Today we’d like to introduce you to Broderick McBride.
Hi Broderick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my story with VoyageATL. It’s an honor to connect with your readers.
My journey as a mental health advocate in faith-based communities began from personal experience. Growing up in a religious household, I witnessed firsthand how mental health challenges were often misunderstood or stigmatized within spiritual settings. Many people in my community were encouraged to “pray away” their depression or anxiety rather than seek professional help. This created a troubling gap between faith and mental wellness that I became determined to bridge.
After completing my education in psychology and theology, I founded McBride-Adams Enterprises, LLC with a clear mission: to equip spiritual leaders with the knowledge and resources needed to properly support those experiencing mental health crises. I believe that faith and professional mental health support can work hand-in-hand, rather than in opposition.
Our work began modestly, offering workshops at local churches and community centers. What I discovered quickly was an overwhelming need—spiritual leaders wanted to help their congregants but often lacked the proper training to identify warning signs or make appropriate referrals. Many were afraid of “saying the wrong thing” when confronted with mental health concerns.
As demand grew, we expanded our services to include comprehensive training programs specifically designed for faith leaders. These programs cover crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, and practical referral protocols. We emphasize that encouraging someone to seek professional help is not a failure of faith but rather an act of responsible spiritual care.
The coaching aspect of our work emerged organically from these training sessions. Many individuals approached me privately, sharing that while they wanted mental health support, they didn’t know how to find providers who would respect their faith traditions. This led to the development of our mental health coaching service, where we help clients connect with licensed professionals who understand the importance of spirituality in the healing process.
What makes our approach unique is that we don’t simply make referrals—we create partnerships. We maintain relationships with a network of licensed therapists, counselors, and psychiatrists across different regions who are either faith-informed themselves or respectful of their clients’ spiritual beliefs. This ensures continuity of care that addresses both mental health needs and spiritual wellbeing.
The growth of McBride-Adams Enterprises has been both humbling and inspiring. What began as a personal mission has evolved into a movement that’s helping transform how faith communities approach mental health. We’ve now trained thousands of spiritual leaders across the country and helped countless individuals find the professional support they need while maintaining their spiritual practices.
Looking ahead, I’m focused on expanding our digital resources to reach rural and underserved communities where mental health stigma often remains strongest. My vision is a world where no one has to choose between their faith and their mental wellness—where spiritual communities become sources of holistic support rather than barriers to seeking help.
Every time I see a faith leader confidently and compassionately respond to someone in crisis, or hear from a client who’s found healing through both spiritual practice and professional therapy, I’m reminded of why this work matters so deeply.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, not because of external adversity but honestly my internal wars. I wrestle with intrusive thoughts, and sharing what I have in all spaces. Producing content, being apart of someone’s healing journey, and facilitating workshops are easy. However, trusting what I have is what people need and presenting it with no apprehension has been my greatest “bumpy road”. It is EASY playing small…it takes work to consistently show up in your God-given EXCELLENCE.
As you know, we’re big fans of McBride-Adams Enterprises, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
McBride-Adams Enterprises, LLC is a specialized organization dedicated to bridging the gap between mental health services and faith communities. As the Chief Executive Director, I oversee our mission to transform how religious spaces approach mental health challenges.
Our core focus is developing comprehensive mental health frameworks specifically designed for faith-based organizations. Unlike general mental health programs, our approach recognizes the unique dynamics, language, and cultural contexts of spiritual communities. We create customized solutions that honor both psychological best practices and spiritual traditions.
What truly sets us apart is our traveling lecture series. I personally visit faith communities across the country, training spiritual leaders on mental health advocacy and demonstrating practical ways to integrate mental health praxis with faith praxis. These workshops address the specific challenges religious leaders face when counseling individuals experiencing mental health crises.
A cornerstone of our work is building strategic partnerships with licensed therapists and mental health clinicians. We’ve developed an extensive network of professionals who either share faith backgrounds or demonstrate cultural competence in working with religious clients. This allows us to facilitate connections between faith communities and qualified mental health professionals who will respect clients’ spiritual beliefs.
Our training programs for leadership and volunteers are particularly impactful. We equip first responders and volunteers within faith communities with specialized skills in deescalation, redirection, and referral tactics for high-pressure mental health scenarios. This empowers churches and religious organizations to serve as effective first points of contact when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.
I’m especially proud of our trauma reframing work for creatives, faith leaders, and parishioners. We’ve developed innovative approaches that help individuals process trauma through both therapeutic and spiritual lenses, creating healing pathways that honor their complete identities.
Perhaps most meaningful to me is our progressive mental health and pastoral care programming for minority and underserved communities. We recognize that marginalized groups often face additional barriers to accessing mental health support, and traditional services may not address their specific cultural or spiritual needs. Our tailored programs work to dismantle these barriers while respecting cultural contexts.
What I want readers to know about McBride-Adams Enterprises is that we don’t see faith and mental health as opposing forces. Rather, we believe in creating integrated approaches where spiritual practices can complement evidence-based mental health interventions. Our goal is a world where seeking professional mental health support is viewed as an extension of good spiritual stewardship, not a rejection of faith.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have two maternal Aunts who are licensed mental health workers Dr. Marilyn Garrett PhD and Mrs. Wanda M. Collins, LPC. My Aunt Marilyn built a mental health ministry in well known pentecostal ministry in Kansas City in the late 90s. My summers spent with her, was a forerunner in my committment to bridging the worlds of mental health and faith. My Aunt Wanda served decades with at risked youth in the delta of Arkansas. To see in real time her passion and impact on young lives, helped to foster my interest in this work.
My Mother, Mrs. Sandra McBride-Jordan taught me the power of prayer and unfiltered honesty with God at the age of 7. Prayer became the instrument I used to alleviate my inner pressures as a pre-teen…eventually becoming a way of life. Ms. Dorretta Adams and Mr. Willie Doanes were my mentors for decades. Dorretta, showed me the miraculous power of prayer, and the art of being silent in God’s present to simply listen. Under Willie’s tutelage I mastered the art of serving people who could not do anything for me in return. Weekly, every Monday, Thursday and Friday I would travel around metro atlanta with Mr. Willie and Ms. Dorretta, visiting members of our church who were sick and shut-in…those who’d been forgotten by ministry and community. It was in those private moments I learned the real power of divine community. Pastors LaBryant and Phineka Friend were the first pastors to give me space to build out and create a ministry framework that included mental health services from licensed professionals. They gave me space to prove to myself, this can actually work! Ms. Brandy Stinson, LCSW was the first licensed mental worker to help me not only develop a ministry framework that provided mental health services but she was the first mental health professional to come on-board and do the work most needed in our communities. My professors at Morehouse College and Emory University are also unsung heroes in my development. They challenged my mediocrity and comfortability in order to BECOME!
Lastly, my wife Mrs. Channing B McBride, has been the game-changer as an administrative phenom in all that I do. She helps me to show up as my best self, in all spaces.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.broderickmcbride.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/broderick.mcbride?igsh=MWhjeTR6dzNzdmJkcg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Hb6wiRVLe/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broderick-mcbride/
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-let-outt/id1445574821
Image Credits
Brandon Rashad IG: @brandonrashadofficial Website: www.brandonrashad.com Larry Williams IG: @larrywilliamsphotos Website: www.larrywilliamsphotos.com
