We recently connected with Sharonda Brown, also known as “Nya B” and have shared our conversation below.

Nya B, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

A very defining moment in my career happened when I wrote my life-story. The world of psychology can sometimes seem conservative. I was taught as a clinician to never share anything personal about myself and to keep my life, my experiences or any details about me extremely private and away from the client’s knowledge as much as possible. I later learned that opening up, not only increased by caseload, but made me more relatable and sought out by different news and media outlets. People wanted to know, “How does one with your background get to where you are? Moreover, what skills or tools would you suggests for those who are trying?” It was a pleasure to answer those questions. This was when I realized, my story wasn’t my own. It was for others and that defined what was next for me. I had to transform, Sharonda to “Nya B.”

Nya B, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Sharonda Brown. I am licensed mental health clinician, a nationally certified counselor and supervisor who specializes in sexual abuse and trauma. I also treat eating disorders, personality disorders and other mental health issues. I run a private practice in St Louis, MO. I’ve been in practice for 13 years and in the field of mental health for 23 years now.

I am also a writer, speaker and media personality, known as Nya B. I’ve written and published four books, “14 Day Love Diet.” and a series, titled, “94th & Racine.” I host a mental health segment on KMOV Newschannel 4, on Great Day St Louis, titled “Mental Notes with Nya B.” I have a podcast, titled “Doin It w/Nya B” and I am also a reoccurring mental health expert on Closing Arguments with Court TV.

My personalities are interchangeable as, Sharonda runs the practice, she houses the interns, sits on the boards and committees, supervise licensees for licensure and make sure future clinicians become great. Meanwhile, Nya B runs the writing and media. She’s the girl next door who makes learning about mental health fun and relatable through life stories, Tiktok skits, and entertainment headlines,

I first developed a love for mental health when I realized everyone around me was struggling with emotions and seemed to have four vices to cope: church, anger, sex or substance abuse. I too was one of those who had poor coping skills and it got to the point where I had enough and decided to talk to someone. I grew up on the southside of Chicago. My mother was an alcoholic. As a child, I didn’t understand my mother’s use of alcohol. I just knew she was angry and violent when she was drinking and it made me angry and violent, without one. The only time I wasn’t angry was when I was at school learning or in the company of men. This caused me to become a teen mom at the age of 16. Things became so bad at home, I went to school and broke down to my school counselor. This was a “no-no” in my household as I was always told, “what goes on in this house, stays in this house.” However, I had enough and decided, telling someone had to be better than keeping it in.

I told my counselor about all my struggles and she was shocked. She stated that my grades didn’t reflect my struggles and because of my level of intelligence, she thought college was my way out. No one in my household finished high school, let alone attended college, but if she believed in me, I had to believe in myself. My counselor connected me with a mentor who showed me how to apply for college, complete a FAFSA form and become emancipated as a minor so I didn’t have to depend on my mother to leave the city. I listened and followed every direction my mentor gave me and that allowed me to graduate a year early from school, become emancipated at the age of 16 and start college at 17.

During college, my first electives were psychology and sociology. I fell in love and was so grateful to learn why anger was anger, why people behave the way they did, why groups interact the way they do. I learned there was a word for prolonged sadness, called depression and there was also a remedy outside of church, drugs and alcohol. I decided that people in my “hood” needed to know about it. I made it my mission from that point on to study the field, learn the skills and tools, and make them accessible and affordable to anyone who needed them, including myself. Knowing how to cope with mental illness can change lives and I wanted to change lives. So, here I am…

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

A story from my journey that illustrates my resilience would have to be the time I was kicked out of graduate school. I attended a graduate school that was predominately white. In the early 2000’s (when I was in grad school) finding a licensed black clinician was rare. I was dedicated to becoming licensed, bridging gaps and making people of color feel safe to go to counseling. I was one of three black students in a program of at least 100 students. The program was designed to identify your personal theoretical orientation (personal style of counseling) and attend 6 counseling sessions of your own. These sessions were recorded by the program and analyzed for readiness to graduate. My GPA was 4.0. I wrote perfect papers, attended all my classes and fulfilled every requirement. Then it was time for internship and my internship wasn’t approved, The program’s administration stated that after watching my 6 sessions, and reading my theoretical orientation paper, they believed someone from the inner city should not be a therapist. They asked me to go through another year of therapy, recorded and once they see the recordings, they’d decide if I should get the degree.

I fought that decision legally and was allowed to take all my credits and graduate elsewhere. I was not about to allow those who are unfamiliar with cultures outside of their own, to tell me what I can and can not do with I consider, God’s calling.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson that I had to unlearn is, “Don’t Change.” Growing up in the inner city, there’s a lesson that you’re not supposed to change or leave the ones you came in with and that is the furthest from the truth. Evolution is important and it is necessary for growth or to follow paths that God calls you on. I had to leave so many people behind to get to where I am now and while there was a lot of grief involved, God restored every moment I lost. I remember calling my dad and crying about feeling alone and he said, “Ladybird, (his nickname for me) I know it hurts but it’s gonna hurt more to slow down so others can catch up. They may never catch up. So don’t slow down, so others can catch up. Keep going…” That was the best advice I ever received and I’ve been moving, unapologetically ever since.

Contact Info:

• Website: nya-b.com; sbrowncounseling.com
• Instagram: @author_nya_b
• Facebook: facebook.com/94thRAcine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonda-brown-b-s-ma-lpc-s-ncc-14804463?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name

Image Credits
Image credits go to Christopher Hawkins