Why I Am No Longer Working as a Psychotherapist

I am many things, but above all, I hold an unshakeable faith in humanity's capacity to heal and thrive. I long to see us dig deep, confront the shadows at the root of our suffering, and emerge whole. My work is driven by the transformative power of love and human connection—a reminder, especially to those overlooked and neglected by society, of how divine, loved, worthy, and powerful we truly are.

Born and raised in the U.S. South, I carry the resilience, wisdom, and unwavering faith of parents who survived the apartheid of Jim Crow. My father, a Vietnam War infantry soldier turned preacher, organizer, and champion for economic justice and my mother, an educator, librarian, and nurturer, taught me the power of faith that does not waver in the face of injustice or struggle. Their steadfast belief in something greater even in the midst of immense hardship is a legacy that continues to ground my life and my work.

My journey into healing began with the weight of collective trauma: the neglect, abandonment, and suffering endured by Black, Brown, and under-resourced communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As a queer Black womxn, mother, and neurodivergent person navigating multiple complex intersections, this work is deeply personal. I have come to understand that the personal is political and the political, personal. The wounds inflicted by the world often become the wounds we carry within, passing them on in cycles of pain.

As Audre Lorde said, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” The fields of psychology and medicine, shaped by histories of scientific racism, have often done more harm than healing—particularly to Black, Indigenous, women, children, queer folks, poor people, and the vulnerable. Too often, people are reduced to labels and diagnoses, placed in fragmented systems that ignore the root causes of their suffering.

“They got money for wars, but can’t feed the poor…
…and they wonder why we’re crazy.” ~Tupac

Over the years, I worked in diverse settings: with displaced and migrant communities, men navigating reentry after incarceration, families, youth of color, survivors in domestic violence shelters, and in medical and community-based mental health settings. Again and again, I’ve witnessed how what the world calls “mental illness” is often the soul’s way of expressing pain—a response to violent conditions, disconnection, denied dignity, and a deep longing for belonging. I remember taking a graduate class called Abnormal Psychology and realizing the irony: we exist in deeply abnormal conditions, yet we blame and label people for the ways they respond to them.

It reminded me of the first time I came across the term “drapetomania” in 2022—a so-called "mental illness" coined by Samuel Cartwright to pathologize enslaved Africans who attempted to escape. The absurdity of it struck me: how often had I seen modern systems do the same thing, diagnosing and policing people's natural responses to oppression rather than addressing the conditions that harm them?

This is why I have embraced an evolving approach to healing, one that moves beyond the traditional medical model of psychotherapy. While I honor the insights of my past work, I now weave together somatic practices, land-based healing, ecotherapy, and indigenous traditions. I see suffering as ecological, environmental, and spiritual. My work now creates spaces where wholeness can emerge and where spiritual liberation takes root.

In transitioning from psychotherapist to transformational healer and somatic ecotherapist, I integrate modalities that honor my professional foundation alongside the ancestral, ecological, and communal wisdom guiding me today. At Whole with Joy, I understand that healing blossoms in community, spirituality, and the land connection. I facilitate healing opportunities through intentional community work, ecological healing practices, and embodied experiences all designed to reconnect us with ourselves, the earth, and one another.

I now see my role not only as a guide for individual healing but also as a catalyst for community and cultural transformation. Through my healing journey grounded in somatic practices and enriched by land-based and indigenous spiritual traditions, I have reclaimed my spirit. Nourished by liberatory political education homes like the Poor People’s Campaign and Feminist Front, I continue to evolve. Motherhood has deepened this evolution, shaping a practice that honors the sacred interplay between personal healing and collective liberation.

I invite you to join this movement—a journey of collective healing and transformation, a space where we can learn, grow, and become the change we want to see in the world. Join the Whole with Joy community: subscribe to the newsletter, invest in your transformational healing through one-on-one coaching, attend upcoming workshops and live sessions, or engage in dialogue on social media. Together, we can reclaim our wholeness and restore our connection to the larger web of life embracing the earth, our ancestors, and the communities that sustain us.

True healing begins with reconnecting to our spirituality, remembering who we are, our deep connection to life, where we come from, and why we are here. This is the work of reclaiming our wholeness, a journey that is as much personal as it is collective, as much about deep individual transformation as it is about birthing a movement for liberation and joy.

Welcome to Whole with Joy! 

I’m so glad you’re here. I truly hope this reflection has offered you something positive or perhaps something to consider. I’d love to hear your thoughts and any feedback you may have, so please feel free to share in the comments.

At Whole with Joy, we believe in our collective potential to heal and reclaim liberation through wholeness—an embodiment of a love ethic that is courageous, action-oriented, and transformative. Join the movement by subscribing to our newsletter. By subscribing, you’ll discover more about our community, explore ways to support and connect, and stay updated on offerings and opportunities that inspire us all to embrace wholeness as a path to liberation and transform the world with love.

Thank you for being part of this journey!