Kristie Kay-Butts
Therapist Kristie Kay-Butts, LCP, RPT is excited to step into the next chapter of serving the Spartanburg community with the opening of her new practice, Bloom Counseling Studio.
Kay-Butts’s husband, David Butts, grew up in the Spartanburg area. The two met while he was in dental school in Charleston, and when he completed his education, they moved to the Upstate to be closer to family.
A licensed counselor and registered play therapist, Kay-Butts says she was first drawn to working in therapy because she simply enjoyed working with people. “I feel like I’ve always been the friend that people come to,” she says.
She also was impacted by one specific experience during her time in Charleston. “I already had a background in psychology, but my college’s campus ministry came to me and asked me to lead a group of girls through a study for sexual abuse,” she says. “As I started that study, I realized that one, it was very impactful for everyone there, because there were things being addressed that they had never had addressed before, and two, I needed actual training, and I remember telling all the girls, please go see a therapist, please go see a counselor in addition to this.”
“I loved working with them, and I knew that was what I wanted to do, but I also knew that I needed training,” she says. “So I went back to school for that. I was already out of college and working at the disabilities board, not in the therapy field, but that was a moment for me where I was like, I really want to do this.”
In addition to discovering a love for working with women, Kay-Butts went on to realize that there was another demographic she had a passion for working with — children.
“When I first started counseling, I was only going to work with adults,” she says, “but at the practice I was working with, there were so many children there that I needed to work with some children, too. And as I did, I was like, wow, I love this so much. Because you know, with kids, their patterns and the things that, as adults, take a lot to work through, those things haven’t developed yet for kids. They’re resilient, and you see changes so quickly with kids.”
This year, Kay-Butts decided it was time to take a leap and open her own therapy practice: Bloom Counseling Studio.
“It’s an office that’s designed in the hope that we can help people to grow and bloom in their season of life,” she says. “There are women who are in different seasons of life, whether it’s relationships, careers, motherhood, we go through so many different things, and we want to help our clients through those life transitions.” She also works regularly with children, utilizing play therapy techniques to give children a new way to communicate.
Located on Oakwood Avenue in Spartanburg, Kay-Butts’ office building holds special meaning for her family. “It’s a house that’s been in my husband’s family for generations. My father-in-law lives right nearby, and my husband and I actually lived in the house during a period of time when we were helping to care for his mom. We lived there for six years, and when we left, we knew it meant a lot for his dad to keep that home and not sell it. So when we were thinking about placement for my office, it kind of naturally came together. It’s righ tin the middle of everything. It’s the perfect fit.”
Kay-Butts’s dream is that eventually, the space would be a hub for several different therapists to practice out of, resulting in an office where all specialties are served. Currently, there is one other therapist working out of the office who sees couples, and Kay-Butts is excited to see how the space continues to grow.
Bloom Counseling Studio celebrated its grand opening at the end of May with an event that Kay-Butts simply describes as “wonderful.”
They honored her father-in-law with a beautiful plaque of the family’s history, and recognized Dr. Cathy Sparks, the therapist who first introduced Kay-Butts to the world of play therapy. “It was really sweet,” she says. “We were going to advertise and make it really big, but I was like, this has been so long-awaited. Let’s just make it really sweet and special.”
Looking ahead, Kay-Butts is excited to be taking on new clients at Bloom Counseling Studio, located at 131 Oakwood Avenue in Spartanburg. She’s passionate about connecting with women and children in the Spartanburg community, and excited to continue helping her clients reach build full, beautiful lives. For more information visit www.bloomcounselingstudio.com.
