We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Courtney Leak a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear stories from your time in school/training/etc.

I didn’t know I wanted to be a social worker until my final year of undergraduate degree in Business Management. I knew I could not afford to start over and so my only option to become a social worker would be to attend grad school. However, it’s hard to get into MSW programs without a social work degree. I knew I had to be strategic. My alma mater was preparing to launch a new MSW program and one of the program options was for individuals who worked in the field of social work. I decided to find a job in social work and I chose child services because I knew they were always desperate for caseworkers and I knew that I could prove myself if I got hired. I was hired and quickly exceled in the job. I then applied for the MSW program and I was so lucky that they had a live interview portion of the process. I started the interview by owning that I did not have the background that I needed to be accepted into the program. I then acknowledged that what I did have was passion, compassion and tenacity and that if I was given a chance, I would make the program proud. A few days later I received my acceptance.

Since my program was comprised of people who were in the field. I made sure to learn as much as possible, not just from my professors, but also from my peers. I wanted to know what I was really stepping into and I wanted to learn how to not burn out or become jaded. I was determined to receive as many lessons as possible from as many people as possible. I especially paid attention to those who I felt were difficult personalities for me. I learned that often times I was triggered by those individuals because they illuminated flaws within me or hurts I had experienced from others. I used everything I learned to create a full experience in my MSW program. At the end of my program, the Program Director, who had also done my interview, pulled me into her office and said “When I first met you, you were so convincing of the social worker you could be if I only gave you a chance. I’m proud to now know that you are exactly who you believed you were. Now go change the world!”.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a mental health creative and wellness curator who believes that emotional wellness is a right for all people. I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, trained therapist, and coach who specializes in trauma, trans-generational trauma, trauma experienced by marginalized populations, attachment, conscious parenting, high-performer stress, co-dependency, adult child/parent relationships, and grief and loss. I believe that it is time to shake up the mental health system and incorporate a more embodied heart centered approach to healing because our body is where trauma lives and our bodies are begging for us to pay attention to our pain.

Although I love it, I did not choose this field of work; it chose me. I was running from my feelings and my pain in my early 20s and had full intentions of becoming a corporate lawyer. Then in my senior year of college I took a job at a group home and realized that I was still carrying so much from my own childhood and that I wanted to be for others what I needed. Luckily, I began my own healing journey in the process of getting my MSW so I didn’t transfer my work onto someone else but I did begin to recognize that most people are living life in deep pain and if they are not doing their work, they are spilling that pain on to others; usually people they really love. This realization allows me to approach every client with a healthy mix of compassion and accountability.

I assist individuals, couples, groups and businesses with connecting to their deepest truth and most authentic selves despite how far they’ve gotten from that version. I teach people how to reincorporate joy and play into their lives through inner child work and self-care. I also guide people through their story in an experiential way that allows them to see themselves and others more clearly from all angles. I utilize intensives where I work with a client or couple for 3 to 6 days to truly open up, resolve and release their struggles in a way that one hour therapy sessions cannot address. I also provide virtual and in person groups, workshops, trainings and speaking engagements that cover a myriad of topics including trauma, recovery, connection and resilience.

Most importantly, I am a mom who continues to focus on my own healing journey so I can make sure I’m not spilling my pain onto the beautiful soul I have the fortune of parenting. I am a Black woman who is still untethering the expectations of society from my own narrative of who I want to be. I am a survivor of trauma in a process of post traumatic growth. And I am a whole human being who honors both my Light and my Dark with compassion in order to live a life of freedom. Therefore, I don’t ask my clients to do anything I’m not willing to do myself and I can go to the depths with my clients because I know those waters well.

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

The first time I went into private practice, I failed. I was afraid of my gifts and I played small. I was arrogant and unsure at the same time. Somehow I believed clients would find me, simply because I was available, while also not being willing to put myself out there in an real way to make my talents known. I didn’t market or connect with others. Looking back, I simply wasn’t ready business-wise or emotionally to step into the role of practice owner. So I had to go back to a regular 9 to 5. I took a job as a therapist at a University but the one commitment I made to myself was that I would not close my practice. I used my voice in my job interview and boldly asked for a flexible schedule, which they agreed to. I worked nights and weekends, not just seeing clients for my practice but also building connections and learning how to run a business. I marketed and learned and perfected my craft and over time I began to see the payoff. I worked at the University for four years, a time that was also personally one of the hardest in my life. Instead of letting my personal life derail my progress, I invested in attending therapy more to work through my struggles. In 2019, I was able to leave my full-time job and return to full-time practice. This time I had created a business that not only was lucrative, it was resilient enough to thrive during a pandemic and allow me the freedom to move out of the country in 2022.

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

I think the most helpful thing for me has been doing my own work. This job is hard. In the healing professions, we are holding space for people in the darkest times in their lives. If we are not careful we can begin to absorb their pain and add it to our own. Also, being therapist has in no way created a world where life doesn’t also happen to me. I’ve experienced huge traumas during my time as a therapist and if I had not been committed to doing my own work, I could have easily projected that pain onto others or begun to step away from my ethical framework. I have seen many good therapist lose their license or their ability to continue the work because they were not doing their own work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.courtneyleaklcsw.com
• Instagram: @courtneyleaklcsw
• Facebook: Courtney Leak, LCSW
• Linkedin: Courtney Leak

Image Credits
Photographer for photos in the green shirt https://illoquintphotography.com/ He would also be a great person to interview IG: @illoquint