Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana S Rice.
Diana S, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve basically been counseling people since I was a kid — I just didn’t have the license yet.
In 7th grade at Crystal Lake Middle School and later at Deerfield Beach High School, I served as a peer counselor. Growing up in an unhealed environment, I was always that kid wondering, “Why do people do what they do?” I was fascinated by behavior, emotions, and the impact of trauma long before I had the language for it. I always wanted to be a psychologist, but after high school I told myself I wasn’t going to college.
Of course, I ended up going anyway. I earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Science with a minor in Women’s Studies, plus an associate’s in Early Childhood Education. Those years confirmed what my younger self already knew: I was called to work with people, especially those carrying invisible pain.
Over the last 20+ years, my career has woven together mental health, education, and even the South Florida film industry. I completed a year-long practicum at Cross Creek School, a CBT-based K–12 therapeutic school, working alongside psychiatrists, nurses, and clinicians. I later served with Friends of Children, providing in-home and school-based therapy to underserved BIPOC communities. After that, I spent time in education and media, which sharpened my storytelling skills and gave me a wider lens on culture, systems, and how stories shape identity.
Life took a sharp turn when my son suffered a traumatic brain injury. I stepped away from clinical work for several years to care for him. That season deepened my passion for neurobiology, neuroplasticity, and holistic wellness—because I watched, up close, how the brain and body can change, and how faith and perseverance interact with healing.
Eventually, I returned to the field as the Crisis Intervention Counselor at Ascend Academy, an alternative high school after the Stoneman Douglas tragedy. I was the only therapist on campus, supporting both students and staff through grief, trauma, and daily crises. That experience reaffirmed my commitment to trauma-informed care, nervous system regulation, and culturally aware mental health support.
In 2020, I founded Through the Valley Therapy, a private practice focused on faith-integrated, trauma-informed therapy for those navigating perfectionism, anxiety, identity, and religious or church-related trauma. My clinical work blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), neuroscience, and biblical wisdom, with a strong emphasis on gut-brain health and holistic mental wellness.
As my work evolved, I realized I wanted to do more than sit in the therapy room—I wanted to educate, consult, and create spaces for larger conversations. That’s how Transformed Mind Consulting & Coaching was born. Today, through TMCC, I mentor and coach adults, collaborate with churches and organizations, provide trainings on trauma and mental fitness, and host The Holistic Counselor Podcast, where faith, science, and holistic healing meet.
Where I am today is the result of all those chapters: the peer counselor kid, the daughter from an unhealed home, the mom walking through brain injury with her son, the crisis counselor after a school tragedy, the therapist, educator, and now consultant and speaker. All of it informs how I show up. My work now is about helping people rewrite their internal narratives, heal at the root—not just manage symptoms—and step into their God-given identity with clarity, courage, and compassion.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My path has been anything but smooth, and honestly, that’s part of why I do the work I do today. Every chapter that felt heavy or confusing ended up becoming a chapter that shaped my perspective as a therapist, consultant, and educator.
I grew up in an unhealed environment, where chaos, survival mode, and mixed messages about identity were a normal part of life. That alone creates a foundation you spend years untangling. It took a long time for me to understand my own nervous system, boundaries, and beliefs about self-worth.
Later in life, one of the biggest turning points was my son’s traumatic brain injury. I stepped away from my career for several years to care for him. Watching your child fight to heal changes you. It deepened my interest in neuroplasticity, trauma, and the body–mind connection—not from textbooks, but from lived experience.
Professionally, there were other challenges too.
Working in community mental health with underserved BIPOC communities meant confronting systemic gaps daily. Serving as the crisis counselor at an alternative high school after the Stoneman Douglas tragedy meant supporting students and staff through trauma with very limited resources. Starting a private practice during a global crisis took faith and grit. And shifting from therapist to consultant, trainer, and podcaster required me to build new skills, break through perfectionism, and learn how to use my voice differently.
There were also the quieter struggles—being a wife, mother, and caregiver while building a career; navigating burnout; overcoming cultural and religious expectations; healing from my own past while helping others heal theirs; and learning, over time, that you can be strong and still need support.
But every obstacle refined me.
It gave me compassion.
It gave me depth.
It taught me how to sit with people in both pain and possibility.
Today, those struggles fuel my mission. They allow me to help high-achieving adults, faith-based communities, and organizations in a way that’s authentic, trauma-informed, and rooted in both science and lived wisdom. My journey hasn’t been easy, but it has been purposeful—and each difficulty has shaped the clarity and calling I now walk in through Transformed Mind Consulting & Coaching and Through the Valley Therapy.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the founder of two interconnected brands: Through the Valley Therapy, my private-pay counseling practice, and Transformed Mind Consulting & Coaching, where I provide education, consulting, and mental-health–focused trainings for churches, organizations, and adults.
Clinically, I specialize in trauma-informed, faith-integrated therapy for adults navigating perfectionism, anxiety, identity wounds, cultural and religious trauma, and the stress that comes with being a helper, leader, or caregiver. My approach blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), neuroscience, gut–brain health, and biblical wisdom. I’m known for helping clients break through limiting beliefs, regulate their nervous system, and rebuild a strong, resilient sense of identity without abandoning their faith.
Through Transformed Mind Consulting & Coaching, I expand that work beyond the therapy room. I teach workshops, train teams, create educational resources, and host The Holistic Counselor Podcast, where I convene experts in mental health, medicine, neuroscience, wellness, and spiritual formation. My goal is to take complex topics and make them accessible, culturally aware, and truly transformative.
What I’m most proud of is that everything I do is rooted in lived experience. As someone who grew up in an unhealed environment and later walked through my son’s traumatic brain injury, I don’t just teach concepts — I’ve lived the realities of trauma, caregiving, faith, and resilience. That combination of science, creativity, and personal story gives my work depth and relatability.
What sets me apart is the way I integrate faith, psychology, and whole-person wellness. I serve people who want to heal without losing themselves or their faith. I bridge evidence-based mental health practices with spiritual formation, cultural sensitivity, creativity, and clinical ethics — and I do it in a way that feels safe, honest, and deeply human.
Whether I’m teaching, consulting, interviewing, or sitting in session, my mission is the same:
to help people heal at the root, reclaim their God-given identity, and move from survival into transformation.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My biggest advice is simple but foundational: do your own inner work. Whether you’re entering the mental health world, entrepreneurship, ministry, or any helping profession, you can only take people as far as you’ve gone yourself. Your unhealed parts will always show up — in your work, your relationships, your decisions, and your leadership. Self-awareness isn’t optional; it’s the foundation.
The second thing I wish someone had told me earlier is the true meaning of humility. Not the watered-down version that gets confused with being quiet or shrinking — but the biblical, grounded humility that says I am both a learner and a leader. I can be confident and still teachable. I can have expertise and still seek accountability. Early on, I thought competence alone would carry me, but humility — real humility — is what keeps you steady, ethical, and deeply connected to the people you serve.
I would also say:
Take care of your nervous system. Burnout will lie to you and tell you you’re failing, when really you’re just overwhelmed.
Find mentors who challenge you, not just validate you. Growth requires friction.
Stay rooted in your faith and your “why.” The work will test you. Purpose is what keeps you grounded.
Let your story shape you, not define you. Your past gives you depth, but it’s not your ceiling.
And finally — don’t rush the process. I used to think I had to arrive somewhere quickly. Now I know that every season, even the hard ones, was preparing me for the impact I get to have today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.transformedmindcc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theholisticcounselorpodcast/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianasrice/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQFWkIv_9U7NrmG0k-EE1FOSCiMDlIXPo
- Other: www.throughthevalleytherapy.com
Image Credits
Chattergold Studios Calvet_Media
