How to get hired as a consultant with Kenya Crawford
My interview guest this week is Kenya Crawford, LMHC. Kenya is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice who specializes in people of color and LGBTQ people navigating traumas, depression, anxiety, and relationships both monogamous & consensual non-monogamy.
In addition to her clinical work, Kenya serves as a consultant on anti-racism, equity, and mental health by providing intersectional knowledge with agencies, schools, and corporations.
I spoke to Kenya about how she got into consulting, how she gets clients, what she charges, and what advice she has for therapists who are interested in consulting. Enjoy!
How did you get into consulting?
Consulting found me. I got started by developing a curriculum for the University of Western Cape in South Africa while studying to become a therapist. I didn't think I had the skills or expertise at the time to be a consultant.
As a therapist, I was working with clients of color who were working in predominantly white work spaces. I wanted to stop the harm before it got to my couch. It was really important to me to start creating healing spaces so I wouldn’t be so overwhelmed in my clinical work.
How do you get consulting clients?
I’ve been fortunate that my consulting clients have come through word-of-mouth and referrals. I started to tell people this is what I do. I fortunately haven’t had to pitch to organizations.
What kind of companies do you consult with?
I started out mostly working with mental health organizations, private practices, and tech companies. For me, I found that I enjoy working with organizations that care about people in ways that aren’t performative.
More recently, it’s been much more diverse. I’m in a space now where I’m saying no to clients where we’re not in alignment with how we view the work.
What does a typical consulting engagement look like for you?
I’ve stopped accepting clients who only want a one-hour workshop or webinar. It sets us both up for failure. I offer an anti-racism program that starts with an organizational anti-racism assessment. It’s a company-wide equity survey that includes key stakeholder surveys and town halls so I understand what the diagnosis is for the company. We may work together on an ongoing basis to provide support and coaching.
I like working with organizations that can create an accountability structure so I’m not coming in and fixing the problems, but rather giving them the tools to fix the problems on their own.
How do you manage consulting with your clinical work?
I have a small therapy caseload as well as a few supervisees. I’m not consulting full-time. I try not to facilitate no more than three workshops per month to give me time to care for my body, spirit, and soul while also providing the care and support to all of my clients.
How do you price your consulting services?
There are a lot of things that go into pricing. A lot of it is dependent on the size of the organization, how many people are present in the space, how long it will take me to prepare, and how much time do I need to care for my body after talking about white supremacy for several hours.
I also like to charge on an anti-capitalistic lens as much as possible by working with nonprofits.
Any final advice for therapists interested in getting into consulting?
I would encourage folks to challenge their own imposter syndrome. Take the leap and see where you land.
Our training doesn’t provide a lot of space to talk about consulting and translate it into a corporate or tech setting, but it’s needed in so many ways. We just need to learn the marketing and business side.
Thank you Kenya for sharing with us. Follow her on Twitter and on Instagram. Learn more about her consulting work on her website.