We recently connected with CRESSADA GLEAN-BRILLANT and have shared our conversation below.

Hi CRESSADA, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

Talk to us about how you got your first job in the field you practice in today. Tell us the story, paint the picture for us so we really understand the context and what it must have felt like in your shoes at the time. What were you thinking about, what were your goals/aspirations at the time, what was the recruiting process looking back, are you happy you ended up where you did for your first job?

Getting my first job as a psychotherapist was very interesting and powerful.
I was working as a pre-school teacher, and I have been doing that since I was in college working on my bachelor’s degree. I received my degree in Psychology, and I was certain I was going to get this great job in the field of psychology. I did do an internship where I learned how to work with groups but that’s all I did. I was still very convinced that I would receive a wonderful job in my field of psychology.
That did not happen.
I looked and looked, and I didn’t receive a call back from any of the of the inquiries that I sent out. I then decided to teach full time and go back to school for a master’s in education. For the next few years. After a while I started thinking about and longing to get back to my first love, Psychology.
While I was in undergrad a family member got into trouble with the law. He was mandated to receive counseling because he was young. I was so intrigued because I never knew anyone that had to see a psychologist. I watched the show “Family Ties” and the father was a psychologist. I was so interested in what he did. He had an office in his home, and he talked to people for a living.
Anyway, I asked my cousin how was the experience of meeting with a psychologist? He said he had to talk to an older white man, and he would go in his office and say nothing. This infuriated me. I thought, here is a chance for someone to teach my cousin and find out why he was acting out, what was his thought process and how he could be helped. This really encouraged me to find a way to get into the field so I can be another Black woman in the field and be a representation for other Black people.

I decided to get my master’s in education so I could be a certified teacher and at least have that as a career if this psychology thing just didn’t work out. I worked all day and attended Brooklyn College at night. I was mesmerized and given energy to get through the night when I would see all these people rushing from work like me and working towards their goals. I met people from all races and cultures and walks of life. I also loved this Master’s program. This is the first time I could see how what I was learning had a direct impact on my life. I would learn something in class and use it with my children that same week. I was able to give insight from what I learned from the children I was teaching and sometimes push back on what I learned from class or totally embrace what I learned from my classmates and professors.
So I was on a high and enjoyed teaching so much. The parents of my students absolutely enjoyed how they were witnessing their early learners blossoming. So, I was thinking teaching is it! Teaching is what I’m supposed to be doing and it’s going well
Then a few years later I started to get an itch. I started asking myself ” Is being a teacher where it ends for you? Are you still going to pursue becoming a psychologist? Are you still thinking of your burning desire to pursue what the field of psychology was all about? Is it possible to sit and speak with someone and help them?

I then decided to go for my master’s degree in psychology. I figured, let me give it another shot. I worked as a teacher throughout the day and went to Adelphi University at night. Oh well if I thought my education degree was interesting this degree was just so fascinating. I felt like I got the behind the scenes look of how the mind works, various therapy modalities, different ways to identify the origins of problems and personalities, as well as a host of treatment options.
With my master’s degree in general psychology in hand I was ready to start looking for work. I faxed my resume everywhere. I wasn’t desperate to find a job because I was still working as a teacher, but I was eager to become a therapist.

I looked for jobs and sent out my resume to so many perspective jobs. I was looking everyday for months and months. I didn’t think about giving up because I had nothing to lose. I kept going to work and I kept looking, applying and sending out my resume. Then one day I was in the car and I saw something.

I was a passenger as my father drove me up the very busy street of Flatbush Ave. We were coming from visiting downtown Brooklyn shopping. I happened to look up ( I don’t believe that was by accident) as the traffic began to slow down as the traffic light.turned red. I saw a sign that read “Brooklyn Center for Psychotherapy” My heart started beating fast, but I quickly stopped myself from being mesmerized by the sign. I screamed “I need a pen!” I quickly rummaged for a pen and paper, and I scribbled down the number718-826-3000- yes, I still remember the phone number. I couldn’t wait for the next day to call the phone number. I was SOOO excited. I wondered “how had I never seen this place before!!!??? I asked myself, wow, could I really get a job there!?

The next day I tried to calm myself down during my lunch break and then I made the call. I dialed the phone number I saw on the sign the night before. My heart was pounding fast as the phone rang once, my mouth was now dry, twice, I could barely breathe and then I heard ‘Brooklyn Center for Psychotherapy may I help you?” I said “yes, I’m interested in a position as a therapist, do you know if there are any openings?” She replied, “You need to talk to Ms. Arrin but she’s not in today, call back tomorrow”. A huge smile came over my face and a sigh of relief as I responded, “Thank you so very much, I will call back tomorrow.” The woman replied “Yes, call back after one tomorrow.” I said, “thank you so very much, good bye”.

I put both hands up in the air and screamed out “Yes!!!!: I was elated. I said to myself” oh they messed up now, oh they done messed up now”. I sent my resume to many places and made many calls to various organizations. I have heard “call back” but I was never given an actual name of a person to call back. Oh, I was so very excited. I did call back and spoke with Ms. Arrin and she asked me to come in for an interview. I can’t express how excited I was. I said to myself “all I need is an opportunity. I just need to get my foot in the door.”
So, I went to the interview. The office was up some long stairs. I got up there to a large waiting room. I was asked to sit in the waiting room and wait for Ms. Arrin to come get me. This was a large waiting room with all types of people, young and old, buzzing around and waiting. I noticed workers coming from one door and going into another door, back and forth. To get from one door to the other, each worker used a key pass. The workers went in and out by tapping a white key pass. I became mesmerized, even hypnotized by the key pass. I started saying to myself over and over “I will have one of those passes, I will have one of those passes”.

Ms. Arrin came out and I think they called me twice. I was startled out of my trance. Ms. Arrin asked me about my schooling and experiences based off of my resume. I wasn’t nervous and I answered all her questions with ease and to the best of my ability. After a variety of questions, she said OK, I will call you and let you know my decision. I have no idea where the boldness came from, but I said, “Are you concerned that I haven’t worked as I therapist before?” She said “yes”. I said” I understand but I want you to know that as an early childhood teacher, parents leave their most prized possessions with me every day. I am charged with teaching and helping to mold their pliable minds. I am tasked with teaching them the alphabet. Everything else in their lives is built on top of them learning the alphabet and other social skills. I understand what it means to take care of people and take my job very seriously”. She said “come in next Tuesday, you will start orientation, welcome to Brooklyn Center for Psychotherapy.

That’s how I got my first job!

CRESSADA, 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?

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc. Please provide as much detail as you feel relevant as this is one of the core questions where the reader will get to know about you and your brand/organization/etc

I have always wanted to be a psychotherapist. I was just so intrigued with being able to understand and help people but most of all represent as a Black woman in the field that was dominated by white men.
Over my 20 years of practicing, I have developed a niche of working with professional Black women of Caribbean heritage. As a Black, Caribbean woman myself, I began to identify in myself and other women, that working hard and relentlessly to reach goals is a huge part of who we are, but it shouldn’t be all we are.

Before I narrowed down my niche, I worked with all types of people and ages. When I worked mainly with children, other therapists and I would help children create anxiety kits. These kits would consist of a collection of physical objects that help someone stay grounded and calm when they are experiencing stress, anxiety or panic attack. The objects should be soothing and use some of the five senses to help the person be present and decrease focus on anticipating the future or concerning themselves about the past.
I then decided to create a sexier anxiety kit which I named a “Pocket of Peace” I wanted it to be small making it easy to always keep on their person. I wanted to give the person the ability to engage as many of their senses as possible, in the most calming, grounding, and centering way possible.
I created a soft to the touch pouch, inside of the pouch includes a roller, a mist and a moisturizer which all included: essential oils vetiver for grounding, sandalwood for centering and neroli for grounding. The pouch also includes affirmation cards.
I have to say that I am so proud of myself for having the audacity to come up with a tangible way to help my clients, figure out how to get it produced and follow through with getting it sold and helping my clients and so many others to control their emotions and anxiety in such a sexy way.

This product also helps women and others find what I call, “a pocket of peace”. I teach and encourage my clients and others to create opportunities to pause, take a breath, rest. I have coined the term “peaceful productivity”. I understand that working hard to reach your goals are very important, but finding calm, being centered and grounded helps to decrease burn out, chronic stress and ultimately diseases.

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

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience? First things first, it took me 9 years to complete my doctorate degree. Six months after I started my doctorate, I got pregnant with my first child and that was 6 moths after suffering pregnancy loss. It gets more intense.

After being in my program for 6 years, I was promised an internship position at a school I decided to work for but then the school psychologist didn’t want to take on the responsibility. I had young children, so I didn’t have the option to keep looking and take an internship anywhere. So, I decided to completely change my program, I was initially on a PsyD track that required an internship, but the PhD track did not, so I switched. This added more time and classes to my program, but I was able to keep my new position and not disrupt my family. This was such a difficult decision, I was so disappointed, but I felt that it had to be done.

I was finally seeing my way through is PhD program, I was seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. I was working on my statistic final one night and I received a call from my mother. She said she had a head ach all day, she wasn’t feeling well, and she was in the hospital to make sure she was ok. My husband overheard the conversation and said he would wake the children up so we could go to the hospital. My mother responded “no, no, it’s too late to wake them up, I will see you all in the morning”.
I never spoke to my mother again. My mother suffered a stroke a few hours later, she went unconscious. We did get to the hospital the next morning, but she never regained consciousness and she passed away later that day. My mother was only 58 years old.
My friends and family helped me keep my head above water. I initially had no intension to continue with my program, but I did. I dragged through finishing up the classes and the grueling demands of the dissertation process. I even had to travel a month after burying my mother, to attend some classes. One of my friends hosted me at her home and took me to and from classes. It was awful but I looked forward to spending time with my friend so that helped immensely.

After 9 years, I finished the program. My 9-year-old and 7-year-old sons, my husband, my father, sister, mother-in-law were all in attendance when I walked across that stage to be hooded as Dr. Cressada Glean-Brillant.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think the previous story also applies

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pocketofpeaceliving.com
• Instagram: drcgbrillant
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cressada-brillant-phd-lmhc-52bab350
• Twitter: drcgbrillant
• Youtube: drcgbrillant