Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Prior.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey began over 16 years ago pursuing traditional clinical social work, earning my degree from The Ohio State University, and diving headfirst into mental healthcare. Early on, I realized standard talk therapy, while invaluable, wasn’t always enough on its own. So many people navigating trauma, eating disorders, and burnout were running on fumes trying to logic their way through pain while their bodies still held onto the stress and unexpressed emotions. I knew I needed to build a bridge between top-down clinical strategy and bottom-up physical embodiment, which led me to become a Registered Yoga Teacher, a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, and a Brainspotting Practitioner.
That integration led to founding my clinical practice, AP Counseling + Yoga. But as my vision grew, I realized true healing doesn’t happen in isolation and it requires community, collaboration, and multidisciplinary care. That insight drove the creation of AP & Co Collective in East Dallas: a ‘care-connect’ home that now houses my private clinical practice alongside specialized clinical therapists, and independent mind-body partners like yoga facilitators all sharing a commitment to weight-inclusive, trauma-informed care under one roof.
To extend this work beyond traditional therapy, I created The Academy as an educational hub for clinicians and wellness leaders seeking to deepen their somatic intelligence and trauma-informed practices. I also co-host The Compassion Circle Podcast, where we bridge clinical therapy and body-based wisdom through open, heart-centered discussions on recovery and mental health, making these essential tools accessible to a broader audience.
Every branch of my work ties back to helping people navigate what I call the ‘messy middle.’ Feelings are uncomfortable and hard to sit with, but when we create collaborative spaces where both mind and body can finally exhale, profound transformation happens. Today, whether I’m acting as a practitioner in my practice, a supervisor, an educator, or a podcast host, I’m grounded in bringing warmth, light, and a little fun to deep somatic trauma work
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It certainly hasn’t been a smooth, linear road; growth rarely is! One of the most defining hurdles was navigating the pandemic as a predominantly brick-and-mortar business centered around in-person connection, physical embodiment, and our yoga space. Overnight, we had to pivot our hands-on clinical and somatic practices into digital realms while holding space for an unprecedented wave of collective trauma, isolation, and anxiety. Managing the operational friction, financial unpredictability, motherhood, and sheer physical space challenges of a small business during that era tested every ounce of resilience I had. But walking through those struggles ultimately deepened our mission: it reinforced just how vital physical, embodied community care truly is, and it gave us the grit and clarity needed to build AP & Co Collective into the grounded, multi-faceted sanctuary it is today.
We’ve been impressed with AP and Co Collective , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Above all else, I am a clinician first. Everything I build from the collective space to my educational programs is rooted in my primary identity as a therapist on the ground doing deep, relational trauma work. At AP & Co Collective which is home to my private practice, AP Counseling + Yoga; we provide trauma-informed, weight-inclusive, and somatic-centered mental healthcare in East Dallas. We specialize in helping individuals navigate trauma, eating disorder recovery, neurodivergence, chronic stress, and burnout. Rather than relying solely on traditional talk therapy, we integrate top-down clinical strategy with bottom-up physical embodiment through modalities like Brainspotting, movement, breathwork, EMDR, and intuitive eating meeting clients directly in the ‘messy middle’ where genuine healing occurs.
What truly sets us apart is how this clinical perspective shapes our integrated ecosystem. Because I approach everything with a practitioner-first lens, the Collective operates on a membership model designed specifically to support fellow practitioners, offering both physical practice space and digital growth opportunities for independent clinicians, specialized dietitians, and somatic providers (like yoga facilitators and energy workers). By bringing these aligned professionals together, we eliminate the isolation of private practice and cultivate a collaborative care environment. That same clinical core drives The Academy, our educational hub equipping wellness leaders with somatic intelligence and The Compassion Circle Podcast, which translates therapy concepts into accessible, everyday wisdom.
Brand-wise, I am most proud of building a sanctuary, both physical and virtual, that rejects toxic hustle culture and rigid perfectionism in favor of authentic body trust, practitioner support, and deep healing. We want your readers to know that whether they come to us as a client seeking therapy, a practitioner looking for a collective home, or a professional expanding their somatic skills, everything we offer is grounded in real clinical experience designed to give both the mind and body a safe place to finally exhale.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t think building something meaningful comes down to luck. While I certainly appreciate and acknowledge the timing, education, and opportunities that gave me a foundation to build on, luck doesn’t construct a business out of nothing. It’s more like passion, grit, vision, creative problem-solving, and perseverance do.
Favorable circumstances might open a door, but your own vision, clinical integrity, and willingness to show up day after day are what actually keep you in the room. Nobody hands you a thriving practice, a collective, or a podcast you have to build it brick by brick through persistent effort and an unwavering belief in what you’re creating.
When it comes to ‘bad luck’ or major hurdles; I don’t view them as cosmic misfortune. They are friction points that tested and continue to test my resolve. They forced me to innovate, stay flexible, and rely on my own resourcefulness. I’m grateful for the doors that opened along the way, but at the end of the day, it was me and my creativity, and determination that turned those open doors into a living reality.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.angelaprior.com
- Instagram: angelapriorlcsw
- Facebook: apandcocollective
- Youtube: apandcocollective
