We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shanaz Ikonne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shanaz, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
My mission is personal and grounded in service to others. My role as a therapist is providing individuals a safe, inclusive space to heal. My own experiences as a mother shaped my clinical speciality in women’s mental health and maternal wellness. My private practice launched full time in August 2022 and is focused on reducing stigma in the community by breaking barriers around going to therapy, finding quality mental health, providing resources, access to care and ending generational trauma. I want to normalize that everyone can benefit from mental health counseling. I offer individual, group and consulting services virtually to provide greater access to those in need. I also believe in strengthening community education through workshops, classes and provide pro-bono work to individuals year round. It’s something that brings me joy and gratitude.
I believe that God has called me to a higher purpose of service and the mission is using that gift to serve others that are hurting, seeking help and wanting to lift the emotional burdens of life. This is done through safety, connection, and relationship building with a culturally inclusive lens of decolonizing mental health and making it accessible to my community. My mission is supporting individuals going through life transitions, especially the journey of motherhood. The backbone of what I do as a therapist is rooted in empowering, supporting and nurturing individuals from all walks of life. I specialize in trauma informed care for BIPOC communities facing issues related to their family of origin, trauma, and culture, gender, and identity. I understand the challenges BIPOC members face with systemic racism and inequality in shared spaces, neighborhoods, places of employment, and especially the healthcare system within the birthing community i.e. postpartum recovery because that is also my shared and lived experience.
Shanaz, 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’m a second-generation South Asian mom of 2 toddlers and married to my best friend, Eric. I reside in Pflugerville, Texas and own a virtual counseling private practice that allows me to serve anyone in Texas. I believe God gives us all special gifts and talents to use for His purpose and being a counselor is one of them. It gives me purpose and also joy to serve, uplift and counsel those in the community. I love working with children and I am a registered play therapist. I primarily work with adults at this time and focus on healing issues related to trauma because if I can help break the cycle, the next generation is free from that pain. Becoming a mom gave me greater understanding in the importance of how I bond with my own kids, family and parent-child relationship. I understand the many challenges in maintaining the life-work balance of being a wife, working parent and business ownership and that is why I find it so important to support individuals in similar walks of life.
During the beginning of the pandemic there was a shift and high demand for therapist of color. After the passing of George Floyd many individuals wanted to find therapist that looked like them or represented similar cultural backgrounds. I saw an influx of Desi populations and people of color reach out for support around depression and anxiety. In 2021, my family grew in size and I had a baby during the Texas winter storm. I realized a few things, first that women are capable of anything and also there is still a large gap in receiving equitable maternal health care. Becoming a mother shifted my energy in supporting women and mothers of color because there was not enough support, safety and healing in our communities.
I currently have a virtual private practice that specializes in women’s mental health including perinatal and postpartum care. I also work with fathers and high achieving men balance the role of fatherhood, their other identities and life roles so they can find a balance too. I help individuals find their footing when the feel unseen, unheard or detached and provide them with practical tools to heal their emotional pain, trauma wounds and break generational patterns of dysfunction including anxiety, stress and depression. I operate from a relational and trauma informed lens and build rapport with each individual in a holistic way because there are so many important pieces to wellness we focus on all the parts that make us human: sleep, nutrition, movement, connection, faith and cultural values and beliefs, etc. In session we slowly piece it all together like a quilt that includes who they are and how to maintain a more abundant life. Individuals that work with me may find a place of healing and we mutually pause or end therapy and later in life they are welcome to find me, reconnect and work through the newest chapter in their life. It’s a beautiful process to be part of someone’s life in that way.
Besides providing mental health counseling to individuals from the community. I offer public speaking and consulting services to organizations through employee wellness workshops, community support sessions, educational workshops and guest panel events around a variety of topics including: reducing anxiety, overcoming public speaking fears, reducing sigma around mental health in Desi populations, how to cope in uncertain times, how to support someone with mental illness, and other specific needs including support around job layoffs, grief and loss, major world events (supporting parents after the Uvalde shooting, Roe V. Wade), women’s rights and other specific requests depending on the need of the company. I offer this service across the nation and it is not limited to location. In addition to consulting, companies hire me to help make their workplaces inclusive and safe. I’m working on some creative projects as well and hope to share it with you all soon.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
As therapists we are not trained in running a business, including marketing and finance strategies. I have an entrepreneurial spirit that led me to this path. I wear many hats in my business and learn as I go. The journey of owning and operating your own business comes with highs and lows, complete autonomy and at times feeling uncertain about it all while having limited resources. I’m the type of person if I cannot find the answer I will find someone that does. I rely on God, my community of therapists and family/friends for support. I’ve learned about free business classes, mentors and other support systems. I’m expanding my social media presence as a way to share resources to viewers. I recognize my areas of growth and ways to build these skills through platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram so please feel free to join me and follow me on this journey.
My resilience deepens each day as rely fully on God for guidance and finding the best ways to support my community. I know my work serves a deeper purpose bigger than myself. I may not fully understand or see the big picture but taking it one day at a time and having trust are big parts of my personal journey. I’ve learned to work through the ambiguity private practice brings and learned to be resourceful and patient in the process. It is about finding balancing in operating a business while doing the intimate work of healing individuals and community. Being a business owner allows me to invest more into my relationships with my family, community and finding ways to give back in addition to taking care of myself in the process because it is important to model wellness so I can do my best each day.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Some of the best sources of new clients stem from professional relationships with the community and connecting with local businesses in the area. I’m on local directories that support parents with perinatal and postpartum mood disorders in the greater Austin area such as Kristie’s List (https://www.pphatx.org/about-kristis-list) and other directories geared towards Asian populations (https://www.asianmhc.org/therapists-us/) for potential clients to learn and find me. I also get clients from public speaking and corporate events. At other times it comes from former colleagues and therapist that do not specialize in my areas of expertise with women, motherhood, individuals dealing with stress, anxiety, or generational trauma, offering brain spotting and other modalities for healing. Other professionals that work with my ideal client i.e. OB/GYNS, reproductive psychiatrists, pelvic floor therapist, doulas, etc will send me referrals as well so we can collaborate on mind-body wellness. Ultimately the best source for new clients is rooted in connection in my community. I work hard in building authentic relationships with businesses and refer to them for their speciality.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shanazikonne.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/
shanazlpc - Other: Tik Tok @shanazikonne
Image Credits
Not applicable