Today we’d like to introduce you to LaCresha Cunningham, LCSW.
Hi LaCresha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey to discover the meaning of my life has led me down extraordinary paths, all very different in structure; however, they all share a common denominator: service, community, and equity. I am a foodie and travel enthusiast. I am a soldier. I am a poet. I am a resolution-focused communicator. I am a speaker, trainer, and mental health advisor for multiple organizations. I am a licensed clinical social worker, intuitive advisor, life coach, and PhD student. I provide space for clients to undergo a process of growth and self-discovery through behavioral and mental transformation. Through my private practice and nonprofit, I offer coaching, clinical therapy, group sessions, live courses, and workshops to help heal emotional and psychological scars. More specifically, I guide women of color to remember their authentic selves and live a spiritually aligned, holistically integrated life.
This is my purpose. I walk in it. I thrive in it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My road was not always smooth, yet it was all necessary. When I was a child, I planned to be a radio personality. I spent years learning radio and became a radio host at 15 on a popular college radio station in Chicago, WKKC. While in college, I planned to be a radio personality, media guru, and journalist. I transferred multiple times due to funding, so I started at Clark Atlanta and finished at Chicago State University. I interned with the most popular media outlets, was mentored by Radio Hall of Famer Herb Kent, toured North America with a major Hip Hop artist, and managed my college radio station during my last two years in college. I gained so much experience. I saw the amazing and degrading parts of the entertainment industry. After college, I desired to travel the world, writing and reporting stories, so I enlisted in the United States Army as a Public Affairs Specialist. But what we plan for ourselves isn’t always what life has planned for us, and my military career was cut short by injuries. As I awaited discharge, I noticed younger and uninformed soldiers of color were routinely given poor reviews and denied VA benefits. My undergraduate college experiences helped me develop self-advocacy skills, which I used to help soldiers advocate for themselves to receive honorable service discharges. Consequently, they received fair reviews and the benefits they deserved and for which they’d worked.
After discharge, I began working for the Department of Veterans Affairs in various roles, from administration to disability compensation. While I enjoyed the work and found it fulfilling, it was also emotionally draining. After a few years, I stepped away to regroup and refocus. I reexamined my heart and took some time to address my mental health, childhood wounds, and life experiences. I found my tribe and learned that perfection is an illusion. I learned to trust my intuition, block out external voices, and live my life by design. It took YEARS to release the need to be perfect. Now, I am me: authentic, flaws and all.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In my private practice, Healing Sacred Scars (HSS), we guide women of color to rediscover their authentic selves and live a more spiritually aligned, holistically integrated life. HSS is a sacred space where mental health, spirituality, and culture converge, allowing us to live authentically, whole, and well. We offer coaching, clinical therapy, group sessions, live classes, and workshops where we are heavy on authenticity, mamahood, and alignment. We believe in Divine alignment. I am most proud of this!!!!
Our “sweet spot” is perinatal mental health: providing Mamas with the space and skills to thrive in their new life phase.
Through our course, MamaHood Your Way, we help birthing people and Mamas parent in a way that feels good and authentic.
Through our nonprofit arm, The Healing Sacred Scars Foundation, we offer prenatal and postpartum groups free of charge to Mamas in the community to ensure that all Mamas have access to culturally sensitive mental health services. We provide a space to release, learn, laugh, and connect with self and others.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I have been far more blessed than lucky. As the saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” By aligning with and walking in my purpose, I have walked alongside the movers and shakers of my industry, connected with clients in whose life I would be the most impactful, and found a balance in my personal and business lives. I have been and continue to be highly blessed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.healingsacredscars.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/counselorcree www.instagram.com/healingsacredscars
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lacreshacunninghamlcsw/
Image Credits
Photo credit: Chiajunna L. Holden of C. Holden Photography
