Today we’d like to introduce you to Charna Wilson.
Hi Charna, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
According to my friends, I’ve always been a good listener and one with good advice but I made the official decision to pursue the title of therapist after working as a special education teacher. Even with all the educational and even monetary support being thrown at the parents of some of my students I could see the needs they had mentally and emotionally that weren’t being met and I wanted to bridge that gap. It was then that I decided to make the shift from education to counseling and it’s been a journey indeed but one I’ve found quite rewarding.
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?
Not smooth at all. It meant going back to school and becoming a full-time student again after being out of the student seat for over six years, long hours of studying and lots of self reflection. The beautiful thing about my Master’s program at Mercer University is that everything came with a therapeutic touch. Everything was diversity conscious, trauma conscious, mental health conscious. It forced me to not just become a mental health practitioner, but to fully embody what good mental health looks like into my everyday life.
The biggest struggle has been separating the professional me from the personal me. Sometimes friends and family want to lean on you because of your training, and that can be taxing. It’s required me to become firmer in my boundary setting and self care practices.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a certified Holistic Marriage and Family Psychotherapist working towards my licensure in the state of Georgia. I practice from a Symbolic Experiential lens, meaning I deal with emotions and experiences and helping my clients to embrace both of those things in order to make meaning of the choices they make and the actions they take. Being holistic means that I can safely use sound, energy, mindfulness and even yoga healing techniques in session with clients to help them access their best selves. I love working with my people on presenting problems around anxiety, depression, PTSD, life changes, relationship struggles, family struggles and racial trauma. I have a special passion for Black men, as I believe they deserve to have a space they can feel safe to work out the things they’ve been conditioned to believe they should handle on their own.
I’m also a blogger! I have managed to successfully write Embracing Emotion: The Blog on a weekly basis for the past two and a half years and it brings me so much joy. I use the platform to show how therapy and faith don’t have to be absent from each other to be successful and I encourage my readers through affirmations and the mantra to Keep Conquering Daily.
If I had to identify what I’m most proud of, I would say it’s my ability to bring my whole self into the therapy room and identify with my clients in authentic ways. If they need me to bring in Christian principles, I can bring in Christian principles. If they want to talk about a certain show or book that we’ve both experienced, I can do that. If they want to work through art or music or even silence, I can find a way to connect and work, as long as they’re committed. I think this sets me apart.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I honestly don’t believe in luck. I have a firm foundation of faith and I believe in favor, and I know it’s not fair! My destiny has been predetermined and it’s my job to walk in faith and access every door that’s been opened for me. I may not understand the how or the why for those doors are but I’ve learned to say “thank you” and keep obtaining every blessing coming my way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kaleidoscopefamilytherapy.com/about/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embracingemotion_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embracingemotion
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmbracingEmoC
- Other: https://embracingemotiontheblog.com/
Image Credits:
Photography by Monika DesignLife Wilson
