Growing up as a young Black boy and into adulthood I never knew or heard anything about mental health counseling. Today I am a Mental Health Counselor. This has been an amazing journey from where I started to where I have planted myself in this specialized field of counseling. I’ve never taken the opportunity to really look back at my journey until now. I realized the benefits I missed out on personally if I had seen a therapist when I was a young teen. As a teen I experienced the death of my aunt who died in her sleep and nearly a month after her death, my great uncle died. Looking back, I understand now why their death was so difficult to process, and the devastation I felt. I had no one to talk about sudden death or any death for that matter. We all had our tears and sadness but after the tears then what? I remember being stuck in the “then what” phase, this was the first time someone died in my family that was so close. I lived in the same house as my aunt and my great uncle which made it even more difficult. I remember I would skip school just to reflect on this thing called death and sorrow. Since I had no one to talk to or reach out to I tried to talk it out myself. Talk out the pain, the frustration, and the hurt. As I fast forward nearly 30 years later I can honestly say there is value in having and speaking with a mental health counselor. So many things happen in our lives that are beyond our control, such as disease, death, sickness, sadness, disappointments, failures, divorce and other heartaches and pain. I have realized because these things happen, we need to be able to deal with them other than running away from them and sweeping them under the carpet or by dealing with our emotional pain by turning to drugs, sex, alcohol and pornography which eventually takes us down the road to a deeper depression. Unfortunately, there are times when this can lead to suicidal thoughts and at times actual suicide. I realized when we have a physical pain, we are quick to run to the medicine cabinet, and perhaps take an aspirin, if it continues, we’ll go to the doctor to get a full examination, but when it comes to emotional pain, we don’t think about going to a therapist. Just like a migraine without an aspirin, eventually that pain will get worse and turn into something even more difficult to get rid of. I currently work as a Mental Health Counselor. I started my career as a School Counselor. I had worked many years as a school counselor and thought,” I’m sure I can retire here,” little did I know God had more in store for me. He blessed me to enter the Mental Health Counseling arena where I thought I never wanted to work, especially dealing with adults? Why? Because they have too many problems. As I entered this field, I realized God has given me the gift to counsel. I am blessed to say I honestly love doing what I do, and most importantly I enjoy seeing people become better no matter what they are facing. Just as I want to see people from all walks of life become better so does Jesus Christ. I recently began my private practice called Thomas & Associates Counseling & Consulting. My major goal is to help bring the church and the mental health counseling arena together. I mention this because I notice many Pastors and leaders of the church don’t feel like mental health counseling is for them and if they are saying it’s not for them, often the congregation will follow. I never want anyone to feel the way I did as a teen, not knowing how to cope with the loss of my aunt and uncle, however, if seeing a therapist becomes as natural as seeing a doctor for pain then I believe we will begin making major strides. As a therapist it troubles me when I inform Pastors that I am a Mental Health Counselor and would like to come and speak to their congregation how quickly I am ignored or turned away as an outsider, however, even though members are reading their bibles praying and fasting, it never hurts to have therapy. I do believe God has placed therapist here to help us 31
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