We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Courtney Artis and Corrona Boston a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Courtney Artis and Corrona Boston , thanks for joining us today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?
How did you get your first job in the field?
Courtney:
I received my first job as a Community Support Worker as a referral from my faculty advisor while in my master’s program at Howard University. Her name was Dr. Neverson and she spoke to us about community opportunities that we could be paid for, while gaining social work experience in working with clients and families. At the time, I felt nervous but excited to begin providing support to members of the community and start to really implement some of the interventions I had been learning and reading about. I was mostly excited about the relationships I would build as many recipients of community supports, sometimes feel judged or mistreated. I wanted to bring a completely experience to that space. My aspiration was simply to learn. Learn about the community and the resources being that I’m from North Carolina, not DC. I wanted to bring about change and empower people to reach high levels of satisfaction and peace based on their own definitions. Looking back, I am very happy that I ended up there for my first job in the field, it taught me a lot and really shaped into the clinician that I am today.
Corrona:
What did your parents do right?
As a native of Baltimore city, my hometown paved the way for a modest young girl to blossom into a bold trailblazing business woman. I have immense gratitude for being raised in a small community where the neighbors knew your name, and your teachers wore many hats to ensure the success of every student. What my parents did right, was instill humility, principals, creativity, individuality and values that helped shape and mold the person I am today. Throughout my childhood, I witnessed many acts of violence and challenges that unbeknownst to me started the course of self discovery and purpose. I will never forget a dear friend’s words, “Life becomes clearer and fulfilling when your passion, purpose and profession aligns”. I am truly honored and blessed to have experienced a mother’s love, filled with nurturing, discipline, guidance, spirituality, unconditional positive regard, and perseverance. Throughout my years, I eventually realized my fullest potential that I unintentionally overlooked. My upbringing, academic and life encounters truly catapulted me seamlessly into a field where I have finally obtained the acquisition of skills, understanding and techniques required to share with a community in need.
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?
Courtney:
I’m a Clinical Social Worker licensed in DC, MD, and VA and have been in the field for a little over 10 years. I’m originally from North Carolina and moved to DC in 2013 to begin my MSW program at Howard University the fall after completing my bachelor’s degree in social work from North Carolina A&T State University. My first introduction to social work was volunteering in high school for the Key Club in which we completed many volunteer and community service projects. I enjoyed giving back and being a part of different teams working to improve the community overall.
Regarding the services we provide, Heartfelt Wellness Connection, LLC is a virtual mental health company servicing adults experiencing clinical conditions and life challenges. Our team includes Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors and Certified Life Coaches with various specializations to support the diverse needs of our clients.
Corrona:
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Art Therapist, and co-author, I have acquired over 20 years of extensive clinical experience in various modalities including art therapy and traditional theoretical approaches. In addition to offering direct services, I received the opportunity to operate within various leadership roles to train and oversee several teams in evidence-based practices that included Trauma Systems Therapy, Mental Health Rehabilitation Services, and MultiSystemic Therapy. Upon working collaboratively with the Juvenile Behavioral Diversion Program, DC Youth Link and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, I observed the diverse challenges on both an individual and systems level.
As co-partners of Heartfelt Wellness Connection, we are not only entrepreneurs, but are still in the trenches to ensure we have an accurate view of the support needed. We recognize the importance of providing quality care with the integration of cultural and clinical competencies, respect and integrity. It is imperative to properly assess the issues to ensure the development of tailored-specific strategies to bring about change. What sets our company apart, is that we both have a heart for not only servicing the client, but also supporting our Providers and giving back to our community as well. We are now ready to share what we do and what we’ve learned with others. My partner and I are most proud of how far we have come, and excited about taking our knowledge obtained over the years to become advocates for change, healing and transformation. One of my personal sayings is, “This is not just heart work, it’s God’s work.” It’s not everyday you get to work alongside a friend, colleague and now business partner to create your own lane to improve the mental health community.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
Courtney:
If I could go back, I would still choose to be a social worker. Social work is a broad field and includes roles working in medical settings, private practice, academic settings, human resources, community outreach roles, consulting, and much more. Being a social worker allows me to participate in activities that I naturally enjoy such as helping people, giving back to the community, and empowering children, adolescents, and adults to reach their individual goals despite their circumstances. It’s meaningful work.
Corrona:
What I love most about my profession is that it’s a direct reflection and extension of who I am. As a result, even if I could go back in time, I know I would choose a profession where I get to function in a role that involve helping others, using methods that bring about healing, and incorporating the multifaceted components of the arts to benefit others; while servicing the community at large. I believe that once you understand purpose, it will assist in drawing you to the profession you are meant to operate in.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Can you tell us the story of how you met your business partner? Courtney:
I met my business partner while we were working together at a community based mental health agency. We both worked on a new project at the agency which allowed us to collaborate and team on supporting clients and their families. Over the years we continued to work together at other agencies and learned that we shared similar interests in working to support members of the community through improving mental health and overall well-being. Fast forward to the last couple of years and we’ve created Heartfelt Wellness Connection, LLC and I couldn’t be more proud of this journey
Corrona:
I echo the above statement.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heartfeltwellnessconnection.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartfelt.wellness
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heartfelt-wellness-connection-llc-0b2b192a2/
Image Credits
Photographer: Leed Oliveira Makeup: Isyis Branham