Mission Coffee House – a shop with purpose
‘A couple of waitresses reopened a legend’
June 2, 2025
FOND DU LAC – Over the past half-decade, local author, business owner and mental health professional Kaitlyn Kenealy said she’s tirelessly worked to make behavioral wellness accessible for all.
Through her private practice, Kenealy Counseling, and, most recently, her new role as CEO of Into The Woods Wellness – a holistic healthcare provider in Fond du Lac – Kaitlyn said she and her team are establishing a new practice in Fond du Lac that cares for the whole person, inside and out.
Kenealy Counseling
Throughout her career, leading up to establishing her own practice, Kaitlyn said she knew she always wanted to do her “own thing.”
“I was very grateful for all the other experiences I had,” she said. “I had great supervisors, but I knew (working for myself) was going to be my path.”
Having done “so much research” about private practices, Kaitlyn said she decided to go for it and open Kenealy Counseling in 2020 – despite being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ball has just been rolling ever since,” she said.
When considering what has made her practice stand out among Fond du Lac’s other private and hospital-based behavioral health providers, Kaitlyn said she credits her success to a few things.
“I think what sets me apart was I stayed in-person (during the pandemic),” she said. “Now, granted, we had our masks, and (practiced personal) safety to a tee, but when people were going virtual, I stayed in-person.”
In addition, Kaitlyn said she also believes the quality of her care has not only created loyal and repeat business, but also new and organic business via word-of-mouth referrals.
“I wanted to (provide) top-notch, quality care, and not just say that’s what we’re doing, but really practice it,” she said. “So, over the last five years, (I’ve maintained) a 96% retention rate (and a) less than 1% no-show rate. I really look at that as (me setting) the tone right, and I’m really proud we’ve had such good outcomes, (and) that people are healing.”
When starting Kenealy Counseling five years ago, Kaitlyn said she realized in order to build her reputation among her patients and in the community, she had to “focus on the people.”
“I figured if I could provide quality care for one person, then they were going to tell five other people,” she said. “From (2020-21), I had 808% year-over-year growth.”
Especially during such an uncertain time, when mental health care was urgently pursued by many, Kaitlyn said it was challenging to care for people, but the experience taught her a lot about providing quality and effective therapy.
“No one has ever taught me how to be a therapist during a pandemic,” she said. “It really humanized the process of therapy (because my patients and I) were in it together… and obviously the need for therapy (was) through the roof. So, to me, it was focusing on (providing) quality, customized treatment and being in it with them that kind of set me apart.”
Therapy in office, on paper
Another unique aspect of her professional career as a mental health provider, Kaitlyn said, is that she’s a published author.
“My first book is called ‘Healing Is Messy AF,’ (which was published in 2022),” she said. “It’s a workbook about investing in yourself – so, it’s a bunch of different mental health topics intertwined with my clinical experience, my personal experience (and my) patient experience, and gives you tangible and practical things that you can do at home.”
Kaitlyn said the book has won several awards – including the Canadian Book Club Award, according to her website (kenealycounseling.com) – helping establish her reputation both locally and globally throughout the mental health community.
“(Recently), I was asked to come to the LA Times (Festival of Books) at the USC campus, which is the largest book festival in the United States,” she said. “I had a two-hour book signing for (‘Healing Is Messy AF’).”
Kaitlyn said she was inspired to publish her book for several reasons – one being her brother, who unfortunately took his own life one year before its release.
“I almost closed my practice at that time, and I almost didn’t publish my book,” she said. “So, there were a ton of obstacles in the beginning, and a lot of personal ones, at that (one-)year mark.”
Through her personal tragedy, however, Kaitlyn said she persevered to not only publish her book but continue growing her practice, getting it to where it is today.
“Had I not pushed through, had I closed my practice doors, I wouldn’t be where I am now,” she said. “So, I try to take that horribly traumatic experience and push this mental health (work) forward, trying to honor him.”
Another reason Kaitlyn said she decided to pursue authorship was to make behavioral health care accessible in all formats.
“The intention behind the book was, if we can’t get people in (person) – because of COVID or people are scared – (to) create something that could sit on a coffee table, be appealing to people and that they (could use to) focus on their mental health,” she said.
Kaitlyn’s second book – “my coming of age story through my trauma” – she said, is currently in production and set to be released later this year.
Into the Woods integration
In tandem with celebrating five years at Kenealy Counseling, Kaitlyn said she’s recently taken another major career step – integrating with and becoming CEO of Into The Woods Wellness (located at 1424 Lynn Ave. in Fond du Lac).
“I’m really proud of (my practice), and now, I’m absolutely proud to come together – especially with other women, too – and create (a place for) holistic, comprehensive care,” she said.
Per Into The Woods’ Facebook page, the holistic healthcare and wellness center was founded by registered nurse Katie Abhold, with the grand opening of its Lynn Avenue facility in 2023.
Into The Woods, according to its website (intothewoodsjourney.com), “focuses on getting to the root causes rather than masking symptoms with medication and creating further imbalance within the body.”
Abhold’s mission with Into The Woods, Kaitlyn said, closely matched that of her own with Kenealy Counseling’s Wellness Blend Program – which also seeks to heal the whole person through “physical, mental and nutritional wellbeing.”
“Part of what we started under Kenealy Counseling last year was an integrated model of physical, mental and nutrition(al care),” she said. “Into The Woods Wellness had already been doing that at a larger scale, so (after) hundreds of meetings over the past few months, it just made sense (to integrate).”
Kaitlyn said Abhold’s long-term plan was always to include mental health services in her practice, and that it simply turned out to be good timing when they discovered they could help each other fulfill their individual-yet-like-minded goals.
“I really believe we can revolutionize mental health, that we can revolutionize care when it comes to treating the whole (person) – and how cool it is that it’s all women,” she said. “We’re all behind the scenes, and we all want to make this difference. So, it’s really inspiring, not only personally, but professionally and from a leadership standpoint as well.”
Kenealy Counseling, Kaitlyn said, is still operating under its own name within the Into The Woods Facility until she and her new team decide how to brand their combined practices going forward.
To learn more about Kenealy Counseling and Into The Woods Wellness, as well as Kaitlyn’s current and upcoming publications, visit their websites or find them on social media.
