Kelly Brown, MSW

WholeHeart Associate, Kelly Brown, believes in the power of collaboration and actively involves her clients in their therapeutic journey. With warmth and empathy, she helps adolescents and adults develop effective coping skills and strategies to navigate life's challenges and promote long-lasting change. She values the importance of building a strong rapport with her clients to provide them with a comfortable therapeutic environment based on trust, safety, and openness through the therapeutic frameworks of DBT and RO DBT.

After growing up in Atlanta and graduating from Pace Academy, Kelly received her BBA from SMU in Dallas, Texas. She returned to Atlanta after college to work in corporate data analytics and strategy for several years. After she began volunteering at Kate’s Club, an organization that provides therapeutic programming for grieving children and teens, she decided to further her impact in the mental health field by switching careers to be a therapist.

Kelly earned her Master of Social Work from UGA and completed her clinical internship at Hillside, a residential treatment facility for adolescents in Atlanta. At Hillside, Kelly worked in their virtual intensive outpatient program and intensive in-home therapy program doing both individual therapy and DBT skills groups.

Using DBT therapy, Kelly helps her clients who struggle with anxiety, depression, and mood regulation effectively cope with distressing situations, develop healthier relationships with peers and family, improve their emotion regulation, and cultivate a sense of mindfulness in their daily lives. For her clients struggling with excessive self-control, perfectionism, social isolation, or rigidity, Kelly uses RO DBT to help them find balance and open up to new possibilities. Using these evidence-based techniques and compassionate guidance, Kelly helps her clients develop social connectedness, flexibility, and express emotions more easily. As a therapist, she creates a non-judgmental space where clients can explore their patterns and learn to embrace openness, vulnerability, and increased life satisfaction.

Kelly practices under the direct supervision of Tara Arnold, Ph.D., LCSW, CEDS-C, RYT-200 as she works towards her full clinical licensure.