Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Dr. Candice Cooper-Lovett

We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Candice Cooper-Lovett and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Dr. Candice, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m being called to fully embody my spiritual authority—without apology, without dilution. For a while now I’ve walked the path between worlds: therapist and healer, grounded and etheric, and most importantly mom. But now, the call is louder. I’m being asked to step more boldly into my role as a spiritual healer, teacher, channel, and guide—rooted in both divine wisdom and therapeutic integrity. There was a time when I feared what people might think if I fully revealed my gifts and the fact that I am more spiritually sound—if I let the energy move through me unfiltered, if I spoke openly about what I see, hear, and feel in the unseen realms, and if I trusted my knowing over traditional expectations, I would be “rejected” However, the veils are thinning, and spirit is no longer whispering—its declaring. I’m being called to lead, not just quietly support. To hold space not only for others’ healing, but for collective evolution. To speak truth even when it shakes things. To let go of structures and relationships that were once containers of comfort but now constrict my expansion. To mother myself and my son from a place of liberation and spiritual rootedness. This calling feels like the next initiation—one that asks me to trust my compass fully, to walk the path of love more publicly, and to create spaces that help others see and remember their own inner divinity.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Dr. Candice Cooper-Lovett, a Buffalo, NY native now rooted in Atlanta, where I founded A New Creation Psychotherapy Services in 2015 as a sanctuary for holistic healing and transformation. My work bridges traditional therapy and sacred medicine, and I hold space for people who are ready to move beyond surface-level healing into true embodiment, intimacy, and heart-based living. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and supervisor-in-training, and a board-certified sexologist with over 20 years of experience. I also serve as an AAMFT Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor, and I’ve had the honor of working with individuals, couples, families, and communities across clinical, spiritual, and academic spaces. I specialize in trauma healing, sexual wellness, betrayal recovery, relationship repair, and guiding high-achieving women through the intersections of purpose, pleasure, and power. But what truly defines my work is how I integrate mind-body-spirit healing into everything I offer. I’m a Tantric Shaman, HeartWork Practitioner, Reiki Master, and a Tier 1 Teacher in the Heart Work Integration System. I also create custom herbal remedies, spiritual teas, and wellness products to support my clients’ emotional and energetic healing. For those who seek a deeper, more expansive path, I invite them into The Tantric MFT—a sacred container where, tantra, heartwork and shamanic healing converge. I also recently launched Hoodwartz, LLC, a school for therapists who are being called to merge their clinical gifts with energy work and spiritual consciousness. It’s a space for awakening healers to come home to the fullness of who they are—without needing to separate the mystical from the professional. I’m passionate about supporting people through spiritual emergence, identity integration, and healing from religious or cult-based trauma. My approach is informed by post-traumatic growth, somatic body work, and indigenous wisdom traditions. Whether I’m working in session, mentoring therapists, training professionals, or crafting new offerings, my mission is to help others return to their inner divinity and live from a place of deep presence, joy, and alignment. I believe in heart-based living and in trusting the sacred timing of our lives. Therapy, for me, is not just about healing—it’s about becoming. It’s about re-remembering who you truly are.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
The relationship that has most deeply shaped how I see myself is the one I have with my son. He is so much more than my child—he is my mirror, my teacher, and my walking lesson. Through him, I’ve been invited into a level of love, and softness, that I wasn’t always sure I was capable of. There was a time when I questioned if I would be loving or nurturing enough. I held parts of myself in reserve, unsure if I could truly offer what I had never fully received. But loving him—nurturing him—has been a sacred experience. In giving it to him, I’ve learned how to give it to myself. His presence has unlocked a permission within me to mother the wounded places within myself. He reflects both my light and my shadow, often in the same moment. His laughter, his questions, even his resistance—all of it brings me closer to the truth of who I am. He reveals where I still need grace, where I still carry unhealed stories, and where I am most alive and whole. Our bond is beyond this realm. It feels like we chose each other to heal something ancient—to rewrite a pattern with love. Through him, I’ve learned that healing is not a concept. It’s a daily practice of presence, patience, and deep listening. It’s breath by breath, moment by moment, becoming the mother I was always meant to be, while giving both of us the nurturing we deserve. Because of him, I don’t just speak about love—I live it. He is the reason I strive to move with more softness, more strength, and more devotion to the path of heart-based living.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Some of the deepest wounds I’ve carried are rooted in the belief that I’m not good enough, not worthy enough, and not truly wanted. These feelings of abandonment and rejection trace back to my early childhood—though I didn’t always have the language to express them. Outwardly, I appeared high-functioning, independent, and self-reliant. But underneath that armor was a quiet ache for belonging and connection that I didn’t know how to fully name or allow. I developed an avoidant-dismissive attachment style, convincing myself that I didn’t need anyone—that I could survive alone. And while that gave me a sense of control, it also created distance between me and the kind of intimacy I longed for. Over time, I realized that healing wasn’t about reinforcing the armor. It was about learning how to soften, how to be with myself, and how to allow others in. My healing process has been layered and intentional. I create sacred 30-minute windows for myself to journal and do shadow work—consciously sitting with the parts of me that have felt unloved or unseen. I let those parts speak. I give them tenderness. I no longer rush past my pain—I meet it. I’ve also been engaging in brainspotting with a colleague I deeply trust, which has helped me access and release trauma held in my body in ways traditional talk therapy couldn’t reach. Meditation and mindfulness have taught me how to be in my own presence—without judgment, without needing to fix—just *being*. Right now, I’m listening to *The Untethered Soul* on audiobook, and it’s been a powerful mirror. It’s helping me witness the inner voice that narrates old fears and gently guides me back to the stillness beneath it. Healing, for me, is a daily choice. It’s not linear. It’s not polished. It’s raw and real. But every time I choose to sit with myself rather than abandon myself, I reclaim a piece of my wholeness. And that’s what this journey is truly about—coming home to myself, again and again.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes—and also, not the whole of me. The version of me that the public sees is absolutely real. She’s grounded, wise, intentional, and deeply committed to the healing journey—for herself and for others. But she’s also curated. She knows when to lead with transparency and when to protect her sacred inner world. There are layers to me that only a few get to witness—the messier parts, the tired parts, the soft and unguarded places that exist outside of holding space for others. I’ve spent years dismantling the belief that I have to perform strength or perfection in order to be valued. So when I show up publicly, it’s not a performance—it’s a choice to be present with purpose. That being said, I no longer feel the need to reveal everything to prove I’m real. My authenticity doesn’t require exposure—it requires alignment. I believe we all get to define what parts of us feel sacred and what parts we’re ready to share. The “public me” is not a mask, but a facet of the whole—a facet I’m proud of, and one that continues to evolve as I heal, mother, love, and grow. So yes, she’s real. And behind her are many other real versions of me, too. All of them are true. All of them are mine.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I’m meditating and sitting in stillness with myself—not to escape, but to experience my own presence. There’s something sacred about witnessing the internal landscape—the thoughts, the emotions, the energy moving through—and simply observing without judgment. In those moments, I become the one who sees. The one who watches. The one who remembers that I am more than my mind. Stillness is where I reconnect with the part of me that doesn’t need to perform, explain, or achieve. Just be. That kind of peace is subtle but profound—like a gentle embrace from within. And then there’s the beach. The ocean is my temple. I love being there at any time of day, but there’s something especially healing about being there at sunset, when the sky softens into color and the moon begins to rise. When the moonlight reflects across the water, leaving its shimmering imprint, I feel completely held—by the elements, by Spirit, by my own breath. That’s my zen. That’s my release. It’s in those moments—between light and dark, silence and sound—where I remember who I am. Whole. Free. At peace.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.anewcreationpsychotherapy.com
• Instagram: @thetantricmft, @drcooplove, @anewcreationpsy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-candice-cooper-lovett-lmft-s-cst-abs-04482530
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anewcreationpsy

Image Credits
Marc Norsworthy & Co. (Professional Photos)