Today we’d like to introduce you to Nia Baker.
Nia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m pretty used to doing whatever the next thing is, whether my anxiety is high or not. As an Army brat moving every couple of years growing up, I learned pretty quickly how to follow the chain of command and that everyone’s story is intimately connected even with differences in place or culture. This dialectic, or opposites coexisting, of structure and flexibility, is basically a part of my DNA. In 2014, I interned at Skyland Trail as a part of my Master’s in Professional Counseling and was trained under expert supervision around using a therapy that seemed to breathe both what I had learned growing up as well as what I consistently saw lacking in direct service through my younger professional life, increasing resilience in those that are vulnerable to compassion fatigue.
Right after graduating from Georgia Tech in 2009, I worked for multiple non-profits in Atlanta and realized although I care deeply about their vision, I saw a missing link in support for both practitioners as well as the people begin supported around training in trauma and building resilience. Many of my colleagues had their own trauma stories often that led them to the work they continued to do. After getting trained with a Specialization in Trauma through a partnership between Richmont Graduate University and the Boston Trauma Institute and then both training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, I continued my work with individual clients who need ways of rebuilding resilience to both past and present challenges in life. I opened in Active Resilience Counseling & Coaching in Grant Park in the summer of 2018. I now see clients and support other clinicians with the same values, furthering growth in training and providing cost affordable DBT and Trauma services for the southeast Atlanta community.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the largest challenges in being a professional counselor and advocating for others is making space for your own growth and resilience practices. Starting work after getting a counseling degree requires a lot of sacrifices, particularly if you’ve been working in another profession. The first couple of years, I worked close to 30 clinical hours a week with hours on the road and filling out other documentation. During that time, I usually worked another job as well to be able to pay the bills, including my own therapy and care. One of the things I’ve learned about the stress of this job is that tends to creep into other areas of your life. So, in order to work with trauma, we have to confront our own as well as our own vulnerabilities.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Active Resilience Counseling is a practice that specializes in developing clinicians to work with clients using trauma-informed behavioral counseling and trauma processing. Inspired by the Boston Trauma Center, we provide individual counseling and supportive services in connection to that client’s other providers, believing in the whole body and mind connection. This could be mean working with other counselor, psychologists, functional neurologists, psychiatrists, doctors, homeopaths, nutritionists, and physical fitness instructors. I also work with a small team to develop ongoing supportive accountability for DBT practitioners in Atlanta. We are also in the process of creating a website database that helps clients find a therapist with training and adherence to the evidence-based model. There are a lot of incredible therapists in Atlanta and ARC wants to help clients find someone who is well trained and where they feel safe. I feel excited about the opportunity to connect with more therapists and nonprofits in order to work together and encourage more resources for training.
What were you like growing up?
My dad has always said that I talked a lot. That and precocious. I have always been a little intense. When I was young, I’d either be playing sports or reading. I used to check out stacks of mysteries and biographies. I guess maybe that could have been an indication around wanting to work with people and hear about their lives.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1039 Grant Street SE, Suite A24, Atlanta, GA 30315
- Website: www.atlarc.org
- Phone: 6784921390
- Email: contact@atlarc.org
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
