Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melisa Alaba. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Melisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.

One of the most exciting times during my counseling and coaching career has been adapting and creating space for technology. I first became certified in providing telehealth services around 2008. I love the idea of seeing clients anywhere around the country. Over time more restrictions were placed in the counseling field around providing telehealth services. But I continued to see my coaching clients via video and my business thrived.

Fast forward to 2019 when the Pandemic caused everyone’s world to change. The counseling field had to make a major shift quickly. State laws were changed to accommodate the needs of people needing support at home. Many therapists weren’t able to adjust to providing services via video. Because I had these skills early on I was able to train other professionals to adapt to seeing clients via video. Establishing connections with new clients is critical in helping them to heal and grow. Tele Mental health services have become commonplace within a two-year period and are preferred by many clients.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Melisa Alaba and I am the owner of Vision Works Counseling and Coaching. We provide counseling and coaching services to professional women of color and their families.

Our therapists are specialists in the field. Each therapist has a unique problem they can help you solve with their skill set. We provide individual, family, and marriage counseling. Currently, I’m the only coach on board helping clients achieve money confidence and own their lives.

The thing that sets us apart from other group practices is our process of guiding clients through their healing and growth journey. Because we are specialists in our areas of expertise we are able to get to the root of issues and find unique tools and solutions for clients. Our goal is always to get them out of pain and into feeling their best.

I’m most proud of having a group practice of dedicated therapists who understand the needs of professionals and the concerns they have at home at work. Our practices specialize in helping our clients expand and grow. So whether your child is having a difficult time at school or you are adjusting to a new move or position or getting over a breakup or relationship issues we are here to help you navigate those changes and feel more in control of your life.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2014 I went through one of the most difficult times in my life. My marriage of 16 years was ending, I found out I had Thyroid cancer and I was alone in a new state. During this time I experienced a lot of different emotions and counseling helped to release a lot of the pain and gave me a safe space to talk through my feelings.

I’m now cancer free 6 years and counting. During my recovery period I realized the one thing that was not fully addressed was the money trauma I had been through; losing my marital home, loss of income from cancer treatment and healing, and being a single mom of three daughters.

As I started to feel better I became focused on having a full recovery of all things lost including my money and dreams. This is when I started studying money trauma and abundance. As I helped myself I started helping others in this area also realizing that releasing the trauma of loss was the first part of healing. I created a process that I now share with my coaching clients. Today I’ve fully recovered my health, joy, and abundance. It feels so good to help others do the same.

The lessons I learned about myself are that I can do big things and I can make new choices. I also learned that I get to decide what story I tell myself about my life and I get to create what I want. I carry that determination into everything I do. When I have a goal and dream I do the work and go for it.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Developing a team is one of the most rewarding and difficult things you will do as a business owner. Your business will thrive when everyone on your team is on the same page and reflects your core values. Having to make changes or letting members go is difficult but needed to grow.

Your clients will often be the first ones to reflect back to you on what’s working and what’s not working in your business. Pay attention to that. My vision has always been to provide consistent, dependable, and reliable service to the people we serve. My team must be able to deliver that experience to our clients every time and it all starts from onboarding, delivery, and closing the relationship.

My advice to those leading a team is to check your own self-leadership. Be an example of what you want to see and if people pleasing is something you manage make a decision to put your team over your ego.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.visionworkscoaching.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisionWorksCoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-alaba/

Image Credits
Gianne Demeritte Photography