We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Odile McKenzie a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Odile, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Deciding to start my business on my own was terrifying, because I didn’t think I had the skills to be successful. What kept me going was a good support system, faith, and the desire to not work for someone else.

Odile, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born in St. Lucia and immigrated to the US in my teens. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Holistic Psychotherapist, and Life Coach.

I am the founder and Clinical Director of Odile Psychotherapy Service, PLLC. I founded Odile Psychotherapy Service, PLLC , an online psychotherapy practice, in 2021, as an act of social justice. I wanted every person on the margins to have a safe place to heal.

I believe that racial trauma and stress puts BIPOC at risk for relational trauma, other traumas, anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome  and burn out. I created a space where we can heal and discover our enoughness. Safe people and community are vital to our emotional and physical well-being. Therapy is that safe relationship to help us heal our wounds, so that we can have safe relationships with ourselves, others, and our communities.

Odile Psychotherapy Service’s mission is to help people discover healing through safety, so they have more fulfilling relationships, communities, and lives.

I am most proud of the healing community that we are curating, because it enables BIPOC people to recognize parts of themselves in the therapists at the practice. All the therapists I work with practice from a place of safety and liberation.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have to remind myself constantly that hard work is not the sole key to success. I think that’s a lie we have been told to keep the wheels of capitalism turning and maintain white supremacy culture. What I have observed in my life and what research shows is that poor people work really hard and yet they are not traditionally successful. So everyday I have to remind myself to slow down and rest. I remind myself that strategy, self-care, the ability to pivot and seek support is what’s going to make my business successful.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

As a mental health professional, you cannot be an effective therapist if you aren’t aware or haven’t accepted all your parts. Just as you avoid parts of you, you will also avoid the parts of the client that remind you of yourself. A therapist can only go as deep as they have explored themself. This also holds true if you decide to become a business owner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.odilepsychotherapyservice.com/
• Instagram: o_therapyandcoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/odile-mckenzie-3940171a1/

Image Credits
Nicole Mondestin Photography