Meet Chanell Hill LCSW | Teen Therapist and School Social Worker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chanell Hill LCSW and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chanell, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting Teen and Co Wellness and Consulting PLLC was to create a safe space for teens to thrive. As well as bridging the gap in the minority community pertaining to mental wellness. I thought back to my struggles with trauma and social emotional issues as a teen and the lack of support I had due to stigma, miseducation and silence. My journey towards mental wellness began as a young adult. However, I couldn’t help but ponder on how many of the mistakes and questionable decisions I made could have been diverted if I would have attended counseling earlier. My vision for Teen and Co was to make therapy accessible, modern and affordable. As a school counselor for the past 11 years I understood my teens needed a safe space to be able to talk and find solutions as they navigated the transition to young adulthood. Therefore, using my personal experiences as an educator and someone who dealt with mental illness, I carefully listen to my teens and created Teen and Co.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Launched in April 2021 Teen and Co Wellness and Consulting PLLC, is a private practice that offers individual, group and family counseling for teens. We desire to foster the wellness of urban teens and will create and use collaborative resources to address their social, emotional, and behavioral needs while eliminating the stigma of mental health in urban communities. Through our empowering and transformative services, we advocate for teens to authentically express their emotions by providing a safe space for individual and family therapy sessions and offering mental health support. Since our opening we have partner to provide group counseling of an organization, consulted with a female-based teen girl organization and counseled over 15 teens. In the future Teen and Co looks to continue to break the silence, end stigma and create safe spaces for teens to thrive.

I am a mental health maven and licensed clinical social worker in the states of Illinois, North Carolina, and Texas. I feel strongly that I was sent here on a mission to keep other children and teens from reliving the same experiences I did, and that’s when I traded in my California comforts and relocated to the Windy City of Chicago. I hit the ground running when I enrolled in Dominican University where I received my master of social work degree in 2016. Not only did I blaze trails by furthering my education, but I also became the first member of her immediate family to receive both an undergraduate and graduate degree.

I makes it my business to live a life of purpose and nothing brings her greater joy than knowing that I’m making a difference in the lives of young people today. “Every time I see my students and clients opening up and becoming better versions of themselves, I’m inspired,”

Those closest to me describe me as confident, social, and loving. Self-love and love for others, plus regular trips to my own therapist is what catapulted me to a place of wholeness where I can confidently and boldly advocate for children and teen mental health—removing the stigma that people of color don’t need therapy.

I continue to leave an indelible mark on the communities that she serves by creating safe spaces for children and teens through various public school systems to address their mental health needs. This is year 11 for in working in the public school system and I am grateful to continue to mode lives. My bold personality has enabled her to be a consistent conduit for change in this arena—by hosting groups and workshops, I have received unique opportunities to shine a light on the mental health struggles within the black community and schools that serve the inner-cities. As a way to further the conversation about mental health within the black community, I co-founded The Chicago Black Mental Wellness Expo with two colleagues. The annual expo was created in an effort to connect black people with quality mental health care resources.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Dairy Ashford for adult skate night Thursday 8-11pm. Reggie C Fitness for nightly fun step classes. Wednesday night runs with ZFT- Houston. Ador, Amahle, KISS and Phil and Derek’s for happy hour and food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I will like to shoutout my family especially my grandmother and mother. I also will like to shoutout the adults/young leaders in my life that helped me navigate life as a teen especially the Start Afterschool program and Boys and Girls Club of Downtown Sacramento.

Website: www.teenandcowellness.com

Instagram: @teenandcowellness

Twitter: @chanelldenea

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Teen-Co-Wellness-and-Consulting-PLLC-104911698398948