We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dee-Andre Ferguson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dee-Andre, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

How did I get my first job in my field? wow, good question. My first job wasn’t really a job to be completely honest with you. My first “job” was an internship that I took advantage of. However, to answer your question how did I get there? well it was I believe the summer after my sophomore at Morehouse and I had just switched my major from biology to psychology. I was stuck, felt lost and hopeless while being at home during the summer and seeing all my brothers at Morehouse posting about having an internship and I looked at myself and asked what am I doing wrong? I was working at Kohl’s at the time and I slipped into depression for a few days and was locked in my room. The only place I went to was work at Kohl’s and then home. I went through the first 2 weeks struggling to figure out my direction in life because I knew that kohl’s was just my job that I had to put gas in my car during the semester. The 3rd week came around and I said that I couldn’t do this, I updated my resume and looked at different career paths with a psychology degree. I saw so many but the only thing that stood out was counseling and therapy. I then looked up counseling centers close to my House and I found a counseling center about 10 mins away. I put on the only suit that I had, printed out my resume and drove to this counseling center. I walked in and spoke with the director of the counseling center who gave me the internship on the spot. I was doing this internship all summer working with different therapists and psychiatrists at the center. Going into the school year I was able to still hold unto this internship but it became to much. I decided to leave Kohl’s and took a huge paycut. I went from making money to not making any money at all. I worked until they offered my a part time job, even though they paid me little to nothing for this part time job. This internship is the reason why I am where I am today. I am happy that I got up and went to that counseling center because just that one decision is the reason why I am in the position I am in today.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was born an raised in Jamaica. I moved to Atlanta in 2011 and lived in Atlanta until I left for grad school up north. I never really saw mental health as an issue or a thing because growing up in Jamaica, it was the taboo topic. I started Morehouse College in 2014 as a Biology – Premed track because I wanted to be a pediatrician. However, I just did not find any joy in what I was doing. Honestly, going to class became depressing for me. I sat down at the end of my freshman year and I prayed for days hoping that God would show me the way. Starting the Sophomore year, I took Black Psychology and ever since then, I fell in love with psychology and the love for mental health came after I completed sophomore year at my internship. While at Morehouse, I was the president of C.H.I.L.L. (Counseling Humans In Life Lessons). While being the president, I got the opportunity to work with the boys and girls club of Atlanta, multiple elementary schools and Jack and Jill of Atlanta. Mental health became my joy and happiness. I went on to get my Master’s degree where i pursued a Master’s degree in Social Work. While pursuing my degree, I worked on an Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit, while doing mental health and college talks at numerous middle and high schools.

I started my own LLC called Mental Growth LLC. Where I do speaking engagements at schools in Atlanta and New Jersey. I would do trainings on conflict resolutions and speaking on mental and emotional health. I am known for my trauma-focused care that I provide for my patients and motivational speech for my high school children. What I am proud of is that I completed a book for children of color, that I am working with multiple artist to complete the visuals so I can publish my book. This children’s manuscript was written to address “the taboo topic of mental health in the black community.” The book is structured as a conversation between a young black boy and a counselor. The young boy has trouble sharing his feelings of sadness and anger because he was told that boys should be strong and “not show or talk about how we feel.” The young boy opens up to his counselor about his built-up emotions. The counselor helps the boy navigate through his confusing feelings. The boy learns that “it is okay to not be okay.” The book will be released once I have the graphics completed. What sets me apart from others is that I am a Black man trying to break that taboo topic in my community. There are multiple mental health professionals out there, but few are people of color.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

If I could go back in time, I would choose the same profession. I honestly love what I do. If I could go back I would’ve started out as a psychology major when I started Morehouse. However, I don’t regret anything because that one year as a premed student opened my eyes to what I did not want to do with the rest of my life.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

In order to be successful in this field is to have an open mind and being able to express how you feel and the things that you hear from clients while going through supervision with your supervisor. This field is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. You have to understand that people are coming to you and looking at you to show them the way and they are trusting that you can assist them. Being fully present for each client and having the ability to not bring work home was helpful advice I received and this is why I am succeeding in my field currently.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: theicemon_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dee-andre-ferguson-lmsw-321718b6