Inspiring Conversations with Paul Kiger of Supporting Act Counseling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Kiger.

Hi Paul, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be featured in Voyage Michigan. My story begins when I was 8 years old. I started taking piano lessons and at around 13 started teaching myself how to play guitar. From then on my dream in life was to become a rock star. I played in bands in the Detroit area before coming to Grand Rapids to attend college at Grand Valley State University. I studied social work and Spanish with the hope of becoming a mental health therapist if my dream of becoming a rock star did not pan out. While attending college I was able to play in a band that had decent success in the Grand Rapids area playing shows at a variety of well known local venues including Skelletones, The Intersection, and The Orbit Room.

In the end, we all decided to go our separate ways and I decided to continue to pursue a career in counseling and spent time living in Central America. When I returned to the United States, I began working as a therapist and adjunct professor. After about 7 years I had the idea to start Supporting Act Counseling which allowed me to combine my two passions, music and counseling. As the demands of life, especially those of artists and creatives, can make it difficult to attend counseling in a physical space, Supporting Act Counseling offers telehealth sessions to ensure touring artists can build rapport and maintain continuity of care with one therapist who can address their unique needs. Being a musician who has played in bands I can relate to the stress, pressure, and anxiety that comes with being an artist.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Starting a niche organization has provided both its rewards and challenges. From my initial research, it did not appear that there were any other organizations providing mental health counseling for artists/creatives/musicians, from a creative, that were doing it through telehealth. This was before the pandemic and telehealth was much less utilized and people were leary of it. Starting Supporting Act Counseling was initially a smooth process as our services are provided through telehealth which eliminated a lot of the startup work and stress that occurs when a business has a physical location. However, since my audience is both inside and outside of Grand Rapids, it makes growing the business challenging. I work directly with artists and creatives, mostly touring musicians who otherwise would struggle meeting with a therapist regularly as they are on the road or hold inconsistent schedules. One of the main obstacles was getting plugged back into the music community and growing Supporting Act Counseling, as many counseling practices often grow through word of mouth. However, I have been connected to the music scene since my days as an artist in pop punk bands so it has allowed me to connect with peers to get the word out.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Supporting Act Counseling?
One of the joys of working as a professional therapist and life coach is supporting people as they move through various phases of their lives to realize and reach their full potential. I currently support clients and staff as they move towards openness, acceptance, compassion, justice, wisdom, and self-understanding. We are all on our own journey and my hope is to meet clients where they are at in their journey. The skills I have refined over the past decade have uniquely prepared me to work in the mental health field to serve individuals, families, and groups.

With over 10 years of experience working in the mental health and substance use field as a therapist, life coach, university professor, trainer, and mentor, my goal is to bring my knowledge and skills to my practice supporting artists as they navigate the complex issues that accompany touring and a lifestyle with such high demands. Before becoming a therapist I played in bands alongside groups such as Hellogoodbye, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Taking Back Sunday, The Spill Canvas, Mayday Parade, Motion City Soundtrack, and The Summer Set, to name a few. I have worked with Grammy nominated artists as well as professional athletes and reality show contestants. My hope is to bring a unique understanding of what it is like to be a touring musician or artist in addition to providing quality and evidenced based counseling and life coaching. I am a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW), Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CAADC), certified in Brainspotting, as well as trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), the Sanctuary Model of Care, and Motivational Interviewing.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I like that Grand Rapids has the feel of a big city but is small. There is plenty to do but without the traffic, noise, and busyness of a big city. What I like least about the city is how segregated it is and the structural/managerial racism that exists.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://supportingactcounseling.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supportingactcounseling/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supportingactcounseling
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNmD3DXF9U8qCmevO1St2nA

Image Credits
Josh Kulchar