We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Janisha Mickens-Ingram a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Janisha , appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Well, my biological parents did not raise me so they assisted me to be able to bring insight to my clients from a child perspective and even as an adult to assist in some way or another. My maternal grandmother instilled in me lots of compassion for others and showed what it looks like to want the best for others and be ok with them making whatever choice they decided.

Janisha , 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?

1. Anecdotes from School/Training

My higher-level education was an interesting experience? I went into my Master Program expecting one of my good friends to actual be alongside of me. However, sis decided not to show up. During this journey I appreciated the structure of being chose for this field. It was an interview style in which I was probed to role play “a therapy session”. Over all it was intense. I’m happy I had a taste of it because that’s when it hit me “you been doing this for free”. The program I say prepared me to work for a company however I feel it should have prepared me to also work for myself… that’s a whole other interview.

2. How did you get your first job in the field?

After completing school, I wanted to actually focus on doing direct therapy so I decided to leave my job as Program Director in the skid row area and started from the bottom as a new therapist. I started a clinical care manager which assisted me in created my own blue print and foundation of what type of therapist I wanted to be. My goal was to learn assessments and diagnosis to the tea. However, after exploring and learning that those few hours didn’t not really give me the opportunity to vibe and assist my clients to the full capacity. I learned that the assessments were important but the clients I served was tired of repeating the same shit over and over “that’s community mental health for you. My goal was just to do therapy I was hired with no issues a good fit for the company which I am still apart of 5 years later as a Program Director. Overall, I am happy with the decision of this job however I have learned a lot, fantastic supervision and most of all learned about what happens after Licensure and have a new perspective of where I’m heading.

3. Defining moment

The moment I saw politics and how others can control what and how you move as a W2 with a licensed for therapy. It was like I was begging to move up in pay but needed the title and even with the experience I was getting push back. I called it “the dangling carrot”. It was more of keep doing more of your non assigned work to prove you deserve it. At the moment I knew I was not going to be just an option employee but a choice. I learned how to properly advocate for myself using the “facts versus feelings” approach. I also worked my ass off to start my private practice and now have a group practice which ultimately was my defining moment.

4. Heartwarming stories

As therapist you are going to have many times where you feel overwhelmed, overworked “when in community MH”, but many heart filled moments will come. One that continues to come up is hearing potential clients say “you were heaven sent your bio designated with me”. Also being able to show up for my community and serve those that look like me.

5. The best boss you’ve ever had

The Best boss I have ever had was Fred Walker he was the one who humbled me I mean I hired me lol. After a run in with the law I thought my life was over. Fred asked me about it and I was completely honest. He was intrigued and offered me a position. He never made me feel not good enough and told me the game plan. “You’re going to start as a monitor”… that’s when I was humbled! I already had my BA! Like Bro what. For whatever reason I trusted this man. He has always been honest, believed in uplifting others, building morale, supportive, demonstrative and taught me the ins and outs of our programs and ensured I was capable of operating one on my own… cause he wanted to be at the beach. I love our relationship and he is still mentoring me till this day and a good friend.

6. Internship/Apprenticeship lessons/Experience

As an intern you have to learn the steps that the supervisor wants you to master which wasn’t the hard part. I had one supervisor during internship Jennifer “Jennifer girl”. She would have me do an assessment and grade it like I was in grade school. Red mark red mark red mark. I would be so pissed like girl who needs all this information no one reads the charts lol. But I actually read the charts and she did as well. After reading the red mark allowed me to dive deeper and ultimately get a better understanding of my clients especially after learning how to ask the questions. Now I do the red marks for my interns and share this story when they complain.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The Year of Yes : Shonda Rhimes Die With zero

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

Being in the world where the era was work for someone else has been a constant journey and a consistent reminder of resilience. I have been in places where I was considered over qualified but still only was offered well below my worth. I have learned to advocate for not only myself but my staff in efforts to decrease the unfairness of how employees are treat across the board. Rather its a verbal acklowndgement, celebrating their birthdays, advocating for a pay increase and just being available for their needs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thehappytherapists.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ur_happy_therapist/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LMFTSTUDYRITE/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings?trk=d_flagship3_profile_self_view_public_profile
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8GBs0q7Hw&feature=youtu.be
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ur_happy_therapist https://www.audible.com/pd/Pass-The-MFT-Exam-With-Janisha-Mickens-Ingram-Podcast/B09881VBJM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnXrWIjhnaA https://www.allthingsrelaxstudios.com/blog/podcast-interview-janisha-mickens-ingram-lmft-ur-happy-therapist

Image Credits
photos by Chelsea Moore