We’re looking forward to introducing you to Khara Croswaite Brindle. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Khara , we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
I think many of us are secretly struggling with comparison and resulting imposter syndrome. It’s something I see with the clients I serve, and it shows up in conversations with colleagues. I too am guilty of comparing my successes to others as an Enneagram 3 but don’t always voice this outside of my most trusted circles. The person we see online looks like they have it all figured out when it’s just one piece of the bigger story. As a serial entrepreneur, I get regular feedback like “you do a lot,” “I don’t know how you do it,” and “do you sleep?” I recognize my privilege in having a supportive spouse and family who honor my passions and help keep things moving in my personal life for me to do the fulfilling things I can do in my business. What I tell myself when spiraling into comparison mode, and what I tell others is to get curious about the pieces we don’t see. Often, it’s never the full picture.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi I’m Khara! As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Financial Therapist, and consultant, my greatest joy is helping therapists build secondary income streams against burnout. I’m known in my community for creating safe spaces to talk about client suicide, leadership trauma, and money shame. I offer retreats, consultation, supervision, and workshops to help therapists engage in healing and professional development. Currently I’m the author of 9 books, soon to be 11 and I’ve been a business owner for almost 12 years. When I’m not writing my next book, I’m spending time with my family, reading, or baking gluten-free desserts!
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As an Enneagram 3, I received some messages from family and school as a child about being successful and productive to be seen as worthy. This lead to some perfectionistic, workaholic tendencies in my 20s as I built my career. I no longer believe that I’m only worth what I do, however I still love projects and creativity as they fill my cup and connect me to my community! Doing my own work to heal from burnout and the hustle culture has helped, but it was actually becoming a mother that created the most change in my life–I don’t want my daughter to feel she has to run herself into the ground to succeed, and so I want to model balance with productivity for her and for myself.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I experienced professional burnout from 2016 to 2018. In 2017 I was diagnosed with a chronic medical condition and had daily fantasies of leaving my business and life behind, hopping on an airplane and not looking back. Now I know that was burnout talking, but at the time, I was wondering if I wanted to continue to be a therapist.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Such a good question! There are two lies that come to mind. The first is that we have to take care of others over ourselves. This leads to burnout, with therapists having a track record of spending an average of seven years in this field! The second lie would be that we can’t be both good helpers AND make a good living. When I learned the term Noble Poverty, I couldn’t unsee that society and the industry of mental health are telling therapists they are here to help, not to make money. It’s contributing to high burnout rates in our field and financial distress, amidst other things.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I’m building leadership spaces for clinician healing from the six most career-altering events of our field, including client suicide and professional betrayal. I would love to create a healing institute, but it will take 7-10 years to normalize that these events happen in our industry, encourage folks to talk about them, and create the safe spaces for healing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://croswaitecounselingpllc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kharacroswaite/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kharacroswaite/
Image Credits
Rachel Sorbet Photography
Wynkoop Photography
