Community Highlights: Meet KathyDan Moore of KDM Counseling Group

KathyDan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The beginning of my career in psychology actually started when I was at Tulane University. I just didn’t know it yet. Looking back, I remember how excited I was about the Psych 101 class; however, I was a communication major with plans to go into broadcasting. After a negative internship experience, I graduated without much of a plan. I ended up moving to Boston and working in consulting and then bouncing to Tucson, Los Angeles, Atlanta and back to Los Angeles. Although I liked different aspects of my jobs, I knew something was missing. A friend was telling me that she had decided to go back to graduate school to get her master’s in psychology and I was immediately fascinated and exploring that option for myself. I loved every minute of graduate school and couldn’t get enough of the information and training. Once I graduated, I moved to St. Petersburg and started working in non-profit. Throughout those jobs, I completed my required client hours and licensure exam and began working in management. Ultimately, I was working as a Clinical Director and really enjoyed the challenges but missed doing direct therapy with clients. With the support of my husband, I decided to start a private practice with the hopes of owning a group practice so I could combine my love of therapy with my managerial skills and entrepreneurial spirit!

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?
The toughest part of getting a private practice off the ground is getting enough referrals. One piece of advice I was given in the beginning was to create the practice to look like you want it to be in five years. That included the decision of not accepting insurance. While I am extremely happy now with that decision, it was much tougher to grow a pipeline of referrals without being a provider on insurance panels.

As you know, we’re big fans of KDM Counseling Group. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
KDM Counseling Group provides a friendly, compassionate, and supportive approach to marital and divorce mental health. I realized early on in my career that I am extremely comfortable and insightful around working with couples. My approach is no-nonsense and the feedback I receive is that clients appreciate my direct approach. My personal experience with divorce encouraged me to become a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator and a Qualified Parenting Coordinator. My subsequent remarriage and our new family of eight has led me to invest more energy and attention to helping blended families create a cohesive unit. Our group practice also has a Divorce Coach and other therapists who specialize in couples, teens, and children’s therapy so that we can provide continuity of care for a family. As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I feel that it is important to work with the family system as a whole. We pride ourselves on the success which couples, individuals, and families find through working with our team.

Any big plans?
My mind is always spinning about the next great things. The old communication major in me would like to create a podcast. My partner Kadie is also a family mediator and we would love to grow our co-mediation approach to better help clients move through divorce in a peaceful manner. I just adopted my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy and named her Mahi (a nod to my love for fishing). Right now, I am working on potty training, but she is a big part of our 2021 plan of having Mahi as a therapy dog! The overall mission is to grow the practice, so we continue to have a diverse set of expertise to offer our clients. Another big goal is to write a book about and for blended families because I know what a gift it can be, and I want to help more people be able to realize it and achieve it.

Contact Info:

• Address: The Gracen Building 2931 1st Avenue South Saint Petersburg, FL 33712
• Email: KathyDan@KDMCounselingGroup.com
• Website: www.kdmcounselinggroup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kdmcounselinggroup/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KDMCounseling
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KDMooreLMFT

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