Today we’d like to introduce you to Tavara Franklin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tavara. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a child, I was very much an extrovert! I loved being social and the experience of forming bonds. I loved being around people and talking to people. Loquacious is what most of my teachers would describe me as. My mom would say that I was very curious and often asked questions more than usual for any child! I can say my two-year-old son gets that trait from me lol. I was born and raised most of my childhood in Durham, NC. At the time, Durham was a town where everyone knew everyone, North Carolina Central University’s band was the shit and Hillside High School was the family’s traditional school to attend upon entering high school.
Growing up, I lived in a single-parent household with my mother raising me and my three siblings. I am the middle child. My mother did the best she could to teach us lessons that a mother and a father would teach. She made sure that despite the challenges that came with single parenthood, her children would be happy, have structure, and experience life. My father was in and out of me and my sibling’s life. When we did spend time with him, there was always these roulette moments. The moments were either really good filled with laughter and smiles. But then you had the bad. The bad filled with him drinking tons and tons and tons of alcohol. So much, where past hurts were often brought up, fights, arguments and just a bunch of irrelevant crap that a child should not have experienced. There was never really gray area moments with my dad. As I gotten older, I quickly realize how dysfunctional and toxic a relationship could be for a person no matter how helpful you try to be. My mother seen how content everyone were with their lives in Durham. She seen that people weren’t progressing and living life boldly. So, she moved her kids to a whole new state in the middle of my high school career lol.
Transitioning at the time was not tough at first because again, I was a social butterfly and chameleon. After being in Georgia for a while, I learned that I was not too fond of the school system. Although I was amongst the top percentile of my class, I observed that the school counselors were not what I envisioned or meekly remembered growing up in North Carolina. It seemed like their focus was not on the totality of the student but academia driven. At this time, I placed a lot of pressure on myself because I was and still am somewhat of a perfectionist. More importantly, I felt like I was held at high standards due to being the first child of my mother to graduate from high school and the first of the family to soon attend college. I had a lot of anxiety I battled with silently. There was not a time in high school where I had an experience that my school counselor asked me, “How are you as a whole?” I believe the assumption was made “her grades are great. She don’t get into trouble at school. Life is good for her” when truly I was struggling with unresolved family hurt, anxiety, grief, and identity. This was the experience that confirmed my calling to major in psychology and become a therapist.
Through it all, I emotionally combated my way through high school, attended and graduated from Western Carolina University, joined the greatest sorority of all time, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and began and graduated graduate school at Argosy University in Atlanta. In this area of my life is where I can honestly say I truly lived life on my terms. This was the part of my life and even now where I had a different outlook on relationships, where my quest for self-healing molded me into who I am today and lived an honest, open, transparent life boldly and unapologetically. After graduating college and graduating from grad school, I worked in many settings from residential hospitals, private practice, inpatient hospitals and most recently school-based. In 2013 I became licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor with the desire to open my own private practice. That desire became a reality when I opened the doors at Healing Grounds Therapy & Wellness Center in February 2020.
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?
Of course not. We live in a life where mental health is stigmatized heavily and some people are not devoted to the idea of having a therapist AND believing in prayer. People often are ashamed of the idea of talking to a professional and believe that they will be judged or presumed “crazy.” Some are intimidated by the psychological jargons that are often used and don’t even begin their journey for healing. However, since the start of COVID 19, I can definitely see people shifting their perspective on mental health. People are starting to open up and become more conscientious of their experiences and emotions and leaning to the idea of seeking professional help. It’s an awareness that needed more light shined on it.
Please tell us about Healing Grounds Therapy & Wellness Center.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I specialize in individuals, families and group psychotherapy. My Therapeutic and lifestyle belief is that Honesty, Openness and Transparency (H.O.T.) anchors Hope and cultivates Healing. What I am most proud of is that Healing Grounds Therapy & Wellness Center is not your typical therapy services. Through H.O.T. I strive for individuals to discover their truth and live a healthy life of authenticity and transparency unapologetically; while fostering a nonjudgmental therapeutic safe space. When a person walks into their healing with me, they can expect to have a healing accountability partner that will walk side by side with them, while gently guiding them towards their goals. This allows people to feel safe and comfortable in expressing their truths. I don’t teach what I can’t preach. It is with deep confidence that I believe every individual is equipped fundamentally with the solutions to their problems through focusing on their strength and resiliency. These are the things that make my business unique and sets me apart from others.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’ve been blessed to cross paths with some remarkable people who have impacted my life personally and professionally. With these people, I have formed long-lasting relationships. I am forever grateful to them because they have been the support and motivation that ignited Healing Grounds Therapy & Wellness Center. I have also been blessed with some would say unfortunate setbacks (emotionally, academically and financially) but I call these setbacks detours to God’s purpose for me. So, although my experiences good and bad and the people I’ve encountered along my journey “ luckily” presented themselves to me, I honestly can’t say it was luck. I would say that all these experiences and people were purposely placed in my path by fate. This is only the beginning and I am excited about where this journey takes me.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1702 Hudson Bridge RD
Stockbridge, GA 30281 - Website: www.healinggroundstherapy.com
- Phone: 770.558.7956
- Email: tavarafranklin@healinggroundstherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healinggrounds_therapy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Healing-Grounds-Therapy-Wellness-Center-LLC-100791741565519/
Image Credit:
Professional shots captured by Ty Myrick
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