Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Harrison.
Hi Ariel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My professional career started with becoming a school counselor. I have always enjoyed working with children and teenagers, and I enjoyed helping them to become successful. I have worked in public, private, and charter schools in elementary, middle, and high school levels. While I worked as a school counselor, I began working on my doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision. As a single mother at the time, it was challenging but I was able to work full-time and complete my degree full-time. Upon graduation, I transitioned into the area of higher education teaching future school counselors and serving as coordinator of the university’s school counseling program. I also attained my license as a professional counselor.
As a way to keep my counseling skills up to date, I began working part-time, counseling teenagers and adults online. I also conducted research on infertility in Black women after experiencing my own struggles and started to find ways to support women with these challenges. Over time, life’s circumstances (having another child and filing for divorce) required me to make several changes to support myself and my children. While continuing to teach future school counselors, I decided to pour into my counseling role and started my own practice. I directed my support to women and teenagers, wrote and published a book to support single parents and caretakers who attend online graduate school, and also created a few free-form and scripted journals to sell. Currently, as I raise my two children, I balance teaching in higher education with running my counseling business working with women on their mental health journeys.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. While I can talk about many of my challenges now, when they happened, sometimes it was difficult to imagine an end to the chaos and the tears. When attaining my doctoral degree as a single mother working full time, there would be times when my son would get sick and wouldn’t be able to attend daycare while I worked. I would have to miss work, sometimes I would get behind in my deadlines, and sometimes I would get sick too which would make everything worse.
Later, when I transitioned into higher education, I was excited to start my new chapter. My son and I moved to another state and it was a challenge to learn about child care and schools. When I started getting comfortable in my new location, I ended up getting laid off five months later! This resulted in having to move again! One of the biggest challenges after this move involved the balance between my personal and professional life as they often overlapped. I got married, entered into the new experience of becoming a blended family, experienced secondary infertility challenges, and experienced several challenges in my marriage. It was challenging to push forward in my career, continue to be a good mother and manage a difficult marriage simultaneously.
After going through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to have my youngest child, I decided to file for divorce with the support of my family and friends. Responsibilities were, once again, placed on me to get things done. It was in this moment that I recognized all of the things that I had already been accomplishing on my own, what I was enduring during my marriage, and what I had learned in the process. I decided to start my counseling practice and learned as I went along. I had to learn about billing, marketing, and made a few mistakes along the way that resulted in not being paid for my services. But throughout the process, even in the darkest times, there has always been a push for me to succeed. Something internal pushes me to find a new way to attack a goal, and my children’s well-being, health, and safety always serve as a motivator to make things happen, as well.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Ariel Harrison Consulting is a business that provides counseling support for individuals on their healing and mental health journeys. I specialize in working with teenage women and adult women on adjusting to life changes, self-esteem, and coping skills. As a former school counselor, I also support clients with addressing academic concerns and advocating for academic support in schools. I provide clients with a warm nonjudgmental space where teen women or adult women feel safe and supported to explore and process through what is going on throughout their therapeutic journey. I show up as my authentic self and encourage my clients to show up as (or to work to find) their authentic selves too. I am most proud of being able to support women who are leaving toxic relationships, women who seek balance in life, and teenagers who are searching for ways to navigate their futures.
I would like for readers to know that, while every counselor is different, there are counselors who genuinely care about your well-being and ability to learn new and healthy strategies. I learn from my clients just as often as they learn from me! Just as I detailed in my own story, balancing life’s challenges and life’s goals can be messy and it is not always easy or enjoyable. Between relationships, work, school, and physical and mental health we can find ourselves trying to balance and make sense of it all. Some of us smile through the confusion and pretend to have it all under control. I know because I have been that person and I still am that person at times. But Ariel Harrison Consulting provides an option for those who are looking for mental health support. Counseling doesn’t always have to be a deep, long-term problem. Sometimes people just want someone to listen to them. Whatever your need or place in your healing journey, I am happy to assist in that process.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see the importance of counseling continuously growing in the next 5-10 years as access to affordable services grows and the negative stigma around seeking support and identifying toxic behaviors and traits changes. Many people are working to change family patterns and to grow and they are seeking the support of counselors along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://secure.helloalma.com/providers/ariel-harrison/
- Instagram: @arielharrisonconsulting
- Facebook: @arielharrisonconsulting
- Other: amazon.com/author/drarielharrison
