About Me

Meet Kandice Nelson

Founder of BeUChooseU Therapy | Childhood Trauma & Child Mental Health Therapist

Hi, I'm Kandice Nelson, founder of BeUChooseU Therapy. I believe healing begins with honesty—the kind of honesty that allows us to acknowledge where we've been, what we've carried, and how those experiences have shaped who we've become. Before I ask you to trust me with your story, I believe it's important that you know a little about mine.

I am the oldest daughter in a family of ten children, including six siblings who became part of our family through foster care. From an early age, I witnessed the complexity of childhood experiences and family systems. I grew up understanding that love and trauma can exist in the same home and that, for many families, survival can take priority over having the opportunity to truly heal. Those experiences shaped my compassion for children and families—but they also eventually required me to look inward.

My own journey has included recognizing patterns passed from one generation to another, reclaiming my voice, developing a deeper understanding of myself, and discovering that healing is about more than simply surviving what happened to us. It is also about deciding what we want to carry forward and what we are ready to leave behind.

I have dedicated my career to supporting children, adolescents, adults, and families impacted by trauma and difficult childhood experiences. My professional experience spans child welfare, juvenile justice, and family systems, giving me the opportunity to work alongside children and families navigating trauma, adversity, behavioral and emotional challenges, disrupted relationships, and significant life transitions.

Today, my work brings those experiences together. I help children and adolescents develop the emotional tools they need now, while helping adults understand and heal the childhood experiences they may still be carrying years later. My therapeutic approach is grounded in clinical training, trauma-informed care, and evidence-based practices, but it is also shaped by something that cannot be learned entirely from a textbook: an understanding of the complexity of family, resilience, survival, and the courage it takes to break generational patterns.

I don't believe therapy requires you to walk into the room with everything figured out. I believe it should give you a place where you can finally put some of it down.