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

Patrice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Stepping out and starting my private practice was a huge risk for me. I was raised to believe that success had a blueprint: go to school, get a good job with benefits, stay loyal, and retire with a pension. That was the model. Stability was the goal. Safety was success. Entrepreneurship? That wasn’t something we were taught—it was something other people did. Not us. Not me.

But as I grew personally and professionally, I started to feel the constriction between that model of stability and the fire inside me to do more.  I knew there was more to life than “just working a job and retiring”.  As I raised my head and began to look past the service, I saw gaps in the systems I worked within. I saw families hurting and not healing, organizations overwhelmed and pushing productivity over building relationships, and professionals struggling to show up whole because no one had ever poured into them. And I realized… I was one of them. I was “burnt out!!!”

Starting McBeath Consulting was the riskiest thing I had ever done. I was walking away from “guaranteed” income. From predictability. From what my family considered “having it together.” I was scared. But I was also called.

I realized that playing it safe wasn’t the same as living in purpose. And if I was going to help others heal, lead, and thrive—I had to start with myself.

McBeath Consulting was born out of a desire to create something that didn’t just exist in systems—but transformed them. A space that prioritized healing-centered engagement, equity-rooted strategies, and authentic care. A space that made room for both the data and the human experience.

I had to unlearn the idea that entrepreneurship was unstable—and relearn that it was liberating. It gave me the freedom to serve on my terms. To design work that aligned with my values. To lead from my truth.

And yes, it was a risk.

But so is staying stuck in someone else’s vision of success.

Taking risks isn’t about being careless or reckless—it’s about being prepared. Prepared to take on whatever is coming your way. It doesn’t mean that you are never afraid, it means that you are willing to face obstacles you encounter.  

It’s also important to be ready to grow, ready to evolve, and ready to walk into rooms that once intimidated you. Often, I’ve found that WE are our greatest threat.  Many are afraid of who they really are.  They play it small in fear of rejection. Once you have become one with self, and do not fear the greatness within, you will bet on YOU every time. 

I’ve learned that the most transformative parts of my life didn’t happen when I played it safe. They happened when I said yes to the unknown and trusted that even if I stumbled, I’d rise stronger.  Please don’t get me wrong, I have failed many times, I’ve cried many times and wanted to throw in the towel. But.. What towel do I have to throw in!?! 

Whenever I’ve hit my lowest point, clarity comes to direct the path. Miraculously, it all lines up. Now it all makes sense.  Yet, each obstacle has shaped and formed me to be who I am today. If I would have played it safe and didn’t BELIEVE, SURRENDER and MOVE, there would be nothing to show for all that I’ve endured.  I am grateful for those lessons and blessings.  It provided me with a wealth of knowledge, grit and character.

Risk is pressure—but pressure is what forms the diamond.

So no, I don’t take risks blindly. I take them with purpose, faith, and the kind of courage that’s been birthed through fire.

Patrice, 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?

After the passing of my grandmother, I wanted to honor “her heart” in the work that I do. She had a heart of gold. She nurtured and cherished those around her. I chose to carry the name as a torch. I am Patrice McBeath, a clinical mental health counselor by training, a trauma specialist by passion, and a healer by calling. But more than titles, I’m a Black woman deeply rooted in the mission of disrupting cycles of harm, reclaiming wellness, and building systems that work for us, not against us.

I got into this work because I’ve lived both the personal and professional realities of trauma. I understand what it means to carry pain while showing up for others. My background started in early childhood working in education. social services and early childhood physical and mental health, specifically working with children from inner city schools, child protective services and birth to age three—where I witnessed how early adversity shapes everything. From there, my path expanded into serving survivors of sexual and domestic violence, advocating for health equity in Black communities, and training professionals across systems on how to show up with authenticity, empathy, and cultural humility.

McBeath Consulting is more than a business—it’s a movement. We provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive services across three main areas:

1. Mental Health Counseling – We offer individual and group therapy specializing in trauma, anxiety, depression, domestic and sexual violence recovery, and spiritual identity. Our approach is holistic, honoring the full humanity of our clients.

2. Professional Development & Organizational Coaching – We equip organizations, teams, and leaders with the tools to:

-Navigate bias, privilege, and intersectionality

-Build inclusive, healing-centered environments

-Support staff retention, wellness, and growth through equity-rooted frameworks

3. Community Healing Initiatives – Through group facilitation, public speaking, and coalition work, we support system-level transformation, whether it’s tackling domestic and sexual violence among Black women or building trauma-informed responses to violence in Milwaukee.

What makes McBeath Consulting different?

We lead with truth, tenderness, and strategy. We don’t just talk about equity, we live it. Our work blends clinical expertise with cultural wisdom, faith-informed guidance with evidence-based practices, and deep community engagement with system-level advocacy.

We understand what it’s like to be the only one in the room, the only one who sees the harm, the disconnect, the need for change. And we walk alongside our clients as they face the discomfort, dismantle harmful patterns, and build something more sustainable.

I’m most proud of the brave people who invite us into their journey. It is an honor to come alongside people healing from trauma, serving as their guide. Seeing clients healing generational trauma, to organizations ready to shift culture, to systems finally listening to those they’ve silenced, being trusted in that process is the highest honor.

I’m also proud of building something that honors building a legacy, my purpose and my people. McBeath Consulting was a risk. I wasn’t taught to be an entrepreneur, I was taught to chase stability, to work hard, to stay loyal to a company, to retire when you’re “tired”. But I chose faith over fear. I chose to step outside of the box. And now, I get to create a model of success that’s rooted in wellness, freedom, and truth.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

There was a moment in my entrepreneurial journey when I had to make one of the hardest decisions…go back and get a job to supplement my income. And if I’m being honest? It hurt. Deeply.

I felt like a failure. Like I had gone against everything I stood for. I had stepped out on faith, built something from the ground up, poured my soul into McBeath Consulting—and yet, I couldn’t make it stretch. Bills were real. Responsibilities didn’t pause for the dream. And survival started to outweigh vision.

It felt like I was taking ten steps back. Like all the progress I made, all the work I put in, didn’t matter. But here’s what I learned:

Sometimes pivoting isn’t failure, it’s strategy.

I had to get out of my own head and stop defining success by hustle culture or outside validation. That season taught me how to resource my dream without abandoning it. The job wasn’t a defeat, it was a bridge. It gave me room to breathe, recalibrate, and most importantly…rebuild.

I took the battle wounds, the disappointment, and the pressure, and I rebranded.

I realigned my services with what truly set me apart. I refined my message. I studied my audience. I created clearer boundaries, better systems, and a stronger foundation.

That pivot birthed a stronger version of me and a sharper version of McBeath Consulting.

Now when I talk about resilience, I’m not speaking from theory, I’m speaking from lived experience. I know what it’s like to feel like the rug’s been pulled from under you… and still choose to rise.

So no, it wasn’t easy. But it was necessary.

And I carry that season with me, not as shame, but as proof that I know how to rise, rebuild, and reclaim my power.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of many lessons I had to unlearn was: Being a well-behaved, compliant girl will not get you where you want to be in life.

Due to my trauma, I took on the persona of being polite. To keep my voice soft. To avoid confrontation. To make people comfortable, even if I was uncomfortable. I didn’t know what it was like to be in my body. Like many that have experienced trauma, “good behavior” was protection. That silence was survival. That being agreeable was the key to success.

But as I began healing from the effects of trauma, I realized how much of my power I had handed over in exchange for acceptance.

Trauma taught me to shrink. Healing taught me to speak.

Being compliant didn’t save me. It suffocated me. It made me palatable in rooms that didn’t deserve me. It made me quiet when I should’ve roared. It made me smile through pain. Apologize for existing. Seek permission to take up space.

But healing, real healing, shattered that narrative.

I had to rewire my beliefs and remember that my voice is not a threat, it’s a gift. That boldness doesn’t mean I’m difficult. It means I’m free. That boundaries don’t make me rude, they make me rooted. I started to see how speaking up was an act of resistance. And how being bold was an act of reclaiming myself.

In my book, Finding Your Path: Healing From the Effects of Trauma, I talk about how trauma often conditions us to find safety in smallness. But healing? Healing dares us to expand. It dares us to be seen. And that’s the journey I’ve been on, learning that I don’t have to earn safety by being “good.” I don’t have to water myself down to be worthy.

I am allowed to take up space. To challenge the status quo. To speak up, even if my voice shakes.

So no,I’m not the same “nice girl” I once was. I’m not here to be compliant. I’m here to be complete.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mcbeathconsulting.com
• Instagram: mcbeath.consulting
• Facebook: McBeath Consulting LLC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrice-mcbeath-b37ba57b?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BXJphOGCIQ%2FemaqzZrBg%2BTQ%3D%3D
• Youtube: @mcbeathconsultingllc6272

Image Credits

Trell Collier