Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaneika Smith.
Hi Shaneika, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Sweetgrass Counseling & Consultation was born out of both lived experience and a deep commitment to community care. I started my career knowing that traditional mental health spaces often weren’t built with Black communities, marginalized identities, or complex relationships in mind and I wanted to help create something different.
I co-founded Sweetgrass with the intention of building a practice that felt grounded, culturally responsive, and human. We began with very limited resources, relying on seed money from our families and a lot of unpaid labor, vision, and faith. There were no loans or big backers. There was just a clear sense that Memphis needed accessible, affirming mental health care and that we were willing to grow it slowly and intentionally. I started in the mental health field as a school counselor, and the needs that I saw constantly pushed me to support more clinical care.
Over time, Sweetgrass evolved from a small practice into a group practice that supports children, teens, adults, couples, and families, with a particular focus on Black clients, Neurodivergence, LGBTQIA+ communities, and people navigating nontraditional relationships. Alongside the practice, we launched The Braid Foundation, our nonprofit arm, to address the gaps that therapy alone can’t fix like access, cost, and systemic barriers—especially for youth and educators in Shelby County.
Today, Sweetgrass is not just a therapy practice but a growing ecosystem that includes community programs, training, and advocacy. My journey hasn’t been linear, and it hasn’t been easy, but it has always been rooted in the belief that healing should be accessible, culturally grounded, and centered on dignity. Memphis has shaped me, and Sweetgrass is one of the ways I give back to this city.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road at all. Building Sweetgrass has required navigating financial uncertainty, emotional labor, and the constant balancing act of caring for others while also caring for ourselves. We started without loans or institutional backing, which meant learning everything the hard way (systems, staffing, sustainability) while still showing up for clients with integrity. It meant and still means being administrators, accountants, HR, and technology staff even when we need a break.
There were moments of burnout, moments where growth outpaced infrastructure, and moments where external systems didn’t move as fast as community need. As a minority-led practice, we’ve also had to navigate inequities in access to funding, visibility, and support that aren’t always obvious but are deeply felt.
That said, the challenges shaped Sweetgrass into what it is now. Each obstacle forced us to clarify our values, slow down when needed, and grow intentionally rather than chasing expansion for its own sake. The road has been complex, but it’s also been meaningful, and it’s strengthened our commitment to doing this work in a way that’s ethical, sustainable, and rooted in community. It’s our hardest work, but it’s HEART work.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Sweetgrass Counseling & Consultation?
Sweetgrass Counseling & Consultation is a Memphis-based, minority-led mental health practice rooted in culturally responsive, affirming, and relationship-centered care. We provide therapy for children, teens, adults, couples, and families, with a strong emphasis on serving Black communities, LGBTQIA+ clients, and people navigating complex identities, relationships, and life transitions.
What we’re most known for is our ability to hold nuance. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all mental health care. Our clinicians are trained to work with trauma, attachment, ADHD, mood disorders, relationship challenges, and identity-based stressors, including ethical non-monogamy and nontraditional family structures. We hold space for areas that are often misunderstood or avoided in traditional therapy spaces.
Our work is grounded in a social justice lens that recognizes how systems, policy, and inequity shape mental health. In that spirit, Sweetgrass has expanded into specialized evaluation services, including immigration psychological evaluations for asylum, VAWA, U visas, and hardship waivers. This work allows us to support individuals and families navigating complex legal systems with dignity, cultural humility, and clinical rigor.
We also provide gender-affirming services, including WPATH-compliant letters and screeners, as well as bariatric surgery psychological evaluations. In each of these areas, our approach centers informed consent, respect, and the understanding that mental health care should never be a barrier to someone accessing life-affirming or medically necessary care.
What sets Sweetgrass apart is our intentionality. We move at a sustainable pace, prioritize ethical practice, and center dignity and consent. Not just in our clinical work, but in how we build our team and engage the community. Through The Braid Foundation, our nonprofit arm, we collaborate with local partners to increase access to care for youth and educators in Shelby County, addressing gaps that therapy alone can’t fix.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that Sweetgrass feels human. Clients often tell us that our space feels grounding, warm, and real. Not clinical or cold. We’ve built a brand that reflects care, integrity, and cultural awareness, without sacrificing professionalism or excellence.
What I want readers to know is that Sweetgrass is more than a therapy practice. It’s a growing ecosystem of care. Whether someone is seeking therapy, a specialized evaluation, community-based support, or consultation, our goal is the same: to make mental health care accessible, affirming, and rooted in the lived realities of the people we serve. Memphis deserves care that meets people where they are, and Sweetgrass is committed to continuing to build that here.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success means that the people we serve feel seen and supported, that our clinicians are cared for and not burned out, and that our work aligns with our values even when that means moving slower or saying no to certain opportunities.
On a broader level, success looks like reducing barriers to care, advocating for systems that are more just, and creating spaces where healing doesn’t require people to shrink themselves to fit outdated models. If Sweetgrass can continue to support community wellness, protect the dignity of the people we serve, and remain financially stable without compromising our integrity, that’s success to me.
Pricing:
- Initial Consultation – Free
- Intake Session – $175
- Individual- $85 (30 min), $140 (60)
- Couple/Family- $160
- Insurance- Cigna, Aetna, Optum, BCBS-TN
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sweetgrasscac.com
- Other: https://www.thebraidfoundation.org
