mental health and entrepreneurship.
TKCC does well in the area of direct client services. This year, we are focusing on expanding our consulting services and hiring. At this time TKCC is a one woman show and for this reason growth is needed to reach more of our targeted audience.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Resilience, transparency, and a willingness to learn are my strongest qualities and they are qualities I am constantly developing as I navigate the stress of owning a business. The world of entrepreneurship has been a challenging one. It has challenged me professionally and heightened my own personal struggles with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and depression. The best advice I can give folks early in their journey is to stay true to you and have a solid network of people who love you and have skill sets that are not strengths for you. Also, get a therapist and to believe in someone/something bigger than you. For me, that someone is God.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
My biggest challenge at this time is learning how to scale my business. I am a first generation college graduate and business owner. I am literally learning as I go. My clinical program did not teach me anything about entrepreneurship. Upon starting my business, I sought out resources such as NBIC (Nashville Business Incubation Center) which helped me to build a foundation but now I am solidifying the resources needed to scale my business. This year, I was accepted into the Twende program through the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and I will continue working with my business coach Charelle Lans. I am hopeful that by the end of the year TKCC will have more running capital and will be a team of at least 3 therapists and 1 administrative staff member.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tonikellycounseling.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonikellycounseling?igsh=bmgxdmgzczVobTYw&utm_source=qr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/toni-kelly-counseling-consulting/
Image Credits
Roland’s Photograpy Quartz & Clay Fizzah Raza Photography
