We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jana Giliberto. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jana below.
Jana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
I have been a Licensed Mental Health Counselor since 2011, working the bulk of my career in correctional settings including a state prison, juvenile programs, and county jails. In late 2019, I received an email from a local counseling group looking for independent contractors to join the team. It felt like it was meant to be. I was burned out on working in corrections and had been entertaining the idea of private practice and the freedom for individuality it brought with it. I signed the contract and joined the team at the beginning of 2020. A few months in, it became clear that my value system was not in alignment with the practice owner’s, but I continued to try to make things work. At the beginning of 2021 I was placed in the position of either agreeing to a contract that would further remove my rights as an independent contractor to continue to work in that practice, or refuse and be without a job. There was no option for negotiation, so I was given a 30-day period to wrap things up with my clients and get them transferred to other counselors within the practice. Once again, we had some values conflicts related to closure with clients, and in the last week at the practice, I was forcibly locked out leaving a handful of client closure sessions incomplete with no way to contact them.
I began the process of opening my own solo practice, and within a few months, I was being sued. The allegations were failure to comply with a non-compete clause, and accusations of soliciting clients from the practice. I had made the uninformed mistake of signing a bad contract. I paid thousands of dollars to get an attorney, only to learn that this area is pro-business owner and my case was not a slam dunk. I would likely spend thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees only to be in the position of having to close. The outrageous amount he was claiming in damages was not a concern, but attorneys are expensive.
Enter my dark night of the soul. Why was this happening to me? I was a good person with no ill intent. I had not stolen anything from this man and I was not soliciting his clients. He had not paid for my education and training, licensure, expertise, and years of experience. The practices that he was afraid I would steal and use myself were the very things we had disagreed over and had led to my leaving. I just wanted to do my own thing and be a good counselor. How could the system allow a person to prevent another person from making a living to care for their family? What gave him the right to be in control of my career choices? We live in one of the fastest growing areas of Florida with more than enough people seeking mental health services, how was I any more competition than anyone else in the area? I had big decisions to make. Do I go into debt to fight this on principal? Was walking away letting this person win?
This moment, when everything felt like it was falling apart around me, was when I began my spiritual journey. This was not happening TO me. It was happening FOR me. If I followed my heart, this man was not going to win. He simply played a part in the bigger picture. In navigating this major event, I was able to learn how to neutralize the things that happen in my life. To remove the labels of good or bad and just let events be events, and people be people. That was how I stepped into my power. I closed my practice and settled. Looking back, the Universe had brought me exactly enough clients in my time to break even with the expenses of opening and running a business and being sued.
Jana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I went to college with the intention of going into law enforcement. At that time, I wanted to be a criminal profiler. Life had other plans. After graduating with a degree in Criminology, I began working for the Florida Department of Children and Families as a Child Protective Investigator. Through my interactions with the families, I came to realize that I wanted to work on the therapeutic side of things, so I got a Master’s Degree in Counseling. I worked a majority of my career in correctional settings before getting burnt out and moving to private practice.
A couple of years ago I opened a private counseling practice and was sued over a non-compete clause. This experience launched me on a spiritual journey. I was unable to continue to provide counseling services in my community for a couple of years. I became more intent on healing myself and then using what I was learning to help others find their own healing. I experienced Reiki for the first time during this period of upheaval. After years of participating in therapy myself, I was amazed at what was coming up that I believed I had already moved on from. I went on to become attuned and am now a Level 3 Master of Usui Reiki. I continued to learn more about energy healing, and have also become a Certified Emotion & Body Code Practitioner.
Our bodies have this amazing innate capacity to heal themselves. Our life experiences often lead to energetic blockages in our systems that prevent that healing process and create illnesses and dis-ease. As an energy healer, I help my clients identify and release these energetic blockages so their bodies are able to resume self-healing.
I have over 20 years of experience in the field of social work, with 12 of those years as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I am also a Reiki Master and a Certified Emotion & Body Code Practitioner (CECP & CBCP). But beyond my clinical and professional experience, I bring my own human experience and healing journey to the table. I recently had the honor of blending my counseling and energy healing skills while working with the first State Emergency Response Team for Mental Health and Wellness in my Southwest Florida community following Hurricane Ian in late 2022.
In November 2022, my best friend and I opened a metaphysical shop called Magnolia Moon. It is located within Liberty Gifts and More in Liberty, Kentucky. We offer crystals, jewelry, oracle and tarot decks, incense, and more. We hope to expand in the future to offer online sales.
I offer 30- or 60-minute virtual energy healing sessions tailored to your unique goals and desires. It is important to find a practitioner that you are comfortable with. I am available for a consultation in advance of booking a session so you can determine if I am a good fit for you.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I believe a big part of the process of Becoming is about unlearning the conditioning and programming from our early life. We all grow up with cultural belief systems pressed upon us, whether from our parents and families, society, religion, school systems. A big one for me has been unlearning the road map to success that was provided to me by others.
I followed someone else’s map for many years. I went to college and got a degree. I got a job working for a state government organization because it provides a steady income and good benefits. I moved back to my home town near family. I focused my energy on hustling to prove my worthiness and strive for success, often working extra time for free. I stayed for years in toxic work environments because I was afraid of getting fired. I was living from a lack mindset, feeling that I needed this or that job, and therefore allowed myself to be overworked, unappreciated and mistreated. For years I was afraid to consider private practice because no one had ever taught me about that option, despite both of my parents being self-employed. I worked my way right into burn-out. I loved being a therapist, but I was busy hustling to prove myself in a corner of the field where I was considered replaceable, with a population that largely did not want what I had to offer. It took burn-out for me to realize things had to change.
It was around that time that I received an email from a local group practice looking to expand and add therapists; it felt destined. So, I ventured into the world of private practice, and found my passion for service again. When that group practice didn’t work out, I ventured out on my own and created my own solo private practice. And when that fell apart, I took a deep journey within.
What had been a slow and gradual unlearning and rediscovering, kicked into overdrive. I came to deeply realize that I had been making life decisions based on someone else’s beliefs of what was “best” and “right.” I had gotten caught in the trap of cultural conditioning and was spinning my wheels trying to make everyone else happy in betrayal of myself. This realization along with the wisdom and experience gained through some tough life lessons, put me in the perfect position of readiness to shed what wasn’t mine and get reacquainted with who I was before the world told me who to be. I let go of the hustle of do-ing and embraced the stillness of Be-ing. Since then, I’ve been on this incredible journey of discovering what I like and want in my life, and who I want to be in this life.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Trust. As an Energy Healer, I have had to hone my ability to trust the Universe, trust myself, and trust that my clients are receiving exactly what they need during our sessions. Everyone’s healing journey looks different. Though I would love for everyone to have miraculous and obvious results after one quick session, it doesn’t always look that way. Some clients can see noticeable results right away, and some take a few sessions before they start to see the fruits of their efforts. It doesn’t mean we are doing anything wrong or missing anything, it just means that they are getting what they need in the timing that they need it.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/janagilibertolmhc
- Other: Scheduling: https://calendly.com/jana-giliberto Phone: 239-297-3889 Email: jana.giliberto@gmail.com