I Persist: Seeking Counseling Is Alright

Is it alright to seek counseling?

Dr. Patricia V. Smith is a fellow Jamaican. This accomplished entrepreneur has numerous accolades including:

• Multiple education degrees in Nursing;
• A Multimillion-dollar home healthcare agency;
• Businesses in the United States and in Jamaica;
• Over 500 employees;
• Philanthropic endeavors; and
• A published biography, I Persist

By all accounts, Dr. Smith has achieved a great deal of success. Yet she is also a woman who has struggled with the sequelae of harrowing and pervasive traumas.

Her trauma history includes:

• Early parental neglect, and abandonment;
• Family estrangement;
• Immigration trauma;
• Unimaginable and cruel rejection by extended family members;
• Extensive physical abuse by her caregivers;
• Persistent hunger, and malnutrition;
• Chronic homelessness;
• Repetitive and prolonged disruption of her education during her formative years; and
• Multiple instances of sexual abuse and repetitive physical assaults against her person.

Once offered the opportunity to pursue mental health services, the now sixty-plus year-old professional answered a RESOUNDING Yes in her early adult years and continued to take advantage of counseling at critical periods throughout her life.

Both in her book I Persist, and her Book Signing at the Jamaican Embassy last Thursday, July 18, in Washington, DC, Dr. Smith courageously shared the details of her life story, and the aftermath of the chronic traumas with which she grappled throughout her life. Most importantly, Dr. Smith talked about how counseling equipped her with tools that vastly improved her functioning. She learned about self-compassion, processed numerous childhood traumas, and now enjoys more fully her extensive accomplishments.

I fully salute Dr. Smith’s bravery and advocacy for the use of counseling in our mental health journey.

For counseling and mental health support, reach out to me by clicking here.