Exploring Life & Business with Kendra Delahooke of Child Therapy Center Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendra Delahooke.

Hi Kendra, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career as a psychotherapist, and I always had a passion for helping families thrive. When my private practice reached capacity just after Covid, I realized I was facing a problem. There were a lot of families who needed help but not enough qualified child therapists with child development specialty and training.

That led me to found Child Therapy Center of Los Angeles in 2021, with the vision of creating a trusted leader in children’s mental health, one that could provide exceptional care to families while also giving clinicians the training, support, and community they needed to do their best work.

But the philosophy behind CTC actually started much earlier in my own life. As a young girl and a middle child, my natural tendency was to bottle up my emotions. I struggled with chronic stomach aches and lacked a lot of confidence. Looking back with what I know now as a therapist, I can see that my body was communicating on behalf of my nervous system- I just needed someone to help translate what it was saying.

That experience became foundational to the way CTC approaches therapy today. We look beyond behavior and ask what a child’s brain, body, and nervous system are communicating. Our job is to help children and their parents understand those signals so kids can thrive, not by changing who they are, but by helping them feel understood and supported as they are.

Today, CTC has grown from my individual practice into a multi-location pediatric mental health practice with a team of roughly 20 clinicians and staff. My role has evolved from therapist to CEO, and I’m now focused on building a company that can reach far more families while protecting the quality, heart, and clinical excellence that inspired me to start it in the first place.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! Entrepreneurship is definitely not for everyone. Over the past five years, I’ve faced more challenges and growing pains than I can count, but there’s something exhilarating about bringing a vision to life. At the end of the day, watching families graduate our practice happier, more connected, and more confident than ever makes every challenge extremely worthwhile.

Some of my biggest challenges have been learning how to evolve from a therapist into a CEO- how to lead, hire incredible people, create a culture that makes them want to stay, and build systems that can scale. I’ve also become passionate about challenging outdated practices in mental health and am always asking, “How can we do this better?” I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible leadership who also share this growth and innovation mindset.

As you know, we’re big fans of Child Therapy Center Los Angeles. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a private practice specializing in children, teens, and families. But what we do is so much more than therapy. While many traditional models of therapy focus primarily on thoughts and behaviors, we take a more modern, science-informed approach that looks at the whole child- including the brain, body, relationships, and nervous system.

We’re also known for going beyond simply treating a behavior. We work to understand why the behavior is happening in the first place, so we can address what’s underneath it rather than relying on behavioral modification alone.

Lastly, we take a preventative approach to mental health. Kids have regular checkups at their pediatrician’s office, and we believe mental health deserves that same level of care and attention. Our goal is to take the stigma out of therapy and help families move beyond survival into feeling more connected, confident, and truly thriving.

Before I was a founder, I was an employee in many different settings and that experience shaped so much of how I built Child Therapy Center. I got firsthand experience of what didn’t feel good or helpful: limited benefits, few opportunities for growth and leadership, having to seek out and pay for my own continued training, and work environments that didn’t always feel inspiring or supportive.

All of those experiences became part of the blueprint for Child Therapy Center. Yes, I love helping families transform, but something equally exciting to me is building a workplace where therapists genuinely love to work! Where they want to stay for a long time, receive incredible benefits and ongoing education, and have real opportunities to grow.

In fact, we’ve built a model where someone can join us as a starting associate and grow all the way into becoming a Site Director, leading a location of their own. I’m incredibly proud that as we grow our impact for families, we’re also creating the kind of workplace I wish I had experienced as a young therapist.

I think we have a lot wrong about mental health. Especially now, there are endless “experts” sharing tips and tricks on social media, and mental health can start to feel like a constant stream of what’s good or bad, right or wrong. This leaves parents feeling exhausted, confused, and wondering if they’re doing enough.

What we do best is take the mystery out of mental health so families can get back to enjoying their lives and each other. Raising a child who is struggling, has developmental differences, or is neurodivergent can be really hard- but there’s a big difference between struggling and suffering. We specialize in helping families get out of suffering.

Helping children build sturdy mental health doesn’t have to be a mystery. When parents understand what their child needs and have the right tools and support, it can change the trajectory of the entire family.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
In regards to mentorship, don’t be afraid of no’s. In fact, expect to hear many no’s before you receive a yes. Simply expecting them helps take away some of the sting of rejection and resets your expectations. Not every person will have the time, capacity, or interest to mentor you- and that’s okay. Keep asking. Enough no’s will eventually lead you to the right yes.

And whether you’re meeting a potential mentor, making a new connection, or walking into a new opportunity, always lead with value. Ask yourself what you can contribute before asking what you can get. That mindset has never led me wrong.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.childtherapycenterla.com
• Instagram: @childtherapycenter