Today we’d like to introduce you to Mercedes Braxton.
Hi Mercedes, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Peace of Mind Counseling and Therapeutic Services (POMCTS) is my joy, my passion, my purpose! I started this business to help people understand that there is peace in the storm and healing for the struggle! By struggle, I’m speaking of mental health and everyday life struggles! This is personal for me because I have had to fight my way through major struggles and poor mental health, and I wish I would have had the resources to seek counseling and manage more effectively early on. I got to where I am today with the love, support, and continual push from my mother!
My mother, now deceased, always poured into my potential and encouraged me that I can do anything. At each step of the process, my mother, until her death, reminded me that I am capable of accomplishing anything I put my mind to and that I should utilize my gifts to help others. Even in her physical absence, I am able to carry her encouragement with me forever. My father also contributed to where I am today by me seeing firsthand how mental health can affect one’s life and functioning. I grew up thinking that certain behaviors were “normal” when I knew for a fact they were not. This pushed me to understand mental illness better and learn how to help people grow, cope, and break generational patterns. All my life, until the end of my sophomore year of college, I wanted to be a medical examiner, and nothing was ever going to change that! Ha! When I got to college, my science classes showed me that I did not really care for the field and what I would be doing. I always felt empty in that major and wanted a way to interact with people in order to help them. I took a sociology and psychology class and the very next semester decided to double major in sociology and psychology. I wanted to study people from an individual and societal perspective and how to best serve them. I then landed a job at Cook County Jail in Chicago, IL, where I worked as a Case Manager, and I finally felt my sense of fulfillment. It was then that I enrolled in a Counseling graduate program and began my journey as a Licensed Professional Counselor.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! My journey to becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor and opening my private practice has been met with many challenges. However, those same challenges affirm my strength and resiliency. I initially started my graduate school program in Counseling while living in Chicago, IL and had to withdraw after the death of the mother. This was one of the most challenging decisions for me because my mother was my biggest supporter and I did not want to fail her. I withdrew from the program, moved to Atlanta, got married, and had my beautiful daughter all within a year! Three months after my daughter was born, I decided to enroll in a graduate program in Atlanta, and I finished within two years even with all the obstacles! I graduated with a 3.9 G.P.A, was inducted into the counselor’s honor society, and became a National Certified Counselor, all while grieving my mother, adjusting to a new life as a mother and wife, and living in a new state! Has it been easy, no but was it worth it, without a doubt!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Peace of Mind Counseling and Therapeutic Services?
Peace of Mind Counseling and Therapeutic Services (POMCTS) is a mental health private practice agency providing individual, group, and couples therapy services. The vision of POMCTS is for individuals and families to develop and sustain peace of mind through healing, encouragement, and support. The mission of POMCTS is to encourage positive change and healing utilizing clinical skills and therapeutic tools. POMCTS aims to create an atmosphere of peace while assisting clients on their healing journey. POMCTS believes that although life, trials, and tribulations are unavoidable, individuals and families can still have peace of mind in the storm. POMCTS specializes in assisting adult men and women (ages 18 and up) who struggle with issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and more, in addition to couples counseling.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
For those just starting out in the counseling field, I would advise you to trust your skills, your knowledge, and your gut feelings when helping clients. Sometimes imposter syndrome creeps up, and you feel that you aren’t being effective, but more often than not, that is not the case.
Contact Info:
- Email: mbraxton@peaceofmindcts.com
- Website: www.peaceofmindcts.com
- Instagram: peaceofmindcts
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/820634
