Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Fuller.
Hi Kim, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and started my career working in some of the largest community-based mental health agencies who provided services to children in LA County before I started Fuller Life Concepts, Inc In community-based agencies, many of the clients were referred because they were at risk of being expelled from school, at risk of losing their spot in a group home or the parent were at risk of their child being removed from their home by Department of Child and Family Services. This meant that many felt obligated to attend sessions or believed attendance was a condition of the referral agency.
When I launched Fuller Life Concepts in 2008, my idea was that I wanted to work with clients who sought after and wanted mental health services. Clients who were interested in their own personal growth and wanted to feel better.
Our first client referrals were children and adults from the victims of the crime department. Fuller Life Concepts, Inc was founded on the idea of easy access to mental health services and therefore, therapy sessions were offered in clients’ homes, offices, schools or private and safe locations of their choice. The programs for children’s families include evidence-based mental health sessions.
Beginning in 2017, we started offering client sessions online to further promote easy access. During 2020, this transition to virtual sessions was a smooth transition as we already had the infrastructure in place. It was difficult for some of our clients to make this transition due to technology challenges as well as some younger clients did not respond well to this virtual setting.
We also focus on educating the masses on health and wellness and the impact that mental health can have on overall life happiness. Our wellness education serves to increase awareness of available resources and to reduce the stigma associated with mental health. We participate in wellness fairs around LA County as well as provide educational training to other community agencies, churches, and other mental health and wellness agencies. We offer free workshops for the community about mental health awareness, anxiety, depression, suicide prevention, self-care and the therapeutic experience, many of which can be found on our website.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
From the outside, it may seem as though the road has been smooth because we have been able to provide uninterrupted services to our clients since opening. This I am grateful and proud to say. However, some of the challenges for our agency have been growth opportunities for me. I am still learning how to hire the right person for the job and knowing when to terminate their employment. I have had employees embezzle money from the company, as they would receive cash payments and keep the fees. We are in an industry that typically provides the service and then gets paid at completion. Both in-person and online was challenging invoice and receive payments and we have struggled through procedures to mitigate non payment of clients. I have since learned how and when to engage legal support as well as implementing policies, procedures to reduce these types of risks.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We have been preparing and training clinical staff to provide excellent service to this community since 2008. We started in a South LA non-profit mental health agency, which has allowed us direct contact with residents and a rich understanding of their mental health needs and the barriers they have faced. Often it is challenging for our clients in this community to realize the systemic barriers to personal growth because it is endemic to their environment. One of the benefits of our experience and education is our ability to address and reduce the stigma of mental health through effective education and outreach. We currently have a staff of 8 which includes four direct service providers, an experienced clinical supervisor and an administrator with years of leadership acumen. Our staff undergoes training to address specific populations, including best practices for children and teens. Our therapeutic training includes child abuse, domestic violence, micro and macro aggressions, sexual assault, substance abuse, and managing the emotional impact of generational poverty and racism. Our evidenced-based certification and training modules include: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Seeking Safety.
We engage clients by establishing rapport, building a trusting therapeutic relationship through consistency, compassion and informed consent regarding the process and service provision. We encourage the client to choose the location and setting that is most comfortable and safe for them. We explore the needs of the client by providing a therapeutic assessment as well as a case management assessment. We offer individual, couples, and family sessions. We have maintained a 90% or better attendance rate to sessions and documented improvement in overall wellness and functioning based on pre and post-surveys. We connect clients to additional services to address needs beyond our scope (i.e., psychiatry). We work to reduce some of the reported barriers to mental health services for the Black and brown community by informing our clients of the availability of Black and brown therapists in our network, educating on the cost of therapy services, and making referrals to other providers who may better meet the client’s needs.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I think this article will come across as corporate and stuffy, which is not my intention. I am a middle-aged Black female from a small town in the center of California (Merced County) who enjoys running and trying new recipes that are vegan to serve to my family (without them knowing) and watching their delight before I tell them the food is dairy-free, gluten-free and meatless. I also have been researching my increased interest in the connection between food and mood. There is a fascinating body of work that demonstrates we feel what we eat. Lastly, I have been on a dating reality show. I did NOT find my husband on the show, but it was a fun experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fullerlifeconcepts.com
- Instagram: @fullerlifestyle
- Youtube: @Fullerlifeconcepts1236
