Meet Jennifer Amaral-Kunze of Beyond the Mirror Counseling & Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Amaral-Kunze.

Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story begins long before Beyond the Mirror. My father immigrated from São Miguel, a small island in the Azores, and my Portuguese culture is a big part of who I am and where I find my strength. I grew up watching generations of strong, resilient people. My grandmother was the most gifted seamstress and cook I’ve ever known, and on my mother’s side, both grandparents built their own clothing stores from the ground up. I was surrounded by people who created something out of nothing, who held their families together with grit and love, and who showed me that hard things can be done with both strength and grace.

That spirit has carried me. Creating a counseling center has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and also the most meaningful. I’ve always been a counselor at heart, someone who can sit with people in their complexity, understand the deepest challenges, and help translate those challenges into something that can be worked through with compassion and clarity. Public speaking and community outreach came naturally too. But running a business required me to learn things far outside my comfort zone- legal matters, medical billing, marketing, taxes, social media, networking. When you’re a small business owner, you wear every hat until you can afford to share the load.

I started Beyond the Mirror with just $3,000 in savings, no investors, and a vision to empower people to see beyond their reflections. At first, it was just me, speaking at schools, nonprofits, and health fairs, offering everything free to the community. Over time, it grew into a counseling center, and now we have an incredible team of 12 to 15 clinicians and interns at any given time.

My family has always been my priority, and I shaped my business around their needs. If the kids were home, I shifted my schedule. If our family needed more financial support, I worked harder. If not, I gave myself more space. That flexibility was not easy, but it was essential.

Along the way, many people were generous with their wisdom. Colleagues, mentors, and even other counseling centers shared their processes with me, teaching me about things I had never been taught in school. I leaned into community, and community leaned back.

And that’s really how I got here—not by having all the answers, but by walking in the footsteps of strong people before me, by staying true to my values, and by learning as I went, one step at a time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I do not think anyone starts a business and gets a smooth road, the good news is I am a trail runner so I am used to uneven ground. I know the beauty of a path that winds, rises, and dips, and that is often how the journey has felt. In the early days I could not afford health insurance, and I had to put my student loans on pause just to keep our expenses manageable. There were times I was not sure if I would have enough money to make it through, but we got creative.

I had a list on the fridge with things I could do with my kids, free, five dollars, ten dollars, fifteen. Sometimes we would head to Wendy’s and they would each pick something off the dollar menu while I brought drinks from home. Other days we would go camping or to the library. My kids’ favorite memory is when their Dad and I set up a camping stove at Devil’s Backbone and made pancakes before a little hike. To them it was an adventure. To me it was love, resourcefulness, and making the best of what we had.

On the business side it was just as tricky. I knew how to counsel and connect with people, that part was natural. But suddenly I also had to learn how to handle taxes, create legal paperwork, manage medical billing, and navigate marketing and social media. It felt like I had to become ten different professions overnight. Thankfully the Small Business Association was a lifeline. They offered free support, connected me with a lawyer, and helped me figure out what I did not even know I needed.

The road has never been smooth, but it has been worth every step. Just like trail running, the rocks and roots teach you how to place your feet, and the effort makes the view at the top that much more meaningful.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Beyond the Mirror Counseling & Wellness?
Beyond the Mirror Counseling and Wellness is a holistic counseling center built on the belief that every person deserves to feel seen and accepted exactly as they are. We are able to see clients in person in Fort Collins or virtually anywhere throughout Colorado. We specialize in eating disorders, body image, ADHD, autism, trauma, and addiction, and we work with clients across the lifespan, from young children to older adults. What sets us apart is that we are not a one size fits all practice. Every client who walks through our doors is unique, and our job is not to press them into a mold, but to walk alongside them as they create the path that fits them best.

What I am most proud of is our culture of inclusivity and acceptance. It is not just a philosophy, it is something we live every day as a team. Our staff embodies it, our clients feel it, and it comes full circle back to us as individuals. We cannot ask others to truly love themselves in all their imperfections if we are not willing to do the same for ourselves and for one another. Acceptance does not mean we like everything or that life feels perfect, it means we honor the wholeness of being human.

I often think of it like the sun shining through the rain. Those moments of imperfection, the ones we might wish away, can suddenly create the most breathtaking light. Sometimes it is in those unexpected golden rays that healing begins, both for our clients and for us. That is the heart of Beyond the Mirror, and that is what I want people to know about our work.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are so many ways to collaborate and foster community, and I am deeply passionate about this. I truly believe we are stronger together. We love working with IOP, PHP, and residential facilities so that we can support their clients in stepping down into outpatient counseling when they are ready. If for some reason we cannot meet their needs, we always connect them with other trusted community resources. No client is ever left behind.

Over the years we have also received support from community fundraisers, and those contributions have allowed us to create a scholarship program for clients who could not otherwise access care. That money goes directly to services within our counseling center and into the wider community, making therapy more accessible to those who need it most.

Another way to partner with us is through consultation and training. Many providers come to us for support with clients who have autism, complex mental health needs, or eating disorders. We offer team consultations, staff trainings, and workshops. When organizations are able to pay for these services, the funds go toward compensating our staff and building our scholarship fund. Often, especially for nonprofits, we are able to offer this at low cost or free of charge.

And of course, invitations like this one mean the world. Being part of Voyage Magazine is a true win for all of us. We get the chance to share our story, you create something meaningful for your readers, and people out in the community get to know that Beyond the Mirror Counseling and Wellness is here. At the heart of it all, that is what I want people to know most, that we are a safe place to land.

Pricing:

• Our services are anywhere between $50 and $200 per visit. We are able to take most insurances. We also offer a two tiered sliding fee scale so that each client can, “choose their Price” that works best for them and their family.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.BeyondTheMirror.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemirrorwellness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondTheMirrorFC

Image Credits
All of the photos of Jennifer Amaral-Kunze were taken by her son, Wilson Kunze