Building Morningstar Counseling: Erica Hughes on Mental Health, Entrepreneurship, and Breaking the Stigma

Send us Fan MailOn this episode of the Black Bridge Mindset Podcast, hosts introduce Erica Hughes, founder of Morningstar Counseling Services in Louisville, Kentucky, a practice supporting teens and adults through depression, anxiety, trauma, and major life transitions with a gentle, empowering approach. Erica shares her path from sociology and criminology studies to Child Protective Services, then earning a master’s in mental health counseling and opening her private practice in 2018 without a formal business plan. She discusses learning business essentials like finding mentors, hiring support, getting an accountant, managing taxes, insurance, networking, and social media, and balancing therapy work with leadership, motherhood, and boundaries. The conversation covers increased openness to therapy post-COVID, especially among Black clients and men, how to suggest therapy sensitively, and ways to reduce stigma. Erica also highlights her children’s book, “The Courage Within,” and her goals to expand into hospitals and corporate mental health education.Instagram: @mstar_counselingWebsite: Morning Star Counseling 00:00 Podcast Cold Open00:27 Madrid Jet Lag Banter01:40 Meet Erica Hughes03:17 Louisville vs Chicago Check In04:19 Morningstar Services Team05:23 From CPS to Counseling09:01 Launching the Practice11:19 Moving Through Fear14:15 Therapy in Black Communities18:00 Entrepreneur Lessons Learned21:10 Creating a Safe Space22:24 Therapist Self Care Boundaries23:28 Minority Hurdles Ahead23:54 Breaking Into Louisville25:06 Building Without A Plan27:08 Mentors And Mistakes28:17 Boundaries And Self Care30:39 Friends As Employees32:37 Finding The Right Therapist35:02 Proud Of Morningstar36:18 Bigger Vision Ahead37:38 Talking About Therapy39:33 Dispelling Black Stigma42:22 Children's Book Journey44:16 Where To Find Erica45:22 Culture And ClosingThank you for listening! Follow our socials! FacebookInstagramYouTube TikTok Contact us: Email: [email protected]  Hosts:Mike CJKen