Meet Kemba Douglas | Mental Health Therapist, LPC

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

Hi Kemba, what do you attribute your success to?
My thought process behind starting Inner Movement Counseling was to be able to work for myself and have a flexible schedule and be able to reach the clients who I felt I could truly help and make a difference in the communities I identify with. I knew before I graduated I wanted to start my own business and graduating at the beginning of Covid gave me that opportunity.

The most important factor behind my success has been staying true to my vision/plan, using my own experience and healing journey, and using my voice in my community that has opened up many opportunities for my business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I took a few months to really think about the name of my business and how I wanted to present myself to the world as a therapist. Inner Movement pertains to the growth, change, trauma, and work I had to do and still do internally. I learned that the power of change comes from within and I wanted to highlight that to my clients and community. I have also been a very driven and hard working person so my business has only grown since I started it in 2020. Some of my first clients heard me speak at protest, which led to my first real full time job as a therapist, my caseload began to grow in my business, and then I was offered a contract with BVSD to help support students of color and their families with the racial trauma they experince in the school district, which led to other schools outside of BVSD reach out because I also did a training around a decolonized approach to students and families of color. I am still seeing private practice client and working with BVSD but seeing my business grow so fast is also helping plan for the next steps in my future. The easy part about starting my business was knowing how much it meant to me and the change I wanted to help with but as other business owners know it isn’t always financially easy especially when it’s just me and not having any support from grants or the government. I would like the world to know that my brand may not be forever but my story is. I have personally overcome a lot and have gone through a lot of therapy and I still am in therapy, but I wanted people to know they aren’t alone and they can overcome and grow from their trauma. I know the feeling of feeling alone, like no one understands, and feeling hopeless but I turned that around and actually look forward to life and what’s new to come to continue to better myself and live a happy stable life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some of my favorite spots are Pourde Canyon, that is my go too spot when I’m having a rough time. I love finding new little mountain towns but one of my favorite things to do with my partner is fine a secluded airbnb with a hot tub and take the dog and just get away for a weekend like close to Manitou Springs. I’m a big foodie so I like to go to places where there is good food which is one of the big reasons I miss the east coast and try to visit there, California, and different countries when I can. I enjoy museums so those are always on my list when I travel to new places because I enjoy learning.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shoutout Amy Pickens from Boulder Valley School District who saw a lot in me and my business and gave me my first contract with BVSD for the support I could give and still do for the kids and families of color in the school district.

Other: Email: innermovementcounseling@gmail.com