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

Hi Shardae, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I always knew that I enjoyed helping people but I didn’t know what specific population really stood out to me. After counseling several different types of clients, I began to see the concept of grief and loss more frequently. I noticed that more often than not Baltimore nonprofits and other organizations often associated grief to the loss of a person due to death. There were very few places for those who needed to feel seen and heard after experiencing a major life altering event. I reflected on my own personal experiences with grief and loss and realized I enjoyed being just that for people…. a place where they could feel seen. My first encounter with grief came after the death of my mother when I was just 8 years old. Throughout the years of being raised by maternal grandmother I continued to experience numerous secondary losses both death and non death related. I believe my experiences have shaped my perspective to better empathize with the clients whom I serve. The purpose of my business is to help allow individuals who are grieving find and discover their true authentic emotions without the fear of being misjudged or invalidated. I get most excited thinking about the hundreds of people I can help and offer them an opportunity to just feel seen, heard and valued.

Shardae, 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?

My name is Shardae Carter and I am the owner of Dae to Dae Counseling Services, LLC. As a little girl I always knew that I wanted to help those who felt they didn’t have anyone to listen. After briefly attending grief counseling after the death of my mother, I found solace in expressing my thoughts through artistic creative streams. I find that being a licensed therapist I get a chance to meet my clients where they are on their journey and implement different creative strategies to help them discover themselves. I take pride in being able to help grieving clients feel safe enough to be vulnerable, heard and appreciated in a therapeutic setting. I believe Dae to Dae Counseling Services is different than the traditional therapy setting because I create individualized creative treatment plans designed to help clients in any phase of the grieving process. Clients are allowed to process with me any type of loss whether it’s divorce, early retirement, death, relationship breakups and so much more. I am most proud of my ability to utilize my personal experience with death/ loss and help individuals in several walks of life. As the owner of Dae to Dae Counseling Services, I take pride in being able to build a rapport with each of my clients to ensure they feel comfortable throughout the therapeutic process.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

On August 8, 2008 my life changed forever. My hero, my best friend, and most importantly my maternal grandmother died unexpectedly while we were on family vacation. The day of my grandmother’s death I can remember my stomach feeling as if I had just taken a dip on the highest rollercoaster in the world. I can remember not having a vision for myself and feeling completely lost. Throughout the grieving process of my grandmother, I had to find ways to turn my pain into my superpower. I began to change my perspective on my losses and took a new approach to rebuilding my future. I found purpose in my pain and quickly learned the things to help me stay motivated and focus.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that has always been taught to me is if you want the job done right, then do it yourself. While getting a job completed is great, there is greatness in being able to build a trustworthy team. I believe I am learning more than after the significance in delegation and allowing others to help when necessary. Being in the field of helping others, it is imperative to take care of one’s own health and prioritize your personal needs. In doing so, I have learned that establishing personal boundaries with oneself is essential in helping to prevent burnout.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dae2daecounseling.com
• Instagram: Dae2daecounsel
• Facebook: Dae to Dae Counseling
• Linkedin: Dae to Dae Counseling