By Tim Holler and Shad Berry
Kardia Collective was formed in October of 2014 with the desire to help individuals heal and grow so they could live with courage, hope, and freedom and multiply the number of effective counselors and coaches in our community.
At the time, we did not have a clear picture as to what it would become, but we knew there was a need for more effective counselors and coaches to walk with the growing number of people who were interested in receiving care for the pains of life, as well as the ways they had coped with them that were no longer serving them well.
Additionally, in a short amount of time, I began to understand what Tim knew all too well: getting your license as a professional counselor is very difficult, time-consuming, and expensive! On top of that, once you have your degree and eventually receive your license, establishing your practice is a risky endeavor. In the State of Tennessee, once someone has received a graduate degree, they must also complete a 100-hour practicum, which includes 50 hours of direct client contact, and 600 internship hours, which require 300 hours of direct client contact and 300 hours of indirect contact in a facility that provides mental health counseling services.
Upon the completion of their practicum and internship, they are required to pass the National Counseling Examination in order to receive a Provisional License. This Provisional or Temporary License allows them to begin practicing Counseling but under the supervision of another licensed professional for another 3000 hours, which usually takes about another two years! Once completed, they are required to also pass the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHC) and the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam. Then, and only then, are they eligible for licensure. From there, many of these committed caregivers will engage in certification and optional training programs to specialize in other areas of expertise in their field to which there is no end.
This is why I have come to consider myself a champion for counselors and coaches.
The general public often has no idea what they go through in order to provide the services they desire for the world with very little promise of significant financial benefit to themselves.
Eight years later, we are honored to have had the opportunity to support 52 counselors at various stages in their education and licensure to establish, manage, and launch a successful private practice while serving thousands of individuals, couples, and families to heal, grow, and change. In 2018, we expanded our footprint to an additional office in downtown Memphis with hopes of reaching another area in our community.
COVID-19 presented another unique challenge to counselors, coaches, and clients alike, as everyone had to adjust to a virtual environment overnight. Thankfully, we were able to make that adjustment rather quickly, thanks to our administrative team. On the other side of COVID and with the growth of our team, we had the opportunity to expand our original office space and made the decision to close the Downtown location and bring everyone back under one roof in our enlarged space.
In November of 2022, we officially moved into our newly expanded home, which also includes a training space that will allow us to create educational and therapeutic events and resources for our clients and community.
Over the last eight years, I believe Memphis has grown to place a greater value on mental and emotional well-being.
Some of the stigma and suspicion that existed in the past around receiving counseling and care has subsided. At the same time, our culture is experiencing a rampant increase in anxiety, addiction, trauma, and many other emotional and relational challenges. There are a multitude of factors contributing to this. The solution, however, is to help individuals and families heal so that they can be a healing presence to others. Healed people, heal people.
Thank you for being a part of this story and this journey! We can’t wait to see what the next eight years have in store.
Keep Kardia,
Tim and Shad