Today we’d like to introduce you to Cherlisa Jackson.
Cherlisa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My mission is to inspire informed decisions with a vision to empower wisdom through broken pieces. I feel like the end result creates visibility for all of the dark clouds in life once light shines through. I felt this viewpoint so deeply that I turned it into a business.
I am the sole owner and operator of Sexual Health Education, Esteem, & Relationships (S.h.e.e.r.), LLC, located in Atlanta, GA. I have served clients in psychiatric care for over 14 years, facilitated psychosexual Trauma Systems Therapy for over seven years, led couples and family therapy for over six years, and I have been actively working with HIV prevention and sexual health education of other sexually transmitted infections and diseases for over six years. I am exceedingly focused on STD/STI counseling, sex therapy workshops, sex-partner notification, sex-positive therapy, and rapid HIV testing. I specialize in couples therapy, dating tips, divorces, and break-ups.
Other areas of expertise include esteem, anger, depression, and domestic violence. I want individuals who utilize my services to discover wholeness. I specifically use empowerment, inspiration, and restoration techniques in all of my interventions that incorporate REBT to minimize and reprogram irrational beliefs that create a “stuck” feeling. I then guide those beliefs into positive affirmations that encourage the Law of Attraction. I strive for everyone to BE their vision board.
I first started my educational journey receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2007 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where I also became a charter chapter member of Rho Sigma for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc, in the Spring of the same year. My dedication to the sorority principles eventually led to the 2016 creation of my nonprofit organization, Divine 9 Lives Matter that specifically helps Black Greek-lettered Organizations remain financial in all nine of their respective organizations and remain active within the community. In 2009, I graduated with my Masters in Counseling and Guidance – Couples and Family and am now recognized as a National Certified Counselor and am licensed in the state of Georgia, which led to the solidification of my niche and the creation of S.h.e.e.r., LLC.
As a Master of Public Health received from Kaplan University in 2013, I am certified as a Health Education Specialist which helped create a solid foundation of knowledge for areas of expertise necessary for effective delivery in sexual health education. In 2018, I became the co-developer and co-owner of a campaign called WhyNotify?, powered by both Goodie Nation and Google. This campaign was started to help individuals take personal responsibility for their sexual health and decrease the negative stigma of having sexual health conversations with sexual partners.
I am currently completing my doctoral degree with Walden University in Health Education and Promotion since 2016 with a dissertation topic of African American Females and HSV-2: A Basic Interpretive Study. I decided to focus on this topic because of my passion for sexual health education and my genuine appreciation for Black people. I have worked in the realm of sexual health education as a Disease Investigation Specialist, helping launch the Fulton County PrEP clinic, co-leading Test Atlanta, as well as various other endeavors since 2014. Through the community work, I became aware that African Americans are disproportionately affected by all STDs. After clinical research about Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2), I discovered that HSV-2 affects African American females more than any other demographic, and from asymptomatic diagnosis; yet, there are no current recommendations for routinized testing, regardless of rising incidence and prevalence. As a Black female, my likelihood of possible infection is nearly 50%, which is why I knew I needed to dedicate my life to this research!
It is my hope to change the world, one smile at a time. Through a mix of both research and compassion, it is my hope to change this world…one smile at a time!
Has it been a smooth road?
This journey has not been anything close to a crystal staircase! I began my clinical hours for my license when I graduated with my first Masters in 2009. I temporarily moved to Atlanta in 2011 to seek employment to begin counseling because I had no luck in Kansas City (Missouri, not Kansas lol). I also had no luck in Georgia and went back home in 2012. I stayed working in the field of psychology, but nothing directly related to counseling. I just could not find an employment opportunity that landed. I eventually moved back to Atlanta in 2014 to try again and became provisionally/associate licensed.
In 2016, I knew I was done working for other people but did not know where to start. I still have a book I haven’t released that has been written for FOUR years! In 2017, when my three years of supervised licensure were completed, there were issues with the paperwork, the licensing Board would not accept it, and I had to start over to complete another three years! The delay equated to me having to place a hold on my businesses I started in 2016, assuming licensure completion in 2017. So, I basically have been sitting on top of business endeavors for nearly four years with my hands figuratively tied!
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As someone licensed for mental health, I focus on counseling individuals, families, couples, and groups. I specialize in depression, anxiety, relationships, break-ups, divorces, esteem, and all things sex. I’m most known for my personality, as I attempt to brighten the entire world with laughter and smiles, alongside my wisdom advocating for wholeness. As a company, I am most proud of my patience to endure and keep going. When your businesses exist, but cannot make money, you still have to pay for the expenses plus any emotional consequences that come with that! A business that can keep going and trying, even when the business is not as profitable as desired is an accomplishment in my book.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is the perfect place for what I am trying to do. Statistics highlight Atlanta and The South overall as a melting pot, that is accompanied by ever-increasing STD rates. Alongside those rates, people are suffering to cope mentally and emotionally, as well as make informed sexual health decisions. Even without any concerns with sexual health, there are still multiple African American people who are in need of mental, behavioral, and sexual health services. Anyone who is looking to be saturated in All-Black-Everything, start in Atlanta!
Pricing:
- Private Pay Rate – $70/hr for individual session
- Private Pay Rate – $100/hr couples or family session; 2-hr couples or family session – $150
Contact Info:
- Address: S.h.e.e.r., LLC
(Inside of ATL Psychotherapy & Consulting Services)
5835 Campbellton Rd SW, Suite 102
Atlanta, GA 30331 - Website: www.sheerllc.com
- Phone: 470-440-0058
- Email: contact@sheerllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/synclairejames/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheerLLC
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherlisa-jackson-ma-mph-lapc-ncc-ches-b07a6533
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