Community Highlights: Meet Kelly Picune of Iris Mental Health and Counseling LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Picune.

Hi Kelly, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been interested in psychology ever since high school. In my psychology class we watched a movie about some women that open up a therapy center for kids that had experienced abuse. I knew I wanted to do that one day. I got my undergraduate degree in Psychology & Criminology from the University of Denver and then pursued a Master’s in Forensic Psychology at George Washington University. I loved the intersection of the justice system and mental health. I was living in DC after graduating and I found it difficult to find a job that aligned with what I was looking for. I had a job as a government contractor doing geospatial analysis and geospatial software user support. It was comfortable, but not what I was passionate about. After several years, I decided I really needed to get back into psychology and mental health work. When searching for jobs, everything that really excited me required a clinical license of some kind. I did some research and the only way to get a license was to go back to school for another Masters. So I did! This time in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. It was an online program through Bellevue University in Nebraska. I was still in DC but moved back home to Colorado before my last year. I did my internship here in Lakewood, CO and then I started looking for positions after graduating. Again, I found it was difficult to find something that fit with my needs, and work life balance. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Whether that was lemonade stands as a kid or creating my own reselling business during school to help pay the bills. I knew I’d always own my own practice one day, but thought I needed to put in my time. After discussion with others in the community, I realized it was possible right after graduation. So that’s when I started forming Iris Mental Health & Counseling. I wanted to a build a practice where one day down the road I can offer internships or hire employees and provide mentoring and supervision to others. I had some negative experiences with that in my journey and I felt the need to give back to others in the ways I would have wanted the support. I focus on working with kids, teens, and young adults. I have always been interested in play therapy specifically so I’ve attended conferences and trainings in order to be offer that to the kiddos who are interested in that style.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest hurdles was accepting the fact that I needed to commit to another Masters program in order to get to the end result of owning my own practice. That was a huge financial and time hurdle. I was working full time for the government contracting company while taking a full course load. Part of that program was a required year long internship. That was another hurdle because all the internships I found were unpaid. So I worked providing outpatient therapy to 12-15 clients per week unpaid for a year, while also working part time. I had to move back in with my dad because I couldn’t afford to live on my own. Along those lines, it was a big mental shift for me to accept that I was moving into a field that pays less than what I was making as a government contractor. However, to me the benefit of being passionate about the work and building something that I wanted to see in the community outweighed the financial hit.
Since, opening the practice, the biggest struggle for me has been marketing and getting my name and business out there. I feel like I do great with creating rapport and building relationships with people but the aspect of marketing and almost selling yourself in some regards is a challenge. It is something I work on weekly to build up my caseload. And of course there are still financial struggles while starting up, office rent, insurance, software etc. All things that I had to be prepared to pay regularly.

As you know, we’re big fans of Iris Mental Health and Counseling LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Iris Mental Health & Counseling is an outpatient mental health therapy practice specializing in working with kids, teens, and young adults. I own and operate it myself. I offer play therapy in a large play room as well as traditional talk therapy in a separate room. I wanted to create an entirely separate play room in a place that is comfortable for kids instead of adapting “adult” therapy to work for kids. I’m really proud of how kid friendly the space is, but also have comfortable spaces to meet with parents, older teens and young adults. I’d like the readers to know that I am really passionate about helping clients build greater self esteem in confidence to be themselves. I have experience helping clients with anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, family struggles, self harm and suicidal ideation, body image concerns, grief, and more! Creating a safe and trusting environment is of utmost importance to me as well as good communication with parents. I believe involving parents where appropriate is important to help the client succeed while outside of session. My end goal is to work myself out of job and see the client grow to see how amazing and valuable they are!

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love seeing clients experience that “aha!” moment when something clicks. That is one of the most rewarding feelings in this work. I love the feeling of making a difference in someone’s life in a positive way. Other things that make me happy are seeing my dog play with toys, hearing kids laugh, finding an amazing find at the thrift store, and getting a par in golf!

Pricing:

• $125 per session

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.irismentalhealthco.com/

Image Credits
The images of me outside and the hands are credited to: @Kalen Jesse Photography Co. KalenJesse.com

The other photos of the office space are my own