Community Highlights: Meet Kayla Patterson of Therapy With KP

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Patterson.

Hi Kayla, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
From a young age, I have always cared deeply about people. I can’t even begin to tell you how many “good sportsmanship” awards I got as a kid, because I was always too kind to the athletes on the other team. But even though I knew I loved helping others, it took me a while to find my place and recognize my passion for mental health advocacy.

Growing up in a small town in Western North Carolina, mental health always seemed to carry a stigma, and it was rarely talked about. In church it was viewed as a lack of faith, in social circles it was viewed as an off-limits topic, and in my family, it was viewed as a sign of weakness. As I became a teenager and began to experience my own struggles with mental health, I felt incredibly isolated and didn’t know where to turn for help.

Years later, when I finally found myself sitting in a counselor’s office, my worst fears were confirmed. As I shared my story, I was met with questions like, “Are you sure it happened that way?”, and statements like, “Maybe you’re not remembering correctly.”

Gaslighting has become an over-used term in today’s society, but it is the term I often use to describe my first experience with therapy. In an office where I was supposed to feel seen and heard, I felt hopeless and misunderstood.

Initially, this experience was devastating to me. The devastation led me to a place of wanting to give up on therapy entirely. However, the pain associated with this experience eventually led me to a place of clarity and purpose: If I felt like the mental healthcare system was broken, then I would play a part in creating change within it.

I would be sure to become the person – the therapist – I needed as a teenager, but didn’t have. And, that’s exactly what I did.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Although I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am today, there have definitely been some challenges along the way. When I first decided to pursue a career in mental health, I began working as a crisis interventionist on the crisis, domestic violence, and suicide hotlines.

In hindsight, this feels a lot like the equivalent of deciding to become a firefighter and beginning by trying to put out the biggest fire you can find. Meanwhile, I was still finishing up my undergraduate degree in Psychology, while also juggling 2 other jobs. To sum it up, it was a recipe for burnout. One of my greatest challenges in this field has been learning – and re-learning – that I have to take care of myself in order to care for others well.

I continued to work tirelessly during graduate school, and once I graduated with my MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I naively thought the worst of my burnout was behind me. After graduation, I started working for a community mental health agency that did not value my time, energy, or well-being. I was given a caseload of over 100 clients, all of who deserved the best care I had to offer.

But with the size of my caseload, I found myself struggling to remember their names, much less their stories. While I recognize that this is the result of a broken mental healthcare system, I realized that I could not continue to play the role I was playing in that system any longer. Not only was it a broken system, but the system was breaking me.

It was at this point that I began dreaming of opening my own practice, Therapy With KP, PLLC, which officially launched in March 2022. From the very beginning, my desire has always been about creating change, both personally and systemically.

By starting my own therapy practice, I created an intentional space to rewrite the narrative that therapists have to work themselves to the point of burnout in order to be successful, and I created a space for my clients to know that they are truly known, cared for, and seen.

They are more than just a number, they are a story that is still going. It is my hope to help clients write the story they truly want to live with their lives because their story isn’t over yet. Similarly, my journey with Therapy With KP is just beginning.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At Therapy With KP, I provide individual therapy for adolescents and adults struggling with symptoms related to past trauma, depression, anxiety, perfectionism, low self-esteem, and those who are struggling with spirituality and faith concerns.

I have specialized training in working with trauma and enjoy helping those who hope to rewrite patterns of generational, familial, religious, or other trauma(s) in their own story. Providing a safe space for all people is not something I take lightly, and in my space, you will be met with inclusivity, respect, and care regardless of age, gender, sexuality, religious or political beliefs, race, or cultural background.

Therapy With KP has an in-person office in Concord, NC, but I also provide virtual counseling services for individuals located anywhere in NC. Therapy With KP exists to help clients find purpose, develop insight, foster hope, and begin living the life they’ve imagined.

I recognize the resiliency and bravery of anyone who reaches out for help after experiencing seasons of deep pain, and it is my goal to create a space where that pain is acknowledged, validated, and ultimately, healed.

As a therapist, I am primarily guided by an existential view, which holds that suffering is a part of the human condition. The primary focus is not that we experience suffering, rather, it is what we choose to do with that suffering that matters.

I enjoy being a therapist because I get to watch clients take situations of deep pain and derive a sense of meaning and purpose from them. If you’re reading this, I hope you know that suffering doesn’t have to be the end of your story.

There is still hope and purpose available for you if you choose to find it.

What are your plans for the future?
My most exciting project at the moment is training my golden doodle, Rue, to be an AKC registered therapy dog.

We have been completing training classes for the past 5 months and I cannot wait to make animal-assisted therapy a regular part of my work with clients!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.therapywithkp.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therapywithkp_/