Meet Katrina Bell | Licensed Professional Counselor

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

Hi Katrina, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My work life balance has looked different throughout the different phases in my life. Early on, in my careerI feel like I had no balance. I would stay at work after hours and spread myself too thin when it came to family, friends and other obligations. I would often be tired and overwhelmed. My life was very chaotic and I made that my “norm”. I believe that my upbringing had a great impact on how I operated in my adult life. I often saw others around me juggle many different roles/tasks with ease and I felt that this was the way to do things. I was fortunate to have a supervisor that required us to take mental health days quarterly. This forced me to take time to do things that I wanted to do or to do nothing at all and it began to change the way I looked at balance in my life. Throughout the years, I began to really value my time and how I use it. Because of this, I work really hard to make sure that I work hard and have as much time having fun and doing things that I enjoy. I believe that balance is necessary in order to live a full life. Having balance allows me to focus on things that I need to do versus the things that I have to do.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business is LIFE(Living Intentionally, Fearlessly and Efficiently) with KB. It is a private practice counseling business. I serve ages 16-60 and most of my clients are African Americans. My business is mainly telehealth which allows my clients to be comfortable in their own space or to have their appointment wherever they are (work, school, etc.…). This has been beneficial because many of my clients do not have to take time away from work or school or worry about drive to get to their appointments. There are not a lot of Licensed Professional Counselors who are African Americans in my community and I believe that it is important to be present as someone who understands some of the issues that our population faces. However, it is a challenge to get people to attend therapy due to stigmas that exist in our community. Starting this business has allowed me the opportunity to help decrease some of the stigma because of the education that I provide to the community and my clients about the benefits of counseling. Because I was raised in this community which gives me the ability to reach people who normally would not be reach because of the connection.

To get to where I am today, I worked my way up in the field by working in different settings to learn the ropes. I then moved into Private Practice part time and eventually to contracting full time. After doing that for a few years, I then moved into my own private practice.

It was very trying at times when I first started out, but I learned that I had to be very thorough and detailed and persistent. Balance is something that I learned was very necessary to be a business owner. I also learned how to set business boundaries for myself and others to ensure a successful business.

I have been the in the mental health field for over 15 years and worked mostly in schools serving underserved populations. I have been a Licensed Professional Counselor for over 10 years. I pride myself on being a product of the community that I serve as I was born and raised where in the area where I work. I also attended college here. I also understand the importance of having safe spaces to improve mental wellbeing for African Americans I have created this space as I am now practicing privately and mainly serve African Americans.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
anytime I have a friend visiting, we spend most of our time catching up with each other. We love doing YouTube Karaoke where we watch music videos on YouTube and sing and dance along. At least one of the days we cook together at home, but we also spend some time out shopping at the mall or outlet. Because we are Foodies and enjoy brunching, we definitely visit our favorite places to eat which includes Alex’s, Waffle House, Toast and Sweetwater 123.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I dedicate this shout out to Amy Mitchell- Washington, my first supervisor as a counselor who implemented quarterly Mental Health Days for or staff of counselors which set a precedence of implemented balance early in my career.

Website: www.lifewithkb.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l.i.f.e.withkb/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinatrbell/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifewithKB

Image Credits
ECB Photography Journey Grace Photography