Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shanta Jackson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Shanta, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Throughout grad school I was taught by tons of professors who ultimately taught that as therapist, we are to be “blank slates” for our client, we don’t want to display any emotions, and we want to make sure that we strictly focused on the client. We needed to leave any type of individuality outside of the therapy office. So because I am thinking, these are the experts, I entered into my first 1.5 years of therapy as that “blank slate therapist”.

I mean completely inauthentic and robotic, I became the, “well how does that make you feel”, therapist. I didn’t feel good after sessions, because I was spending the entire time wearing this “mask” of a person, that I was taught I was suppose to be, and it honestly led to burnout. That’s a lesson within itself…When you are wearing a mask day in and day out, you burn out on life a lot quicker. Once you remove the mask and become more authentic, you seem to enjoy life a little more.

That is literally what happened as I went into my 2nd year of doing therapy. I gained some confidence to show up in therapy as myself. I had a client that I felt would be open to me showing up more in therapy. I literally tried it on her, a black woman. The things I experienced in that session was my defining moment.

I saw more vulnerability from her, saw the trust starting to really build, and I saw a comfortability in her body language and the way she shared her story with me. That session gave me the confidence to show up as myself, and to do therapy in a way that I felt benefited the population that I serviced.

I started to become the therapist that I would want to show up for me in my moments when I am at my most vulnerable, at my most beat down, at my most emotional state. I needed to be real. Because I was dealing with real people, not robots. That mindset truly changed the trajectory of my career. It became my entire brand and identity…which turned out to be pretty easy because it was me. I was bring myself to the table.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a licensed professional counselor who has been in private practice now for going on 7 years, and the past 3 years I’ve been a full time entrepreneur. I own and operate, Homegirl Therapy Services a private practice that is dedicated to being a safe space for clients to learn how to show up as their authentic self by, diving deep into their healing and learning to thrive and live the life that they deserve. I provide individual counseling to adults for individual, couples, or families. While my practice is dedicated to servicing individuals with different backgrounds I specialize in working with black women and women of color. My goal is to make sure my clients are happy, healthy, and whole in these streets.

I also create guided journals and notebooks to be used as a tools in the healing process. Sometimes we don’t know where to start in our healing, or we don’t know what to work on. My guided journal asks the hard questions, the questions that helps you identify areas of improvement. One of the things I love about my guided journals and honestly what I am most proud of as a therapist in general is that I show up in them. I include parts of myself that lets you know that I understand, that you are not alone, and that it does get better.

I am proud of how I show up in my therapy sessions as well as online. It’s easy for me because I have worked hard on being my authentic self. The way I show up in spaces is the same way I show up in my life and I am very proud of that. I cannot help my clients show up for themselves if I don’t walk that same path and learn to show up for myself.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for me was being true to myself, and being authentic. My husband told me one time during those two years when I was robotic and wasn’t seeing growth, he said “you can never go wrong with being yourself.” And that is my advice to you…you can never go wrong with being yourself.

I’ve learned this…people buy into you. Once they buy into you, they buy into any product or service that you provide. We are in a time where social media can make or break a small business. It’s a free platform that you can leverage to connect with your audience & potential customers or clients.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Set Boundaries, Find Peace a guide to reclaiming yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab

The Gucci Mane Guide to Greatness

Wouldn’t take nothing from my journey now by Maya Angelou

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thehomegirltherapist.com
• Instagram: @thehomegirltherapist
• Facebook: The Homegirl Therapist
• Twitter: @homegirltherapy
• Other: Tik Tok: @thehomegirltherapist

Image Credits
Anthony Ferrell JoJostylez