Meet Kelly Klene | Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelly Klene and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My passion has always been for supporting queer/trans and traumatized folks, and during covid I began to get more requests than I could reasonably manage. I had a colleague at that time who was looking to begin their career, and decided that it would be ideal for both of us to bring them into Cairn. We have been able to grow and meet the needs of hundreds of queer/trans and traumatized folks. A beautiful piece of that is that I never intended to grow Cairn to where it is, I just saw that my community was in need and felt a strong desire to help. Now I get to learn from incredible clinicians, see the extraordinary resilience of my community, and run an effective little business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our journey began with a shared vision of creating a practice that prioritizes the individual needs of each client. We started small, with just myself and one other clinician, both working out of different spaces. As we built a reputation for quality care and positive outcomes, word-of-mouth referrals and a growing demand for our services allowed us to expand. We’ve invested in ongoing professional development and adapted our services to meet evolving client needs, which has been key to our growth.

It has been challenging in important ways. I had to learn how to start a business from the ground up, and have faced many hurdles around my own ability to do so. I have made, and will make, countless mistakes as a business owner, and am constantly grateful for the staff that I work with that allows myself (and all of us) to be human. I have learned that the skills in running a practice and those to be a good therapist are not the same-or often related, and have had to focus my growth both on being a better therapist and a better business owner.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had a friend visiting, I would take them to La Chiva on South Broadway, to the night market, and to coffee and art on Santa Fe

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have had countless mentors in this process; Asher Eno of Infinite Possibilities Counseling, Jessie Read of Serotiny, Lou Ashcraft of Branch and Bloom therapy, Gabrielle Juliano-Villani, Carla D’Agustino-Vigil, CJ Malament, Joe Cardamone, and all of the folks who have come to work at Cairn, and the brilliant and flawed therapists that taught us how to move in this field.

Website: https://Www.cairncounselingdenver.com