Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Cammack, Ph.D.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
In 2014 I accepted my first position as a salary employee as a contractor for a federal government agency. I loved this job. I felt competent, my colleagues became my friends, and the work was fulfilling. Many people told me that this contract position could also the first step to getting into the government as a full-time employee. So when a permanent position opened a year later, I applied immediately. I was so full of joy when I was awarded the position. This was supposed to be a smooth transition of moving from contractor to a federal employee in the same position. My job duties were supposed to stay the same, my office was the same, the only thing changing was my employer. After completing all of the orientations and trainings for my “new job” I was supposed to return to my office duties within 1-2 weeks. However, at the end of 2 weeks everything as I knew it related to my job had changed.
Due to a clerical error, my child background clearance was not renewed, and a lapse had occurred which prevented me from being able to work in a school and with children. My duties which included me providing mental health services to students, families, and school staff, ended immediately. I now found myself working with all adults, who were active-duty service members. While I remained hopeful that the mistake would be corrected, I found myself in a new place within my career. where it now felt like everything was falling apart. I was unable to do the thing I loved the most, working with youth and families.
However, as I started working with active duty service members, it was during this time that the idea of and need for Black Mental Wellness, Corp became clear to me. As I worked with predominately Black women and themes around the different ways that depression manifests in Black people, the superwoman syndrome, and stigma kept emerging in therapy sessions, I wanted to provide additional resources to explain what my clients were experiencing. However, outside of peer reviewed articles that I had from graduate school, the resources to explain mental health in the Black community was limited. After little luck in finding culturally specific websites, factsheets, or other resources one day I said to myself, I need to create the resources and platform that is missing.
During a time where I thought everything about my career was going in the wrong direction, I actually found my larger purpose which was creating a platform to provide culturally inclusive mental health resources and programming to help Black people feel empowered to seek the mental health treatment they need and deserve. During the time of being in the “wrong job” I wrote down the ideas of Black Mental Wellness in a journal. I used what I was learning in my work with clients to inform my ideas. I spoke with colleagues about what they thought was needed, and I began the process of forming an organization
I knew that a lack of Black mental health resources was only one piece of the puzzle, there was also a lack of diverse representation in the mental health field. This inspired me to partner with colleagues who shared the same commitment to Black mental health — including Dr. Danielle Busby, Dr. Jessica Henry, and Dr. Dana Cunningham. I wanted the visual of the platform to reflect the diversity that the field needs. In addition, the importance of mentorship and providing support and guidance to students to help them get into graduate school and early career jobs was imperative. Hence, the need for a national training program was also identified.
At a time where I felt everything was falling apart, I found my true passion and purpose and Black Mental Wellness was established. Now, often times when I am going through hardships or what may be perceived as a setback, I ask myself, what am I supposed to learn from this moment. It doesn’t always take away the emotional impact of what I am going through, but it does help me to find my next steps or as a way to use what I’m going thorough to strengthen or inform my next steps. Most times there is always a lesson if we take the time to be present and be open to hearing what it is.
Nicole, 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?
In 6th grade my English teacher pulled me aside and asked if I ever considered being a therapist. The answer was no. For as long as I could remember, I always wanted to be a lawyer. It was the career choice of all of my friends. I never really thought about the conversation again, but when it was time to apply for college, psychology was my career of choice.
I took the typical pathway of becoming a psychologist. Undergraduate school, graduate school, internship, and postdoctoral program. I went into graduate school wanting to understand resilience and what trajectories led to success for youth. I wanted to study the impact of community factors on youth development and mental health, specifically depression, anxiety, aggression, and conduct disorder. I am thankful for an advisor who allowed me to use my personal experiences to launch my master’s thesis and dissertation. It gave me a voice and helped me to understand that despite my childhood experiences or being a first generation student, that I belonged.
My goals were always to work within a system and make an impact. I never expected to become an entrepreneur. After meeting with my colleagues and inviting them to join Black Mental Wellness, the next step was to become incorporated as an organization. LLC vs. S-Corp, taxes, marketing, payroll, business plans, social media, SEO, website, grants, etc. were all new areas of growth and that that I am continuing to learn. Something that introduced me to the business world was taking an entrepreneur program through our lawyer at the time, which explained the why and how of establishing a business. and other business related factors This has been the foundation of each new businesses I have launched since 2018.
Specifically, Black Mental Wellness, Corp has also launched a nonprofit, Black Mental Wellness Foundation which is our philanthropic branch to fund our free mental health programs and National Training Program. In addition, I founded a private practice in 2020, Healing Generations Psychological Services and Consultation Center to provide culturally inclusive mental health services. All of this started with a dream and a vision of what I felt was missing in the world and using a business to fill that void.
What I have learned in establishing a business allows me to make an impact in meaningful ways for other people. I am able to stretch beyond the limits of a system and make a direct impact on mental health and wellness. It also allows me to do work that aligns with my purpose. Entrepreneurship, while it is a lot of work, has been liberating.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I did not grow up in a “typical” household. I was raised by my mother. My father was in and out of prison, and when he was out of prison, he struggled with substance use. I also didn’t know a lot of people who went to college or had college degrees in my personal life, outside of teachers and religious leaders. Despite what any statistics may have suggested from the outside world, on the inside I always knew I was going to college. I believe that the connection between my life circumstance and my future goals were love. My mother always told me I would go to college to the point that I also believed it. The “how” didn’t matter just a knowing that it was possible for me. Love, encouragement, and family and a community of people who believed in me, helped me to overcome adversity and make that a reality.
My mother, family, and friends dropped me off at Howard University my freshman year of college. This was a new experience for me, but I didn’t realize the amount of challenges I would face as a first generation college student. There were some difficulties that I did not know how to navigate or didn’t even know what questions to ask to help me navigate my difficulties. Mentors and a close social support were key to me learning and overcoming. I found mentors who exposed me to opportunities that expanded my knowledge and helped to prepare me for graduate school, and friends who supported me and shared their resources while I was in college.
I’ve applied those same approaches throughout my life and career. There will be some pathways that are new and unfamiliar, and it can feel scary. And although you may not have the exact knowledge of where to start or what to do, there is someone that does! Don’t be afraid to ask questions, seek guidance and help from others, seek advice from trusted friends, and if you have a mentor talk about these things with your mentor. There are people who want to see you succeed.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Like many businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic forced me to pivot in my career and life. Up until that point, most of what I knew about being a psychologist required me to be in a room with the client and in person for conferences/presentations or speaking events.
Prior to the pandemic I provided some telehealth mental health services and a few presentations that were virtual, but it was not common. What I quickly learned during the pandemic was that I had to use skills I already knew about human behaviors and gain some new skills to help clients and audiences feel like we were in the same room together. But, I had to be flexible and open to learning. This can be uncomfortable and that is ok. I’ve learned that growing is very uncomfortable, but what’s on the other side is worth it.
Sometimes as a psychologist, I can feel the energy of a client in the room. I am able to observe how they present in the waiting room, observe how they walk to the therapy room, or even the small talk they may or may not engage in before the session starts. I used all of that in addition to what happened in therapy to help me to understand a client, how they are doing, and when they are progressing or getting worse. The pandemic forced me to learn new strategies of how to really pay attention to tone, eyes, and body language (that is visible on camera) to help “feel” the client. I also had to think of new ways to engage audiences to make speaking feel more interactive and engaging.
These pivots also inspired me to think of new programs and initiatives such as the annual Black Mental Wellness Virtual Conference. We created a space for mental health professionals and the everyday person, to come together to discuss mental health, healing, wellness, and to feel safe doing it. Our team also launched the Authentically Me collection during this time, where we used our own personal experiences and shared how we coped with life in a collection of clothing with statements that represented a part of our own personal journey. Neither of these initiatives were a part of our 2020 goals, but we were flexible in our approach to business and needed to do things that people would respond to and that would bring people together, during a challenging time.
Being home during the pandemic also forced me to be still and to be in touch with my own feelings, thoughts, and needs. I no longer had the busyness of a daily commute, social gatherings, or life outside of my condo to keep me busy from being with self. I learned the importance of stillness and meditation. I developed an intentional practice of yoga and found that the more I listened to myself and my body, that I could take better care of myself, show up in the world as a healthier version of myself, and all of this made me a better psychologist. The pandemic may be over, but the lessons learned have remained with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blackmentalwellness.com/
- Instagram: @blackmentalwellness
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-cammack-phd/
Image Credits
Iris Mannings Photography (feature photo and photos with resilient shirt Derrel R. Todd (remaining photos)