We’re looking forward to introducing you to Pamela Bridgeman LCSW, CCTP, CMAC. Check out our conversation below.
Pamela, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I have always loved to write, perhaps because I get lost in reading and I want others to experience that same pleasure. Recently, I collaborated with three other Christian business women to write a devotional, which I also edited and published. This project both made me laugh and experience a deep sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Pride you might say. The laughter was peals of joy as I wrote about struggles overcome and victories won.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Pamela Bridgeman, a licensed clinical social worker. I also hold credentials as a certified clinical trauma professional and a certified master addiction counselor. I’m an ordained Christian minister and a United States Air Force veteran. I own A Healing Journey Counseling & Consultation located in Cartersville, Georgia northwest of Atlanta. I have been practicing compassionate care since 1976.
At A Healing Journey, I provide trauma-informed care for individuals challenged with mood disorders and substance use disorders. I support those struggling with relationships — dating, marriage, parenting and interpersonal relationships in general. I also provide support for life transitions such as “empty nest” syndrome, grief, and divorce.
Veterans hold a special place in my heart. I conduction evaluations for those who are applying for disability compensation by conducting PTSD assessments.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My Paw Paw, a farmer, was a simple man; but he walked in profound wisdom. Most importantly, he loved me. My siblings used to say I was his favorite. I didn’t believe that was true then and I don’t believe it to be true now. It seemed that way because I was always walking behind him or sitting beside him hanging onto every word he said. Listening to every prayer he prayed. Most of all, I soaked in every affirmation he gave me and held onto his promise of all that I could be. Because of Paw Paw, Julius Kempis McKinney, I came to believe that I would succeed at whatever I decided to do.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
There were myriad times in my childhood that I was both sad and afraid because I grew up in a classic dysfunctional family. Oh, we looked good from the outside with our middle class trappings; but “this family was functioning” poorly. To deal with it all, I immersed myself in books; in fairy tales and fantasy. This might seem like escapism without benefit. It was not. I applied the underlying principles of survival and strength to my interactions with others. To date, I am strengthen by a lot of things I learned from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as a high school student.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends know that behaving with integrity and being kind to both others and to yourself is extremely important to me. I am a firm believer that what is done in darkness eventually comes to light. Therefore being consistent in what you do both publicly and privately, in other words, walking with integrity, is essential.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Social work, especially clinical social work, is a calling. A calling is birthed from whom a person is inherently. I am innately drawn to love others. Love is what social workers do professionally. In short, I am definitely doing what I was born to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ahjcc.com/
- Other: https://www.pamelabridgeman.com/
