Today, we’d like to introduce you to TaTa-Nisha Frazier. TaTa-Nisha was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Sayuri Smith-Timmons, CPS-MH, WHWC.
TaTa-Nisha , thank you so much for joining us today. We’d love for you to bring our readers up to speed – can you introduce yourself and share your story?
I remember sitting in my employer’s office in 2013 in literal tears, wondering why it seemed nothing I did was ever right. This was one of many times I sat dejected, insecure, and inadequate. I tried. I really tried to be the change I wanted to see. The problem was my ambition to see the organization be better far outweighed my seeing myself be better.
I focused on what was wrong with them. I blamed, pointed fingers, and pulled apart every flaw in that organization. No matter how flawed the organization was, the truth is… so was I. In the challenging moments of justified anger, I missed many opportunities to see my own flawed truth.
After that job ended, I pulled from my wellness toolbox, community supports, and my recovery support network and used some tools that I learned in my mental health and addiction treatment and I asked for help. A woman named Lesley Strange appeared and helped me. She was beautiful, soft, and hard. She figuratively and physically lifted my head up when it was really low. Find somebody, you listen to and hold in high regard. If they love you when you are struggling, they will give you wisdom that helps you see what they see in you.
I realized that learning how to manage and regulate emotions was an important lesson. A skill that I am still learning to master. Having emotions is natural. Having the ability to regulate how you respond is a whole different animal. Using my voice to speak truth to power while managing my emotions was hard and scary for me. I did not know how to do it without wanting to fight or run away.
The more opportunities I have to practice, the better. The practical application is where the genuine work is. I must achieve mastery of this skill without prolonged resentment and prioritize my development.
I learned that working in the helping profession means that it is a good idea to have a consistent team of people and wellness tools in your life that help you be
and stay well. You may need an outside perspective to help you to identify when something is off and to tell you the truth when you can’t see it for yourself. I had several people in my life that I listened to and held in high regard. The value of understanding that you do not have to navigate difficult situations alone helped me see that coaching is necessary for anyone who wants and needs that guidance, support, and place to process difficult situations.
We’ve heard great things about your organization. For our readers who might not be as familiar, can you please tell them about the organization?
I am a mother in long-term recovery. I live my life being fully present in my children’s life in a way that supports their growth and development. The struggle is just like anyone else trying to figure out and navigate life. My addiction and untreated mental illness caused me to lose my children for a long time. It hurt not be fully present in their lives. It was the thing that kept me connected to my treatment and recovery. It fueled my desire to overcome addiction and mental health challenges. My kids taught me that I needed to learn how to manage my emotions better.
I realized that what I knew about life was distorted and guided by my personal traumas. I learned to manage big emotions through learning with them. I did the work, and the result helped me find purpose in my life. It involves me training in people/soft-skills and facilitating processes with teams. Over the years I have taken a few leadership classes with an amazing friend and community partner, Dr. Dietra Hawkins of Both and Partners, who mentored me early in my career. She took time with me, she listened, she leaned in, and she asked me the same questions over and over. She challenged my perspective. She said something that was so profound it stopped me in my tracks. I tell that beautiful and funny story in my keynotes.
I began to look at who and what I wanted to be in a different way. I have been blessed beyond measure by every single person in my community who participated in my journey of recovery and my career. Who knew that little black girl from the hood with no college degree, who went to the school of hard knocks, could sit and tell this story today? My lived experience has value and is evidence-based. I should be dead based on the life I was living. There were times when taking my life seemed like a better option. Being supported in my community while attempting to parent and work on my wellness has been HARD TO DO and extremely rewarding.
I live my recovery out loud! I tell my now adult children the truth, I tell myself the truth. I have boundaries and practice self-care intentionally. It’s a way to get out of the weeds of life and guide your own self-determined journey. Everyone has the power to do that! As a facilitator and trainer, I am getting in the trenches with the community to help solve the problem of how we treat ourselves and others. I’m a country girl from the City of Houston who speaks from the bottom up.
The everyday folks who show up to work wanting to see the world as a better place: the people who clean the parking lots and bathrooms, those who answer the phone, who open the doors, sit with people when they are struggling, those who listen to the stories, and take on secondary trauma every single day. The parents who work themselves to the bone attempting to help this world be a better place. Training teaches you something, facilitation involves digging in to help us learn and be more effective with each other. Most people blame and struggle with how to get it out in the open with the ability and willingness to work together to understand the problem and what steps could be taken. I am a person who can assess situations and see the big picture. I am good at creating spaces for people to be their full selves. Facilitation is a process.
Organizational leadership could use this process to better care for the people who keep their businesses running. It does not happen after one or two meetings. There must be intentional time dedicated to breaking down stigma, asking difficult questions, and being willing to listen through dialogue, not debate. I help organizations who realize their company culture is toxic and want to look at ways to assist in shifting the culture. If they really care, they will seek out ways to support the shift.
Prevention With Intention, LLC seeks to help facilitate and train individuals in the community about the value of soft skills. My role is to help people to be more effective. I believe self-care in the workplace is valuable and necessary. I’m here to help people not lose their minds while helping people or working with others. I learned that expressing that I wanted to fight and cuss people out at work was not effective or helpful! My growth involved personal and professional coaching along with learning new information. I invested in myself by reading and listening to a lot of books. I took some classes that added value to my life and my work. I did honest self-reflection. Some people will never do that work. I am
interested in those that want to. I am proud of the work I see my clients putting in on a daily basis. They help me recognize the people who are willing to try to be better in work, family and community. I did not know early on that I lacked soft (people) skills. I was hard, not soft, nor did I know anything about soft skills.
Being an effective communicator, learning how to be adaptable, understanding my ability to learn new things, the ability to network, problem solve, and manage my time better was essential for better mental health in work and the community. I realized I struggled to maintain my emotions, especially in difficult situations. Learning new skills helped me be better for myself and the community. Teaching people skills is what I love and enjoy doing. I love teaching the value of Emotional intelligence and Self-awareness. I want people to know that Prevention With Intention is here to help the community thrive. I offer training and facilitation to organizations and coaching to individuals. I am the change I want to see in the world. My focus is helping organizations be better. It’s intentional self-care in the workplace and community. I want to help people thrive in the places they love and to offer their own gifts and skills in their families and communities.
Sayuri Smith-Timmons, CPS-MH, WHWC and Mass Exodus Peer Support LLC have been great to us and I know you’ve got a great relationship with them as well. Maybe you can tell our audience a bit about Sayuri Smith-Timmons, CPS-MH, WHWC and Mass Exodus Peer Support LLC and your experience with them.
Sayuri and I are Certified Peer Specialists (CPS). We both have lived experience in overcoming mental health challenges. My lived experience is both Mental Health and addiction. I met Sayuri during a Cultural Competency training where she approach me to share her thoughts about how well I managed a difficult training topic about race. As a skilled facilitator, I have a responsibility to help the conversation move and sometimes people show up unkind, unhealed, and unwilling to be self-aware or they just don’t know how.
She said,” I am impressed with how you handled that difficult conversation with such grace and professionalism!” She began showing up to every public training I offered. We developed a bond through our lived experience with overcoming challenges and working in the behavioral health field. She,like others who have
experienced my work, wanted to know more. I pulled her in on a contract I was currently working on and the organization needed her expertise which I did not have. Working with women in transition from sex work was not my area but building and increasing recovery capital was: Collaboration was born.
There is so much I could say about this beautiful black woman! Sayuri is an Atlanta native and she is no nonsense. She is highly intelligent and one of those people I hold in high regard. We started having deep meaningful conversations about everything! It fueled us to find ways to partner and seek more opportunities to collaborate.
Focusing on preventing Institutional betrayal and teaching cultural competency are where the missions of our respective company values intersect. Peer support, black mental health, recovery capital, workforce development and understanding the politics of public health are other areas of mutual interests and offerings.
Our partnership is centered around helping those in transition or seeking recovery from mental health. My love for personal and professional development adds to her mission which makes our parternship essential and effective in the professional development and recovery space.
Website: www.preventionwithintention.com
Instagram: @preventionwithintention
Linkedin: @tatanishafrazier
Facebook: @preventionwithintention
Image Credits
@Mayweather photography for professional shots, @styledbyfashionmr/Jeramiah Roberts @mogrizzly493 (family photo) @gc4recovery orange dress (training shot) @quintondavis (zoom training shot)
