Psychologist Devotes Practice to Intentional Care for Black Women

Psychologist Devotes Practice to Intentional Care for Black Women

By: Ari Christine

Just a few decades ago, going to therapy was very much cliché and not a heavy agenda item. Quickly, the narrative shifted to ‘make therapy routine,’ however, few conversations about counseling and therapy took on a deliberate, culturally competent approach.

Insert Dr. Kimber Shelton, licensed psychologist and owner of KLS Counseling & Consulting Services, and cofounder of the Counseling Black Women Collective. Her work focuses on creating transformative healing spaces for Black women.

“In my master’s program, there was a project on professional identity. I wrote that I didn’t want to be seen as a Black woman counselor. I wanted to be seen as a counselor,” Shelton explains. “My adviser – a white man from Arkansas, encouraged me revisit this idea. In that moment I felt so ashamed that I had even entertained the idea that me showing up as a component clinician meant that I had to erase or hide being a Black woman.”

Fortunately, for Shelton - that moment helped her to realign her purpose and direction. In that moment she became so much more committed to healing her own racial traumas and from there truly saw a shift in her professional work.

Today, Shelton has her own practice and is licensed to see individuals in Texas She specializes in cultural diversity, LGBTQ issues, relationships and trauma.

“My purpose is to create a healing space where Black women feel comfortable to be vulnerable and open without fear of judgment and stigma,” Shelton explains.

The West Virginia native spent most of her life in Buffalo, New York. She left for Georgia to pursue her PhD, eventually working at the Georgia Institute of Technology Counseling Center before arriving in Texas. Shelton has called Dallas home for just over a decade.

As a mother to twin girls, Shelton understands the need for cultivating healthy homes for children. While she is often encouraged to expand her work to children, Shelton is adamant that she is committed to helping the parents heal from their respective traumas. Helping parents identify their traumas and do the work to combat such traumas will certainly help parents engage more effectively with their children.

“Raising two Black daughters in Texas demands that I remain bold in my advocacy for our mental and emotionally well-being,” Shelton says. “There is this idea sometimes that Black women can be difficult to work with in therapy. It’s not that Black women are difficult to work with – it is when we get culturally incompetent care, it does not work for us. When we know how to treat and how to heal Black women – therapy is not hard.”

Only two to four percent of therapists in the United States are Black, so we can’t just rely on Black therapists to treat Black populations.

Shelton acknowledged that all therapists working with Black women need to be culturally competent. She co-authored award-winning and Amazon bestselling, A Handbook on Counseling African American Women: Psychological Symptoms, Treatments, and Case Studies, so that anyone who works with this demographic can create spaces that are culturally competent and meet Black women’s needs.

Much to Shelton’s delight, she’s had the honor of working with different nonprofit organizations. “These collaborations have been pretty organic collaborations,” she says.

Five years ago, Shelton found herself in a Starbucks that was nowhere near her home. She struck up a conversation with Patrick LeBlanc, who told her about his desire to provide more support for the people in South Dallas. His mission boasted that everyone deserves mental healthcare regardless of his or her zip code. LeBlanc would go on to create the Bridging the Gap Foundation.

“That first year, they provided maybe 30 therapy sessions,” Shelton says. “This year – they provided over 800 therapy sessions. One of their many programs is the Parachute Program, which I’m a clinician for - this program is for Black Dallas Firefighters and provides them free therapy services.

Shelton feels lucky to have collaborative and empowering relationships with other Black women therapists and in working to cultivate similar environments for others. Shelton has provided diversity and wellness trainings to thousands of mental health professionals, including cohosting an annual Counseling Black Women Conference. Participants leave her trainings sharing, “this was amazing,” and “I’ve never been in an environment like this before.”

Shelton certainly practices what she teaches to her clients. Throughout 2025, she is focusing on resting, healing and connection.

“I’m leaning into self-care, time for myself and modeling wellness for my daughters,” she says. “I’m most motivated to rest, do less and create generational wealth. I’m very intentional and strategic about my work so that my children can have something that I didn’t have.”

According to Shelton, “burnout” looks different for Black women. Most don’t come in and say I’m depressed and overwhelmed. They come in and say to her “I can’t get myself motivated” and feel that they are failing, all the while they continue to overachieve.

During a period of her own burnout, Shelton shared that she wondered what was wrong with her and feeling disappointed with her productivity. Yet, during this same period she wrote two books and gave birth to twins.

“I want us to be healthy and well in this world,” Shelton says. I will continue to focus on fostering relationships with other black women. I feel incredibly influenced by ancestral strength and embracing what others have done before me.”