teachability.
Partnership.
Advocacy.
hope.
THE MISSION of Discover Hope Counseling and Behavioral Support Services is to improve access to quality mental health care in the Baldwin city area and its neighboring towns. By establishing firmly planted roots within the community, partnering with families and local organizations, providing mental health services, and connecting families with educational resources, we believe that the PATH to hope can be discovered in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances.
My Path
Hello! My name is Kristen Rawls and I am the founder of Discover Hope Counseling and Behavioral Support Services LLC. I am a Licensed Master Social Worker currently under clinical supervision to become a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker. I’ve worked in the mental health field since 2015 and received my Master’s at The University of Kansas in the spring of 2019. I then went on to receive my LSCSW in 2024. I chose to become a therapist because helping people, particularly adolescents and young adults, overcome the various roadblocks to socio-emotional wellness that they may face is something that I am very passionate about. I am the youngest of seven siblings who all grew up in a low-income area in Chicago. As a child I experienced many hardships in both my own family and my community. Despite the challenges that we faced, I was fortunate enough to have the support of my mother who did everything she could to get me access to all the services that I needed. The resources I was able to utilize over the course of my life instilled in me a belief in the power of change. This conviction and my unique experiences were the building blocks that set me on a path to pursue a career in the mental health field.
My primary philosophical approach to treatments and interventions is from a Strengths-Based Perspective which puts the strengths and resources of people, communities, and their environments at the center of the helping process rather than the problems and pathologies. I believe a Strengths-Based approach is a successful philosophical approach because it builds efficacy and empowers clients to be an active participant in constructing goals for their treatment plans.
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​“At a very basic level, it is hard for us to build self confidence when we are focused on our weaknesses instead of our strengths.” -Tom Rath