Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlin & Paul Kindman.
Hi Kaitlin & Paul, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Kindman & Company began in 2018, the same week we got married. (Yes, really.) As therapists and lifelong lovers of big questions about human behavior, meaning, and connection, it felt inevitable that we’d build something together. On our very first date, we joked, (but also fantasized) “If this goes well, maybe we’ll open a practice together someday…” Turns out, we truly meant it.
What started as just the two of us has grown, over the past seven and a half years, into a collaborative team of ten deeply thoughtful, skilled, and genuinely wonderful humans. We feel immense gratitude every day that we get to work alongside colleagues we respect, admire, and truly enjoy spending time with—and that we get to share this work with clients who trust us with their stories. Honestly, we kick ourselves (gently) that we are so lucky to get to look forward to coming to work most days.
All of our therapists practice from a relational and social justice–forward lens. This means we prioritize building deeply attuned, authentic relationships with our clients while also holding the broader systems shaping their lives—family, culture, power, privilege, oppression—as essential context. As anti-oppressive therapists, we believe meaningful healing must acknowledge the injustices we are all navigating daily. When we name these realities openly and cultivate affirming, authentic relationships that are rooted in shared humanity, therapy becomes not only a space for personal healing, but a quiet act of collective resistance and repair.
Our mission reflects this commitment:
Kindman & Co. is a sustainable, collaborative community of therapists committed to challenging social injustice through our work. We exist to help create thriving communities by nourishing intimate relationships, healing trauma, and supporting positive social change.
This mission guides both how we practice, why we practice, and how we’ve chosen to grow.
By building a slightly larger, values-aligned team, we’re able to support more of our local community of Angelenos, both clients and team members alike, while caring for one another and doing our small but meaningful part to make the world more just, connected and deeply human.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
At the end of 2019, we took a leap of faith and signed a lease for a new office space which had us expanding from a single office into a four-office suite. We were thrilled, and also incredibly nervous. It felt both like a real risk and a significant commitment to the vision we held for what Kindman & Company could become. Still, the excitement we felt outweighed our fear. Relationships have always been at the heart of our work, and this move felt like an invitation to begin cultivating the kind of practice community and team culture we had long imagined.
And then, of course, 2020 arrived.
We were scheduled to move into the new space in mid-March, just as the pandemic was unfolding. Fortunately, construction delays gave us a bit of unexpected breathing room, and we eventually moved in that May. For more than a year, our practice operated entirely virtually—something neither of us had ever done before. Due to COVID safety precautions, we were the only ones physically using our new, much larger office. As was true for most of us at that time, this was not at all how we had pictured things.
Gradually, we were able to invite our team into the space to hold virtual sessions, which meant we could finally be together again. Later still, we welcomed clients back for in-person sessions. Each step felt meaningful and reminded us why we had taken the risk in the first place.
Walking through the office now, it’s hard to remember how quiet it once felt. Today it’s filled with conversation, connection, and aliveness–clients and colleagues bringing warmth and energy into a space that once felt still. That earlier emptiness feels like a distant memory.
The pandemic was an incredibly challenging time for many small business owners: emotionally taxing, financially uncertain, and deeply exhausting. We learned how to become flexible and adaptable, which required initially releasing parts of the vision we had so enthusiastically imagined. At the same time, we hold deep awareness of the loss so many experienced and the privilege we had in being able to continue our work. We don’t take lightly the fact that we are now here, together in this space, doing meaningful work with a team and community we care deeply about.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Kindman & Company is a group psychotherapy practice in Highland Park specializing in relational therapy grounded in a social justice lens. We are known for doing therapy a little differently, and for being explicit about why.
At Kindman & Co., we believe that emotional distress, relational struggles, and suffering are not evidence of something “wrong” within a person. Rather, they are often understandable responses to unsupportive relationships and oppressive social, cultural, and political systems. Our work begins from a deeply affirming stance: there is nothing broken about you.
Our team is made up of values-forward therapists who practice from an explicitly anti-oppressive framework. While many of us were trained in graduate school to present as neutral or “blank slates,” we reject the idea that neutrality is either possible or ethical in a world shaped by oppression and inequality. We believe therapists must take a clear stance against oppression and in support of justice, equity, and human dignity. We cannot heal under systems that actively traumatize people and move us away from our deeply human need for connection. Therapy must make room to name and address these realities.
We bring this perspective into all of our work, whether we are supporting individuals, couples and partners, families, or groups. Our primary area of specialization is relationships of all kinds, because humans are relational beings. We exist in relationship with ourselves, with loved ones, with colleagues, and within larger communities and systems. Our work focuses on helping people build relationships that feel authentic, nourishing, and sustainable.
We are also deeply committed to providing LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC-affirming care. Our therapists support clients in being more fully themselves, repairing relational wounds, healing trauma, and creating connection that feels honest and life-giving. What sets Kindman & Company apart is our willingness to be transparent about our values, our refusal to pathologize individuals for systemic harm, and our dedication to therapy as both a deeply personal and transformative social act.
What we are most proud of, brand-wise, is our commitment to being a genuinely community-minded organization. Beyond the therapy room, Kindman & Company sees itself as a steward of the neighborhood and broader community we are part of, and we recognize that we are deeply shaped by and benefit from being in relationship with it. In addition to providing psychotherapy services, we intentionally offer community events, workshops, and gatherings that foster connection, reflection, and collective care. Staying in active relationship with our local community is integral to how we understand our role and how we live out our values.
Lastly, we’ve got an incredibly cute therapy & office dog, Weezie, to greet you, comfort you, and help you feel that you belong.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
The best way to start working with us is to schedule a free informational call with one of our Care Coordinators. Our info session is a chance to explore if we feel like the right fit to support you, ask any questions you have, and understand how care works with our practice. You can book an information session here: https://www.kindman.co/book-free-info-session
Additionally, we’re always looking to collaborate with fellow values-aligned organizations to partner with to provide free and low-cost offerings for our local community members in Northeast L.A. If you’re interested in collaborating with us, please email us at [email protected]
You can also view our monthly calendar of groups and events here: https://www.kindman.co/community-events-calendar
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kindman.co
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kindman.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kindman.co/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kindman-co-therapy-for-being-human
- Other: https://share.google/8HWd0X3QFJ6E5kqAU
Image Credits
Photos by Wanderlust Creatives
