We recently connected with Chivonne Gabriel and have shared our conversation below.
Chivonne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
The Mosaic Refinery is borne of both expertise and personal experience – rooted in the understanding that life can break us in ways we never expected and those experiences can also be the catalyst to the birth of the next best version of ourselves. In 2011, I suffered a second miscarriage, lost my marriage, and my first home. Ultimately, I became a shell of myself. I know personally, what it means to start over after devastating loss, to navigate the weight of hardship, and to rebuild when everything feels shattered. That’s why this practice is not just about psychotherapy, coaching and retreats — it’s about transformation – taking the broken pieces of life and refining them into something even more beautiful and whole.
The mission with The Mosaic Refinery is deeply personal – to help others heal, grow, and reclaim their power. Whether it’s women struggling with self-worth, professionals battling burnout, or individuals learning to trust themselves again, our work creates spaces for healing and renewal. We don’t just offer tools – we offer hope, a roadmap, and the belief that beautiful things grow in hard places.
This is more than a practice – it’s a testament to resilience, tenacity, to choosing growth over defeat, and to making meaning out of pain. The Mosaic Refinery is where people come to rediscover themselves, rewrite their stories, and walk away feeling worthy, empowered and whole.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Chivonne Gabriel and I’m a certified, licensed clinical social worker, transformational coach and international speaker with over 22 years of experience in mental health, personal development, and wellness. I am the founder of The Mosaic Refinery, a psychotherapy and coaching practice dedicated to helping people heal from life’s hardest challenges, break free from limiting believes and step into their fullest potential.
My journey into this work is deeply personal. Though, it’s always been in my nature to serve and help others – having experienced profound loss – multiple miscarriages, a divorce and a foreclosure, I am familiar with hardship and personal reinvention, I know firsthand what it’s like to have to start over, rebuild, and find beauty in broken places. These experiences fuel my passion for guiding others through transformation – not just to survive their struggles but to grow into stronger, more empowered versions of themselves.
We offer a wide range of coaching, psychotherapy, and personal development services, including:
Corporate Wellness & Mental Health Workshops for organizations seeking to support employee well-being
Crisis Support & Employee Assistance Consulting to help workplaces navigate mental health challenges
Group Coaching Programs, Workshops & Retreats for women seeking healing, self-discovery and transformation
Keynote Speaking & Public Speaking Engagements where I challenge audiences to take radical action in their lives
Online Courses & Digital Products focused on mindset, self-worth, and personal growth
I help people who feel stuck, broken, or lost rediscover themselves, their strength and their worth whether it’s women who are struggling with self-esteem, relationships, and confidence or professionals who are dealing with stress, mental health struggles or workplace challenges. I offer real and practical solutions that empower people to move forward with clarity, confidence and purpose.
What sets me apart from others is my personal touch. I am unafraid of my ugly truths and the beauty in them and take full ownership over my story. This empowers me to reach and connect with others in a way that most speakers and facilitators do not. I am willing to go first so that others know they are not alone in their journey to wellness. Coupled with my clinical expertise translates into my empathetic and action-oriented approach. Transformation isn’t just something I talk about, it’s something I live and so I’m able to walk alongside my clients as they navigate their journeys. My workshops, coaching and keynotes are interactive and practical, ensuring that people leave not just feeling motivated but armed with real tools to create change.
I am most proud of the tangible impact I have had on people’s lives – seeing women reclaim their worth, watching people feel seen and supported, and helping people transform their their pain into purpose. I am also proud of building a business that aligns with my values, purpose and vision for empowering others on a deep level.
The main thing I want people to know is that The Mosaic Refinery is about transformation, healing and empowerment. Whether you’re looking for therapy, coaching, corporate wellness solutions, or an inspiring keynote speaking, I am here to help others break free, grow, and step into the next best version of themselves. No matter how challenging life gets, beautiful things grow in hard places – and no one has to do life alone.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of the most defining moments in my life was a season of profound loss – the thing I feared most at the time was failure. During that season, several things failed but most devastating was my failed marriage. I was embarrassed and humiliated. There was so much upheaval. I had a choice to make when I looked around at all the destruction – my credit, my finances, my state of mind, and my soul – I could crumble with it and let it consume me or I could fight for a better version of myself. There were many days when it seemed like I would not be able to pull myself together again and the idea of rebuilding seemed impossible – but I made a decision to rewrite my story one singular moment at a time. I leaned into the very principles I now teach: embracing hardship as a catalyst for growth, finding strength in vulnerability, and daring to create something new and beautiful from brokenness. I not only rebuilt my life, but these experiences gave way to The Mosaic Refinery – a space where others could find the guidance, support and community that carried me through. My journey is proof that even in the darkest seasons, resilience is a choice – one that can lead to unimaginable growth, healing and purpose. Now, when I stand in front of an audience of people, I speak, not from theory – but from lived experience. I know what it means to fight for self-worth, to push past limiting beliefs, and to rise stronger. This is why my work isn’t just professional – it’s personal.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In the first year of a job I thought I wanted, I realized that I was totally misaligned in how I would serve others. Serving others wasn’t the issue – that’s my life’s work but doing it while firing on all cylinders left me wanting to lick envelopes for a living. I knew that clearly, I was on the fast track to burning out and I had to get out of there. I switched to another position that allowed me to recover from the overwhelm and though I did well, I was terribly dissatisfied. I continued to enjoy serving others, but a huge portion of who I am seemed to not fit into the mold of the job I was asked to do. For a long time, I convinced myself that I could accept that as long as I found other ways to feed the parts of me that didn’t seem to fit at work until all that changed one day. I left my then 3 year old son at home in tears during Covid, “Mommy, I don’t want you to go,” he said. “I promise I’ll be back soon and we can play together when I get home.” I drove out to my client’s home that morning and though the job can be thankless at times, something about what happened next shifted things for me. I met my client at the door and it was a much less than inviting exchange. There was yelling and ultimately I was not welcomed to connect with the client any further. The interaction left me feeling completely drained and angry. For two days I stewed in my feelings determined to do something differently on the other side of this. I’d let 13 years since that first year go by, and had clearly overstayed my welcome all because I did not want to pivot without all the answers. Two days into my feelings, clarity came. If I was going to leave my children at home, it needed to truly fulfill my purpose and serve the people I could make an impact on. Within weeks the newest phase of my professional development and relaunched my private practice helping women who were ready for growth and healing. In one month, one door was literally closed in face leading me to open new doors of possibilities personally and professionally. I’ve never been happier to have been so upset. Sometimes, it’s the thing that hurts the most that leads us directly to the place we need to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chivonnegabriel.com
- Instagram: @chivonnegabriel
- Facebook: Chivonne Gabriel
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chivonnegabriellcswc/
Image Credits
Thaddeus Mayberry