Exploring Life & Business with Erica Thompson of Divine Interventions Inc

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Thompson.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to Kansas City from St. Louis in September 2010. I moved to Kansas City with very little support and no family. I was a single mother of one at the time. I also took a 10,000 pay decrease when I moved to Kansas City. I took a job in Odessa, MO, as a rural outpatient therapist while also working on my business and my P.H.D. At the same time. I learned how to get contracts and put myself on insurance panels in my free time. I also started connecting with other mental health professionals in the area who were interested in serving the same underserved population that I was seeking to serve. I started joining groups such as the Kansas City Black Mental Health Initiative. I went into business with a colleague of mine, William Howard, to quit working for agencies and work for myself to serve the populations I wanted to serve while completing my P.H.D. That was in 2019. Since 2019, I have served uninsured, underserved, and oppressed people around the Kansas City area. Some services have been provided for free or for a little charge, including educating the community about the importance of addressing mental health. In late 2020 I experienced a stroke that had me stop services briefly. However, I continued providing services and obtaining more contracts in 2021.

Dr. Erica L. Thompson, L.P.C. was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, but migrated to Kansas City, MO, in 2010. She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and a minor in Family Studies; Webster University with a Masters of Arts Degree in Mental Health Counseling; Colorado Technical University with a Masters of Business Administration Degree with an emphasis in Mediation and Dispute Resolution; and Capella University with a Ph.D. in Advanced Studies in Human Behaviors. In addition to her education, she has a wealth of experience in the social services and mental health community, including 18 years in various social service positions and 12 years as a licensed professional counselor in MO. Dr, Thompson became a therapist due to the lack of mental health professionals that looked like her.

Dr. Thompson has a passion for educating the community and creating opportunities for others to have a second chance at life through addressing various mental health issues. Dr. Thompson’s passion has come to fruition through her low-cost therapy services, book-writing, multiple workshops in the community, her new Mental Health Matters platform, and the creation of her social service agency, Divine Interventions. Divine Interventions aims a meeting and support the mental health and social needs of underprivileged, forgotten, and oppressed individuals in the community. Divine Interventions believes everyone deserves a 2nd chance or a fresh start in life despite previous lifestyle choices. Divine Interventions’ motto is meeting people where they are, creating 2nd chances, and transforming lives. Expanding on Dr. Thompson’s passion for community, the plans for Divine Interventions’ Resilience Line and the non-for-profit 2nd Chance Center will be completed soon.

Dr. Thompson recently published her dissertation, The Relationship between Discrimination, Self-Esteem, Participation in Supportive Services, and Recidivism in Adult Male Sex Offenders. Additional works, including Quadruple Homicide: Young, Black, Educated and Female, and the Transforming Lives Series, are actively being completed and will be available soon.

Despite her busy work life, Dr. Thompson is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, I.N.C.; Kansas City, MO Alumnae Chapter, National Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater Kansas City, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (N.A.A.C.P.) Kansas City Chapter, Black Girl Social Club Kansas City, MO Chapter, a builder with the Kansas City Black Mental Health Initiative and assistant coach of S.T.E.P. Movement. Dr. Thompson is happily married and is the proud mother of 4 beautiful daughters, Courtney, Niyah, Wynter, and Autymn and GiGi, to Makenna.

Workshops Conducted:
Women’s Empowerment
Music is Our Therapy: Black Mental Health Matters
Make It Last Forever: Couple’s Retreat
Effective Communication in Relationships
Financial Literacy (CITI Bank Certified)
Job Coaching and Job Retention
Anger Management
Relapse Prevention
Social Skills
Self-Esteem
Feminization of Poverty

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road; racism, lack of funding, little to no support, and health issues, have been struggles for me,

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and about your word. What should we know?
Divine Interventions is a social service organization aimed at meeting and supporting the mental health and social needs of underprivileged, forgotten, and oppressed individuals in the community. Divine Interventions believes everyone deserves a 2nd chance or a fresh start in life.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Divine Interventions’ motto is meeting people where they are, creating 2nd chances, and transforming lives. Expanding on Dr. Thompson’s passion for community, the plans for Divine Interventions’ Resilience Line and the non-for-profit 2nd Chance Center will be completed soon.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.drthompsonsmhm.info/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivineInterventionsKC