Hidden Gems: Meet Yvonne Hendricks of Couture Counseling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Hendricks.

Yvonne, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey has really been a combination of creativity, mental health, and a desire to support children and families. I started my career in the arts, studying dance, theatre, and Black World Studies, and that creative foundation eventually led me to expressive arts therapy and counseling psychology. I realized that creativity could be a powerful way to help people—especially children—express things they may not yet have the words for.

From there, I became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and began working primarily with children and families. I’ve spent much of my career in school-based mental health, where I’ve had the opportunity to support young children and their families while also seeing firsthand how culture, family systems, and larger social experiences shape mental health.

As my clinical career grew, so did my interest in supporting other therapists. I became a clinical supervisor and began teaching, which allowed me to combine my love of education with my clinical experience. I’m also pursuing my PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, with a focus on child and adolescent therapy, so I’m constantly learning and challenging myself to think more deeply about the work.

Along the way, I created Couture Counseling, which is really an extension of who I am as a therapist—bringing together mental health, creativity, fashion, beauty, and culture. Even something like press-on nails can become an opportunity for connection, conversation, and therapeutic expression.

So, when I look at where I am today, it doesn’t feel like I took one straight path. It feels more like all of my different interests and experiences—artist, therapist, educator, supervisor, researcher, and entrepreneur—have continued to come together. At the heart of all of it is the same goal: creating spaces where people, particularly children and families, can feel seen, supported, and empowered.

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?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. There have been a lot of moments where I’ve had to question myself, pivot, and keep going even when I wasn’t completely sure what the next step looked like.

One of the biggest struggles has been learning how to navigate spaces where I didn’t always see people who looked like me or shared my experiences. As a Black woman in mental health, academia, and leadership, I’ve had to learn how to advocate for myself, trust my expertise, and recognize that I don’t have to shrink or change who I am to belong in a space.

There have also been seasons where I was balancing multiple roles—being a clinician, supervisor, educator, doctoral student, and entrepreneur. Trying to grow professionally while still taking care of myself has taught me a lot about boundaries, rest, and redefining what success actually looks like.

I’ve also experienced the normal uncertainty that comes with building something of your own. With Couture Counseling, I’ve had to learn not only how to be a therapist, but how to think like a business owner, creative, and leader. There have been ideas that worked, ideas that didn’t, and moments where I had to remind myself that growth doesn’t always happen in a straight line.

Ultimately, I think the struggles have shaped me just as much as the successes. They’ve made me more resilient, more intentional, and more compassionate toward the people I work with. I’ve learned that you don’t have to have the entire path figured out—you just have to be willing to keep moving, reassessing, and growing along the way.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Couture Counseling is a mental health and creative wellness brand that sits at the intersection of therapy, creativity, culture, and self-expression. At its core, the work is about helping people feel seen, understood, and empowered while creating space for healing that doesn’t always look traditional.

My clinical background is in Marriage and Family Therapy, with a particular focus on children, adolescents, and families. I’m also an expressive arts therapist, so creativity has always been an important part of how I approach mental health. Couture Counseling grew out of that belief—that therapy and healing can be both clinically grounded and creative, culturally responsive, and even fun.

One of the things I’m known for is bringing creativity into therapeutic spaces in unexpected ways. For example, my press-on nail experiences are not simply about doing nails. They create an opportunity for connection, conversation, self-expression, and relational work. I’ve also incorporated play, art, fashion, and other creative experiences into my work with children and families.

What sets Couture Counseling apart is that I’m not interested in the idea that there is only one way to be a therapist or one way for healing to look. I want mental health spaces to reflect the people actually sitting in them. That means making room for culture, identity, creativity, beauty, play, and lived experience alongside clinical expertise.

I’m probably most proud of the brand identity we’ve created. The name “Couture” is intentional. Couture represents individuality, craftsmanship, creativity, and something being made specifically for you. That is how I think about mental health, too. There shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach to healing.

Couture Counseling offers clinical services, supervision, consultation, educational experiences, and creative wellness offerings. I also use the brand as a platform for conversations about Black mental health, children and families, therapy, creativity, and the realities of being a mental health professional.

Ultimately, I want people to understand that Couture Counseling is more than a therapy brand. It’s a philosophy: healing can be intentional, culturally grounded, creative, and uniquely your own.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My biggest advice would be to stop trying to rush the process. When you’re starting out, it’s easy to look at other people who seem further ahead and feel like you’re behind. I’ve learned that everyone’s path is different, and sometimes the things you think are taking you “off track” are actually preparing you for what comes next.

I also wish I had understood earlier that I didn’t have to choose just one version of myself. I’ve always had multiple interests—therapy, creativity, fashion, education, children and families, entrepreneurship—and for a long time, I think there can be pressure to put yourself into one neat professional box. Now I see those different pieces as what make my work unique.

I would also tell people to build relationships, not just résumés. Find mentors, collaborators, supervisors, and people who genuinely believe in your vision. You don’t have to figure everything out by yourself.

And finally, protect your creativity and your sense of self. Especially in helping professions, it can be easy to become so focused on serving other people that you forget to nurture the parts of yourself that make you who you are.

You don’t have to have the perfect plan. Start with what you have, learn as you go, be willing to pivot, and trust that your path will become clearer as you walk it. Your uniqueness is not something you need to overcome—it may be the very thing that sets you apart.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Couturecounseling.net
• Instagram: Blackcouturecounselor