We were lucky to catch up with Stacey Williams recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stacey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

I started my internship in July 2009. At first, my initial plan was to complete my internship close to home because at that time I had a one-year-old and a four-year-old at home. My family life was very hectic, so I thought if my internship location was close to home, I would not spend that much time away from my children. However, this internship location was not feasible as it did not provide the requirements needed to successfully complete my Master’s program. I appealed to my professor and was able to change my internship location. Again, I focused on proximity because as I mentioned before, I wanted to be close to home. Unbeknownst to me was the fact that my alternate internship location was going to be 30 mins away from home. It was a domestic violence counseling center and I thought I would have been assigned to the shelter location, which was 10 mins away from home, but I wasn’t. I made the necessary adjustments mentally and logistically to ensure that the needs of my children were met and proceeded to follow this opportunity to complete my degree.
The last thing I expected when I started this internship, was that my life would change, FOREVER. Beyond learning clinical skills, I identified that I was currently in a domestic violence relationship where I was being abused mentally, emotionally, financially, and sexually. I learned how prevalent domestic violence was and that I had been in this toxic bond for almost 10 years. I was married to my first husband and the first two years of the marriage were very turbulent. He was physically abusive during this time and I sustained several injuries as a result of this. After two years I moved out after a major physical altercation, but we re-united when I discovered that I was pregnant with our first child. The physical abuse ceased, but I was ignorant of the fact that the other ways he treated me were also forms of abuse.
Being at my internship overtime revealed this fact, and with many mixed emotions, I made a decision that I must end this relationship because all my efforts throughout the years to make changes were futile.
I had to embrace my truth, relinquish my denial and make a decision to save my life. Being at HAVEN (my internship location) was so significant because I learned about how to escape an abusive relationship safely, strategies to heal, how to validate my feelings, and how to find the courage to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. In spite of being broken, I was strong enough to leave, and even though my departure came with a lot of safety risks, and a physical attack, I found the courage deep within to make a better life for myself and my children. This experience was one of the most valuable and all the clinical knowledge in the world could never replace the lessons I learned that saved my life.

Stacey, 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?

Hello, my name is STACEY WILLIAMS, Licensed Professional Counselor and the founder of THE RESTORATION VILLAGE: THERAPEUTIC AND HOLISTIC SERVICES. I have over twelve years of experience as a trauma-focused therapist and over 20 years in the helping profession. The Restoration Village is a place of healing and restoration, We believe that an individual can thrive even after trauma. With over 20 years of experience working within the community helping children, teens, and adult improve the quality of their lives, I possess a unique and detailed approach to therapy that normalizes your experience and provide hope. We provide a safe place for healing and restoration and look forward to working with our clients to accomplish whatever healing goals they may have.
In May of 2022, The Restoration Village hosted its inaugural Mental health Awareness Summit, which made an impact on the community to enhance the awareness of the benefits of taking care of one’s mental health.
We provide individual and family therapy as well as trauma therapy groups for teens and adults. We provide community training and education on mental wellness and a variety of topics to improve the well-being of individuals. The Restoration Village also participates in community events geared at providing information and awareness on the benefits of caring for one’s mental health, especially after traumatic experiences.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose the helping profession. My entire life has been a genuine exposure to servitude to others. It was with passion and commitment that I watched my parents serve and meet the needs of the less fortunate. I developed an intrigue in human behaviors and desired to understand why we do what do and behave the ways we behave. From that mindset, I explored all the career options that could fulfill that curiosity and realized that being a therapist would provide the understanding and allow me to help others understand their behaviors. Being a therapist comes with much challenge and exposure to the most vulnerable spaces of people’s lives, but being able to be a “healing source”, and “bridge” is rewarding.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Besides my clinical training, my life experiences have been my greatest asset as a clinician. Being an adult has provided me with major life lessons that have tested my faith, my strength, my moral compass, and my decision-making. My brokenness, my grief, and my low places in life have enhanced my natural ability to care for and provide compassion to others. Being a survivor of domestic violence, a single parent of two, and navigating many unchartered territories in this life, has given me a voice to share my light and hope with others in a therapeutic setting. The most important lesson I have learned from my life is that healing is possible. You can recover from what was designed to destroy, with support, determination, understanding, and acceptance.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.therestorationvillage.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trv_therapy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trvtraumatherapy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiv5gbikwWTrb3fQB4E6qtg

Image Credits
Perfecting Images Photography