January 17, 2022
By: Bill Conger
Mental Health Counselor Kay Quintero has decided to retire from counseling after 13 years of service at the Haven of Hope of DeKalb County.
“I just knew God was leading that way,” Quintero says of her retirement. “I had ultimate peace about the decision and I still do. I will miss my clients, but I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life.”
Initially, Kay and her husband, John, former Executive Director of the Haven of Hope, started as volunteers 17 years ago and hadn’t envisioned opening a counseling center in Smithville.
“John and I originally were volunteering to use whatever skills we had to serve DeKalb Countians, asking God to lead us and use us,” Quintero said. “We did not know how that would develop. We started here with boundary classes, grief groups and a “Making Peace with Your Past,” group which is for adults dealing with childhood trauma.”
Growing up in the little community of Shop Springs in Wilson County, Quintero went to M.T.S.U. where she majored in Social Work. It was there that she met John, her husband of 49 years.
“After his National Guard basic training, we were married, and he found a job at Smithville Controls, later named Kingston Timers. This Nashville boy adapted to small town life, and we both have enjoyed living here.”
During her ten-year tenure with the state Department of Human Services she learned of many needs in the area.
“I wanted to be better equipped to help so I returned to MTSU and obtained a Masters in Clinical Psychology. After obtaining my master’s degree, I worked in Lebanon for two years at Cumberland Mental Health. Then, I contracted with our local school system to do some counseling and assist the school psychologist. I took off a couple of years to help my aging parents. Later I worked part time with Healing Hearts Counseling in McMinnville.”
Her experience also included volunteering for a few years in the chapel at Tennessee Prison for Women where she offered counseling, led grief groups and boundary classes. Eventually, she felt called to be a servant to the people in her home community.
“We have had opportunities and open doors. I had planned to work with women, but I had many requests to work with children so that is when we seriously considered having a counseling center.”
“I have enjoyed providing play therapy to children. Young children can’t sit down and have a long conversation about their thoughts and feelings. However, these come out in a play environment where all the attention is focused on them, and I follow their lead.
“Another rewarding aspect has been seeing people who have been willing to join us in volunteering or working with us. We have had a wonderful board of directors to help and advise. Several of those board members are still serving with us today. We currently have dedicated support staff and contract counselors in the professional counseling division. Over the years there have been numerous volunteers to teach classes and be encouragers on the ministry side.”
Quintero’s last day on the job was December 30, but the member of Smithville First Baptist Church will maintain a presence at the Haven.
“I hope to be able to volunteer with John and help in the ministry division of Haven of Hope. One new class I want to start is ” Hurt to Hope” or “New Hope.” John and I recently attended a four-day training about this. It uses stories of people in the Bible, such as Joseph, who had difficult times and a lot of unfair things happened. People meant it for evil, but God used it for good.”