When you’re a therapist, you wear a lot of hats—clinician, business owner, marketer, human being. And when you care deeply about doing good in the world, those hats get heavier.

This week on Selling the Couch, I sat down with Kenya Crawford, a therapist, educator, and DEI consultant, to talk about something that’s been on my heart (and probably yours too):

How do we build an anti-racist therapy practice that lasts—especially in a time when DEI efforts feel more fragile than ever?

Kenya didn’t just bring expertise. She brought grace, honesty, and a vision for the kind of healing work our world needs.

1. Is DEI Work Really “Dead”?

If you've heard the talk that DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs are “dead,” you’re not alone. Kenya has too. But she sees it differently.

“The work isn’t gone—it’s just shifted.”

She’s watched clients get creative with how they name roles and structure work.

The ones who truly care? They’re still doing the work. Quietly. With intention.

She’s also seen the flip side: companies pulling back, showing their true colors, revealing that maybe they were never really committed in the first place.

And Kenya? She’s okay with that.

“It helps me know who I want to support—and who I don’t.”

2. All Money Isn’t Good Money

One of the most powerful moments in this episode came when Kenya talked about walking away from big contracts—like $50K big—because they didn’t align with her values.

That’s hard to do.

But Kenya made a choice early on: she wouldn’t let anti-racism work become her sole source of income.

Why?

Because it would make her more vulnerable to compromise.

“If I align with companies that don’t match my values, my community notices. And my community is everything.”

This is the kind of integrity we can all learn from. Kenya’s story reminded me that saying no to misaligned money is often the first step toward building a business you actually believe in.

3. Creating a More Equitable Private Practice

Kenya also walked us through her anti-oppressive rate structure—something she built years ago, after noticing how much clients from different financial backgrounds wanted to help each other… and didn’t know how.

She started offering redistribution tiers, where some clients pay a little more to offset the cost of therapy for others.

She also has reparations tiers—free or low-cost slots for people who’ve historically had less access to care.

It’s not just a pricing model.

It’s community care in action.

“Clients come back to me years later and say, ‘Because you helped me, I want to help someone else.’”

4. How to Start Building Your Own Anti-Racist Practice

If you’re a therapist wanting to take your first steps toward this work, Kenya’s advice is clear:

“Start by getting clear on who you're doing this for.”

This isn’t about performative values or perfect mission statements. It’s about soul work. It’s about asking:

• Who are you serving?
• Why does this matter to you?
• Are you leading from guilt… or from purpose?

Once you’re grounded in that clarity, the next step is systems—client touchpoints, hiring, fees, language, visuals.

“Every decision should reflect your values—not just the pretty ones.”

And if you don’t know where to start?

Start with community.

5. Leading With Joy in Hard Times

At the end of our chat, I asked Kenya something I was genuinely curious about:

“How do you stay so joyful while doing such heavy work?”

Her answer?

“Community. Not just the idea of it—but real people who hold me accountable, who remind me to rest, who check in on my soul.”

It’s a reminder I think we all need:

The work we do matters. But we matter, too.

Let's keep this going…

If you’re thinking about how to create a more intentional, inclusive, and soul-aligned business—you are not alone.

If this resonated, I’d love for you to join us at Quiet Builder where I write twice a month about building businesses with soul.

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