Growing With Intention: A New Chapter at Stand Counseling & Coaching

Growth can be exciting, but meaningful growth should also be intentional. When I founded Stand Counseling & Coaching PLLC, my vision was never simply to create another counseling practice. I wanted to build a space where people could be seen honestly, supported compassionately, and challenged appropriately as they moved toward healing. I wanted clinical care to remain personal, thoughtful, and grounded in the belief that healing begins when individuals take a stand for themselves.

That vision continues to guide every decision I make for this practice, including the decision to grow. I am grateful to announce that Stand Counseling & Coaching is expanding and welcoming a new clinician to the practice.

Welcoming Shellina Toure, LMSW

Beginning October 1, 2026, Shellina Toure, LMSW, will join Stand Counseling & Coaching PLLC as a Staff Clinician. Shellina earned her Master of Social Work from Fordham University in 2023. She brings extensive experience in human services, behavioral health, homelessness, substance-use recovery, crisis intervention, and community-based support. Her work is compassionate, practical, collaborative, and strengths-based.

Shellina works with individuals navigating life transitions and personal challenges. She helps clients establish meaningful goals, strengthen coping skills, recognize their resilience, and develop practical strategies for moving forward. Through Stand Counseling & Coaching, she provides a supportive, welcoming, and nonjudgmental environment where clients can feel heard, understood, and empowered.

Stand Counseling & Coaching offers both in-person and telehealth services, with Shellina now accepting inquiries for October appointments.

A full introduction, including her professional background, areas of focus, and availability, has been added to our About Us page.

Why I Chose to Expand

Building a practice is not merely about increasing the number of available appointments. It is about developing a team that can be trusted with people’s stories. Clients often enter therapy carrying experiences they have struggled to name, relationships they are trying to understand, and parts of themselves they may have hidden for years. They deserve care that is competent, ethical, respectful, and genuinely attentive.

For that reason, I have approached expansion prayerfully and carefully. Adding a clinician to Stand Counseling & Coaching means welcoming someone who can contribute her own strengths and professional identity while also respecting the values upon which this practice was built. Those values include honesty, compassion, clinical responsibility, cultural humility, healthy boundaries, and a commitment to seeing the whole person rather than reducing someone to a diagnosis. Growth should never require sacrificing the quality or integrity of care.

Expanding Access While Preserving Personal Care

One of the reasons for expanding is to increase access to mental health support within our community. Many individuals recognize that they need therapy but encounter long waiting lists, scheduling limitations, insurance barriers, or difficulty finding a clinician who feels like the right fit.

No therapist is the right therapist for every person. Expanding the practice creates more opportunities for prospective clients to find support that aligns with their needs, personality, preferences, and goals.

At the same time, Stand Counseling & Coaching will remain committed to personal care. Becoming a group practice does not mean becoming impersonal. Clients should still experience warmth, professionalism, clear communication, and thoughtful attention from the first inquiry through the therapeutic process. The practice may be growing, but people will never become numbers here!

What Will Remain the Same

Although this is a new chapter, the foundation of Stand Counseling & Coaching is not changing. We will continue providing client-centered care that respects each person’s experiences, values, culture, relationships, and goals. Treatment will remain evidence-based, clinically responsible, and tailored to the individual rather than forced into a one-size-fits-all approach.

Faith may be incorporated into therapy when desired by the client. It will never be assumed, imposed, or used to dismiss emotional pain. Some clients seek this practice specifically because they value working with a Christian clinician, while others simply want a therapist who is warm, honest, and respectful. Both are welcome.

We will also continue believing that compassion and accountability belong in the same room. Therapy can be supportive without avoiding difficult truths. It can offer safety while still encouraging meaningful change.

A Thoughtful Beginning

Every new chapter carries both excitement and responsibility. I do not take lightly the trust involved in welcoming a new clinician into the practice or connecting clients with her care.

This transition will include thoughtful onboarding, clear expectations, clinical support, and continued attention to the quality of services provided. As the practice grows, I remain committed to developing systems that serve both clients and clinicians well.

The goal is not rapid expansion for the sake of appearing successful. The goal is sustainable growth that supports good clinical work and remains aligned with the purpose of the practice. Sometimes growth is loud and immediate. Other times, it begins quietly (behind the scenes), with one carefully considered decision, one new opportunity, and one additional person prepared to stand beside others as they begin their healing process.

This is that kind of growth!

Looking Ahead

I am deeply grateful for every client, colleague, mentor, referral partner, friend, and community member (you all know who you are) who has supported Stand Counseling & Coaching. Your trust, encouragement, and referrals have helped the practice reach this new season.

As we move forward, I look forward to expanding access, strengthening our services, and continuing to build a practice where people feel respected, supported, and empowered to take meaningful steps toward emotional wellness.

Welcome to the next chapter of Stand Counseling & Coaching PLLC. We are growing with intention.

Stand Counseling & Coaching PLLC offers both in-person and telehealth mental health services. Telehealth clinical services are available to clients located in Connecticut, and service availability varies according to clinician, treatment needs, and scheduling. Visit our About page to meet our clinicians or the Services page to learn more and request a consultation.

*This article is intended as a general practice announcement. Submitting an inquiry does not establish a therapist-client relationship or guarantee that a particular clinician, service, schedule, or insurance option will be available.