The Socialite is a conversation series where I invite social leaders and community builders to talk about what they’re seeing, learning, and building when it comes to social wellness and culture. I wanted to reimagine or bring back the term “socialite” and give it new life by associating the term with people who really invest in their communities and are intentional about the social cultures they’re building and participating in.
My first conversation is with Kenya Crawford, who I think is the epitome of a Socialite. Kenya is an award-winning therapist, racial equity consultant, clinical supervisor, and the founder of Cultivating Healers, which supports therapists in building anti-racist, sustainable, and inclusive practices through CEU trainings, masterclasses, and coaching.
Kenya also happens to be one of my longest-term clients! I have been working with her since 2021, helping build her brand identity, website, launching Cultivating Healers, and standing up the team that has grown her Instagram from 5k to over 14k followers and a thriving email list to match.
I wanted to speak to Kenya both as a therapist and as a community builder. I feel like therapists get a really interesting look at social and cultural trends from the perspective of what their clients might be struggling with or facing out in the world. So I called her up to get a bit more tea on what she’s observing there. But I also wanted to chat about Cultivating Healers and the community of BIPOC clinicians she’s building through it in a rather unprecedented way. I think it’s a great model for how modern communities are being built at the intersection of business and social good.
In this episode we chat about…
04:20 Kenya's journey to becoming a therapist
06:49 The biggest shift in what people are coming to therapy for now vs. 10 years ago
11:29 How therapy overlaps with relationship/dating coaching
16:35 What relational skills (or lack thereof) are contributing to the problems we’re experiencing with loneliness and disconnection
18:57 Conflict resolution, navigating mistakes, and where we often go wrong with repair
29:12 Our growing rejection anxiety and how to build resilience
34:12 A look inside Cultivating Healers and how it works to create accountable spaces
38:46 Creating financial accessibility through an anti-oppressive rate structure for membership pricing
43:12 The backend logistics of running a community
45:36 What social practice Kenya would make law if she had the power
Connect with Kenya 🌻
For therapists looking to build anti-racist, sustainable, and inclusive practices, check out Cultivating Healers
If you’re interested in creating more psychological safety or wellness in your organization or want to have Kenya speak at your event, check out KenyaCrawford.com
For everyone else that wants to yap, join Kenya on Instagram and Threads!
About Softer Skills
Softer Skills is a publication dedicated to studying and discovering better ways to be with ourselves and each other.
