Today, we’d like to introduce you to Mariah Smith. Mariah was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Michael Russell.

Hi Mariah, we’re so thrilled to have you sharing your story with us today. Maybe we can kick things off by having you introduce yourself to our readers? We’d love to have you go into your story and how you got to where you are today.
When I first started I was trying to balance an extremely demanding job, grief, a traumatic decision, in a relationship and friendships I questioned my importance in their lives while I overextended myself for them, and just battling the day to day woes.

Me now, because of having session 1-2 times a week and the power of self worth has helped to change things in my life a lot. I no longer let the demands of work overshadow my own self care and health. I have tools in place when life is getting the best of me. I let myself feel those emotions of grief but I do not allow it to consume me. I reevaluated my circle of friendships and ended those that no longer served me. I am not in that same relationship and I am clear about my expectations before I start any romantic dynamic. I am back to doing more things for myself that make me solely happy to mildly decrease the distress of day to day altering encounters.

Let’s talk about your work and career – what else should we know?
I work with students of all ages. I teach various curriculums such as: art, college and career readiness, transitioning from middle to high school, test prep, and Teaching english to speakers of other languages (TESOL). I encourage learners to grow their curiosity while helping to identify their particular style (s) of learning. I influence them to also illustrate and develop a conceptual idea of using universal essential soft skills in the process as well. I believe learning should be fun and creative for all ages. It is an endless enjoyment I receive from seeing the ones who doubted themselves; become the most confident. They not only excel in areas I have taught them but other goals they are working on too.

Therapy & You has been a great friend to us and I know you’ve got a great relationship as well. Maybe you can tell our audience a bit about Therapy & You and your experience with them.
I discovered him after about a month of reading reviews on different therapist on zocdoc.com. I have tried therapy two times prior to starting with Russell and thought it was suppose to take 3 or 4 sessions for it to be a comfortable experience. Although, that was not true! Before the end of our 1st session and 3 years later he remains to be the best decision I have made for my overall improvement of my mental stability. I have made several strides in my level of patience, how to manage my stressors, developing a self plan when triggers arise, navigating trauma while still being in an environment where some of it has occurred as well.

Image Credits
Therapy