We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrice Brown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrice below.

Patrice, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

I was always striving for better. I would do extra work like shadow my supervisor. He would always get cases and before he could ask if wanted it. He would laugh and say here read the case notes and lets meet the family. Brian already knew that with my determination and ambition. I was going to do whatever it took. I would ask thousands of questions about moving forward. Questions like what major and ask my supervisor,how did he get his position. I would admire him and take notes. It In school, i was determined as well but my time management skills were lacking a bit when it was time to get to my first morning classes. I had morning classes and i had to drive like an hr away from school. In the end, it all worked out perfectly fine.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Patrice Shavone Brown is a mother of two beautiful children. She is also the big sister of two siblings. Most of all she is “me.”
She is a person that has had storms and mountains to climb. She is still climbing. Patrice lost her
mom to cancer in June 2017 and her best friend in May 2017. She does not paint pretty pictures
about her life or surroundings.
Helping people is at the heart of everything that Patrice does. She has spent the last two decades
serving her community as a Mental Health Counselor. Her greatest satisfaction comes from
empowering others and assisting in people’s healing through the power of words.
“It’s hard, yet life is what you make it. And it is full of twists and turns,” says Patrice.
Patrice has owned and operated Restoring Bodies and Minds, restoringbodiesminds.org, for the
past seven years. She’s an overachiever. She likes to excel, and she has tremendous drive and
determination. If at first, you don’t succeed, try again, is at her core.
Brown has also authored Seven books. Her books are based on her everyday life experiences. The
titles are Secrets Of A Crazy Mental Health Counselor, The Day Momma Made Me Dance, We
Blend Well Together, A Fat Girl’s Confidence Guide, A Fat Girl’s Confidence: Beating Depression and Building Self Esteem, Finesser and The Finesser 2. Patrice holds an MA, BA, and AAS. She is also an Anger Management Specialist and Creative
Writing Expert.

During her free time, she enjoys singing and watching movies. She’s also an avid music lover
whose sights are set on being on TV one day.

I first started in the mental health industry working in a group home. My family actually owned one when I was younger and I would go by and try to help my uncle with some things around the home. Once I graduated from High school, I moved to Durham NC and started a Job as a Community Support Paraprofessional. I assisted individuals with persistent mental illness. MY specialty at the time was working with the at-risk youth population. Many of the children were in group homes, foster care, and gang-related. My job was to help decrease violent engagements, help them change their mindsets, and motivate them for a positive change. Later i started working with adults with severe or persistent mental illness. It was important to motivate the adults to acknowledge their mental illness and see a new way of life. This included a change in environment or other factors.

What sets me apart from others in the industry is that we are going to make changes no matter what. I motivate for change and help others believe they are capable of coping with mental illness. My clients can relate to me because I to have a similar story to them. I am most proud of my organization Restoring Bodies And Minds. RBM started in 2011 with helping others and today we are still changing lives. I am proud of my hard work to keep the doors open and the members motivated to attend the program. Most of all I’m proud that God chose me to be in this position. So I have accepted my calling and am passionate about the people I serve.

I want others to know that i can only be me. I am not going to change to fit in with others, i love being different. Things i help others with are career knowledge, relationship issues, self-development, confidence building, mental health counseling and daily living skills.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Yes, I would still choose Mental Health. It is a part of me and you have to be passionate about what you do. Your mind and body are connected and when we think of mental health. we must learn to think better and change our actions to create better lives. We must understand or personal traumas. Once we start accepting flaws and our mental issues, life gets better. It will never be perfect but any change is better than none.

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

To succeed in mental health, you have to learn balance. Balance is very important for you as a counselor because you help people all day. Many people believe we just talk. That is far from the truth. Believe it or not, if your mind is filled with clutter and trash. How can you focus and move forward in life? So i say, stay consistent in your studies. You can never get enough knowledge. Stay organized and determined to help others change their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.patriceshavone.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patriceshavonebrown/
• Facebook: Patrice Shavone Brown
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=patrice+shavone+brown
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Patrice-Brown/e/B07427LFM5/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk