Why We Chose to Build
I remember exactly where I was sitting on January 24, 2025 when I read that all US foreign assistance would be paused.
I felt my entire body turn to ice. A rock settled in my stomach. I knew this was going to be bad.
In the weeks that followed, I watched USAID dismantled and lifesaving programs cruelly halted. I saw organizations go on life support overnight. I saw people, and their work, tossed aside.
At that time, every member of the KonTerra Counseling team was working closely with humanitarian and development professionals in various organizations. We were not immune to the trauma and the grief.
As we walked alongside colleagues and clients buffeted by uncertainty and unmoored from identity, we found ourselves asking the same question many of them were asking:
What do we do now?
We chose to build.
KonTerra Counseling’s clinicians – Donnica Wingett, Megan Williams, Camilla Tibbetts, Raven Ellis – had worked for The KonTerra Group, our sister company, at some point. As they were contemplating opening their own private practices, they approached The KonTerra Group ownership team and asked if there was a way to maintain their connection to KonTerra.
The KonTerra Group ownership team had considered opening a private practice at various points but the time had never seemed right. As we observed the devastation in the international humanitarian and development sector – and later the domestic public health, justice, scientific, education, and social service sectors – we knew the needs for quality mental health services delivered by clinicians who understood the complexity of high stakes work were great. Despite - or perhaps because of - the precarity of the moment, we founded KonTerra Counseling & Psychological Services.
This Isn't Only a Story About One Sector's Collapse
It's about what happens to anyone who gives a damn and is done being wrecked by systems that don't.
At KonTerra Counseling, our clients are often the people others rely on — the steady presence in crisis, the ones advocating, caregiving, leading. They're high-achieving, mission-driven professionals committed to making a difference in the world. Lawyers. Teachers. Healthcare workers. Government employees. Foreign Service Officers. Journalists. Aid workers. Or someone who just cares deeply about their work.
But behind the outward success and sense of purpose, there's often another story.
The Toll of Purpose-Driven Work
When your identity is tied to service, it's easy to ignore your own limits. You may delay rest because others need you. You may suppress your feelings to lead with strength. You may feel guilt for struggling when your work is "about" helping others.
This selflessness is admirable — and also unsustainable.
Over time, the internal cost adds up:
Emotional exhaustion and burnout
Disconnection from loved ones and from yourself
Difficulty being present or experiencing joy
A sense of isolation, even when surrounded by people
Shame for feeling like you're not coping "well enough"
Why This Is Our Focus
We choose to specialize in working with people like you because we understand the unique pressures you face — and the courage it takes to seek support. Every clinician on our team has experience working within large institutions. We understand the dynamics of toxic leadership, unrelenting demands, the pressure to compromise your ethics — not because we’ve read about them, but because we’ve lived them.
We don't just understand trauma and burnout; we understand the values that make you keep going — and how to help you find balance without letting go of what drives you.
Two KonTerras, One Purpose
For those of you who know us through The KonTerra Group's workplace-based programming with organizations in high-stress, high-stakes environments — we're still here, and still deeply committed to that work.
KonTerra Counseling & Psychological Services exists to extend that same commitment directly to individuals, not just the organizations they work for. Same values, same understanding of what this work costs a person — just a different door in.
If Any of That Sounds Familiar
If your professional world has shifted in ways you didn't anticipate, or your sense of purpose feels unsettled, you're in the right place.
The people we serve still believe in their work. What they're questioning is whether the systems around them will allow them to keep doing it.
That's the work. We're here for it.