Hidden Gems: Meet Dr. Fanike-Kiara Olugbala Young of Keys to Women’s Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Fanike-Kiara Olugbala Young.

Hi Dr. Fanike-Kiara Olugbala, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I often look back and smile at how far I have come. I am a successful business owner, licensed therapist, mother, wife, speaker, consultant, author, and living the life I want but it wasn’t always like this. I remember the yelling and screaming coming from the kitchen at six years old. As my sister and I walked in, my dad was kneeling on the ground physically assaulting my mother. This was the second incident of trauma after witnessing a man get murdered in front of my Brooklyn apartment building at the age of four. Seeing my mom made me want to protect her but I couldn’t. I ran out the door and sat on the stairs leading up to my neighbor’s apartment.

My dad soon emerged from the home and said to me, “I am coming back to get you”. But I didn’t want him to come back, I was scared for my mom. And as he left, he yelled, “I’m coming back to get my daughter and I’m going to kill you bitch!” The next day, my mom sent me to school as if nothing had happened. When school let out, I walked to my grandmother’s house as I normally did after school because my mom worked 12-14 hour days. However, this time when I arrived, my mom was there. She called me in the kitchen and said the three words that changed my life forever, “Your dad died”.

For years I carried resentment, feelings of abandonment, sadness, anger, and guilt. I wanted my dad to leave so he couldn’t hurt my mom but I didn’t want him to die. I didn’t like what he had done to her but I still loved him so much. I spent my childhood, adolescence and young adulthood with trouble communicating, low self-esteem, distrust for others, and never processing my emotions. It wasn’t until 21 years old when I took a psychology 101 course in college that I learned about trauma and how it impacts our decisions, emotions, anger responses, and negative thinking.

I decided to do short bursts of engaging in healing activities but nothing long-term. I did therapy, energy work, spiritual practices and exercised but not consistently or with intention of truly healing. This continued until 34 years old when I realized after returning from a trip to China that I wasn’t happy and I had never truly been happy in my life. I decided to heal.

I chose to heal all of me. This time, I started therapy, meditating, receiving reiki, journaling, boxing, eating healthier and drawing boundaries. I was so busy focusing on my healing that I did not have time to much else or money. My healing regimen was effective but time and money-consuming. I stuck to my regimen for a year and it totally transformed my life.

After that time, I realized that the way for me to find forgiveness for myself and others was to take my past and use it to help others. I began working with women with a history of trauma and designed a program focused on healing holistically. My programs help them to identify and overcome the side effects of their trauma physically, mentally, spiritually, energetically and financially. To date, I have helped hundreds of women to stop their trauma from stopping them!

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?
Growth is never a smooth road. Because of my own personal history of traumas including witnessing a murder, domestic violence in my childhood home, losing my dad unexpectedly, verbal and emotional abuse throughout my life, and other instances, I have had to learn how to take a step back and consider how my trauma responses play into every encounter with someone else. I have constantly felt as if others were trying to hurt me emotionally, I struggle with trusting others, have a history of difficulty allowing myself to receive and give love to others, and I spent years shrinking and not showing up as my true self.

I have come to realize that so many of us experience negative thinking and limiting beliefs. We have fears of things that have never happened and we allow ourselves to be held back. We don’t tap into our full potential because of beliefs given to us by others. I have given myself and sacrificed with the hopes that what I can do for others is enough for them to stay and love me. Now I know my worth is not tied to what I can do for others. My worth is tied to me just being. Just being a human. Just being a woman. Just being me!

As you know, we’re big fans of Keys to Women’s Wellness. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a Master Energy Intuitive. I help others to shift energy blocks in their mental health, spirituality, health and wellness, relationships, personal development, finances, business/career, and physical health. I am a Licensed Trauma Therapist, Master Reiki Practitioner, Doctor of Behavioral Health, Master Addictions Counselor, Basic EMDR trained, and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. I have 20+ years of clinical, educational, and client experience, have received spiritual training from 3 countries and developed a holistic program based on my own history of healing. I work with others one-on-one in an individual format and with teams and professionals in a business environment. I help others to make decisions and operate from a place of ease and abundance.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I am the author of “What The F*ck Is Your Problem?! Becoming an Active Worker in Healing Your Trauma”. This book explores the intersection between multiple themes, embracing the side effects of one’s trauma as an individualized journey that can be used to empower others to heal, the power of women and the importance of making the decision to heal, and how learning what it means to be an active worker along the healing journey can empower you and lead to owning your journey. This book is available at www.drfanike.com, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and all major retailers.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.drfanike.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/drfanike
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/drfanike