Today we’d like to introduce you to Geleta Parker.
Hi Geleta, 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?
Hello, my name is Geleta “Gigi” Parker. I am a Board Certified Brain and Mental Health Specialist, the CEO of Focus: Faith and Mental Health, Inc., and the host of the Faith and Focus: A Moment for Your Mind podcast. I am also a best-selling author and trauma-focused coach who works with women and children as they heal, reclaim their identity, and learn to live whole again. My work creates faith-rooted and emotionally safe spaces where grief can be honored, voices can be restored, and hope can be rebuilt from the inside out.
As the CEO and Founder of Focus: Faith and Mental Health, Inc., a nonprofit organization, we support women and children as they heal from the inside out. My story began in childhood, where I endured trauma that shaped how I saw myself and how I moved through the world. I learned to survive before I learned to feel safe. As I entered adulthood, I carried that survival strength into my relationships. My first marriage was both physically and emotionally abusive. My second marriage did not involve physical harm, but the emotional and spiritual impact was just as real. Through those seasons, I learned something I hold close to this day: with God things do not happen to us, they happen for us. Every part of my journey was shaping me for the work I do now.
My healing journey began with writing, though the truth is, I have always been a writer. English language and English literature were my strongest subjects in school. I journaled from an early age, filling notebooks with letters, prayers, poems, and songs. Writing was how I processed the world. It was how I told the truth, even when I was not yet ready to speak it out loud.
As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence, I carried experiences I did not yet have the language to express. Writing became the place where I could finally breathe. I journaled to name what I had survived and to release what I had held in silence for so long. Those private pages became my first steps back to myself.
Over time, those journal entries grew into pages of understanding, and eventually they became my first book, Beautifully Broken. I did not write it to impress anyone. I wrote it to heal. The editing was imperfect, and a relative once told me that no one would ever take me seriously as an author because of it. But that moment taught me something vital: healing does not wait for polish, and God does not wait for perfect.
Several year’s later, I was honored as Caribbean Author of the Month and invited to speak. At that event, when the floor opened for questions, a woman from Guyana stood to share her story. She had been planning to take her life. A coworker who had read Beautifully Broken felt led to check on her when she did not return to work. Her friend bought the book and placed it at her door. The woman said that reading my story made her choose to stay. She chose life. She chose hope. She chose God.
That moment confirmed my calling. My pain had purpose. My voice mattered. The same book that some saw as flawed was the book God used to save a life.
Since then, I have written six books, including a bestseller, with more on the way. I founded Focus: Faith & Mental Health, Inc. to support women and children who are reclaiming their identity and rebuilding their lives. Through workshops, healing circles, and community programming, we create spaces where women can speak the truth about their experiences and be met with compassion instead of shame.
My story is still unfolding, but I stand in this:
God heals. God restores. God rebuilds.
And healing is holy work.
.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road. Healing and building at the same time is not easy. When I launched this non-profit, I made the decision to give it everything I had. And I mean that literally. I emptied my savings. I invested every penny and every ounce of energy because I believed in the mission. I believed that women and children deserve a safe place to heal, to learn, to breathe, and to remember who they are.
I am also a survivor of a serious and rare illness, Steven Johnson (TENS) and there were days when my body was tired, and I still showed up. I was building a vision while I was still recovering. There were times when my laptop took hours just to load a document, and the technology was far from ideal, but I used what I had. I kept going because I knew the work mattered.
I am grateful for the strong team of women who serve alongside me as board members. They have stepped up in the most real ways, contributing financially from their own pockets to keep us afloat. Their belief in this mission has kept us moving when resources were limited. But even now, we are still working through funding challenges. We need sponsors for the podcast. We need community partners. We need donors who believe in the work of trauma healing and mental health support. We are serving people who are often overlooked and underserved. Like the Bible says, we are called to care for the least of these. And as a country, we are in a mental health crisis. The need is urgent. The work is real. And we cannot do it alone.
Every challenge has shaped me. It taught me resilience, patience, and how to trust God with the pace of the vision. The road has not been smooth, but it has been guided. And I know that every hardship is preparing the ground for what is coming!
We’ve been impressed with FOCUS:Faith & Mental Health, INC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Focus: Faith & Mental Health, Inc. is a trauma focused nonprofit organization serving women and children who are seeking emotional healing, restoration of identity, and spiritual grounding. We provide one on one emotional support, healing circles, workshops, and community education rooted in both mental health awareness and the Word of God. We believe healing must honor the mind, the body, and the spirit.We honor the whole person because the Shema teaches us to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength. God does not heal us halfway. He restores us fully. Healing must reach the mind, the body, and the spirit together, because that is how God designed us to be whole.
What makes us different is our foundation. Our work begins with identity. We believe that true identity is found in Christ. When a woman begins to understand who she is in God, her perspective, decisions, and sense of self begin to shift. We do not teach women to depend on their own strength. We point them to the One who strengthens. God is the super in our natural. He is the source of the healing, the restoration, and the transformation. We simply walk with people as they receive what God is already offering.
Our process is gentle, relational, and honest. You cannot heal what you cannot name. And you cannot name what you do not feel safe to speak. We create sacred, safe spaces where women can tell the truth about their pain without shame, rushing, or judgment. Healing is witnessed, supported, and walked through side by side.
This mission is personal. I am a survivor of childhood trauma and domestic violence. I know what it feels like to lose yourself and to rediscover your identity in God. I lead from lived understanding, compassion, transparency, and testimony.
We stand on Exodus 15:26: I am the Lord who heals you.
This is our belief.
This is our anchor.
This is our proof.
We are currently building partnerships and seeking funding to support women and children who are uninsured or underinsured in receiving therapy, counseling, and medication support when needed. Our long term vision is to establish independent living homes for women and children escaping abuse, where they can rebuild safely with dignity, stability, and community support.
If you are reading this, know this truth:
Healing is holy. Healing is holy work. And God is still in the healing business.
You do not have to be fully healed to begin.
You just have to be willing to come.
Where Mental Health Meets the Ministry of Hope.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories is preaching my first sermon at 16 years old at my home church, New Bethlehem Baptist Church in Nassau, Bahamas. The church was full that day. I remember feeling nervous, but there was also a peace that came over me once I started speaking. My sermon was titled, “What Does Christ Expect from You as a Christian.” I later learned it was recorded and played on the local Christian radio station, which meant more people heard that message than I even realized at the time.
But the moment that stayed with me was when a young man came forward and gave his life to Christ after the sermon. That changed something in me. It showed me that a child who had suffered and survived could still carry purpose, power, and calling. God was writing something in me long before I understood it. My story wasn’t broken. It was being prepared.
Pricing:
- One-on-One Trauma-Informed Coaching Sliding scale available based on individual need.
- Group Support Circles Low-cost group rates to ensure accessibility.
- Workshops and Community Healing Programs Pricing varies depending on materials and program length.
- Sponsorship and Donations We are currently seeking partners to help sponsor therapy sessions and mental health support for uninsured and underinsured women and children.
- Monthly Donations $50,100,250,375,500…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://focusfaithmentalhealth.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BRS8GoA6W/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/geleta-parker-a42706383
