Embracing Your Journey: A Holistic Counselor's Approach to Mental Health

welcome fearfully and wonderfully made Souls thank you for tuning in to my very first episode of the holistic counselor podcast I'm your host Diana s rice a licensed mental health counselor a certified integrative mental health professional a qualified supervisor for Florida registered mental health counselor interns and the owner of through the valley th y based out of soflow AKA South Florida I also have been married for the last 29 years to Jim who in our roller

coaster ride of marriage raised four kids and now we are blessed with five grandkids as you see if you're watching the video I am a woman of color and have been a follower of Jesus Christ since 2000 the purpose of this podcast is to bring you the listener a unique perspective from my journey as one who not only navigates my own Mental Health issues due to complex PTSD and other labels placed upon me by the society

but also a clinical professional who has spent decades asking the question why as I've gathered tools and answers to that question I've compiled an integrative functional toolbox that is not found in mainstream textbooks or the halls of universities and where many mental health professionals they don't even understand this is why many have encouraged me toite write a book or create a podcast after much prayer and consideration here we are creating the wholeistic counselor podcast together so

where do I start do I go back as a daughter of a single immigrant mother to when I was 12 years old in Mr Tillman's pure counseling class at Crystal Lake Middle School in pompo Beach when one of our classmates drowned while trying to Have Fun swimming across Crystal Lake with his friends I took what I was learning in that class super seriously putting my energy into helping everyone else so I did not have to face

the pain of knowing my father left the family once again where I had my sick paternal grandmother at home who was a Santa Ria medium by the way and I would have to go home to take care of her while having a workaholic mother who emotionally neglected me because she really did not know any better looking back I see why smoking marijuana at that tender age eased the pain even though I was raised Catholic with sanaria

my mother would put me on a Church bus to attend a Baptist Church to gain understanding and hope but instead they judged me and told me I was going to hell for listening to lead Zeppelin so instead of finding the true Jesus I found humans who thought they were doing the right thing by putting more pain on a young girl who is just seeking love okay so maybe I should just start when I was 15 and

I was in Mr Hilton's peer counseling class at Deerfield Beach High School where another peer died from a gun on shot wo in the head and everything I was learning there once again I took super seriously even though many may put down the public school system and sometimes I'm even guilty of that it was the public school system where I felt safe because I did not feel safe at home the Brower County School System gave me

the imperfect love purpose and education I needed during those difficult years of my life looking back to that moment in time I realized that this little Glimpse that I just shared is part of my story so what is your story this is why I became a therapist I realized that all the pain blame and shame have a purpose and I have spent numerous years figuring it out and now I try my best to help each one

of my clients with the wisdom some call a wounded healer I just call myself a human with tools that the Lord has given me and uses to help others see who they are in Christ anyway as I wrestled with being a teenager trying to find my place in this world the world was Finding its place in me I did not have many healthy attachments mentors or resources in the village raising me I do thank God that

the diagnostical statistical manual back in the early 70s and ' 80s and the pharmaceutical companies did not coexist as they do today where I see them prospering in the labeling and disabling that so many of us in the western culture have been programmed into believing listen I know that medications have their place I am not against them but it should be the last resort not the first I also understand that we need a diagnosis to give

us boundaries in how to help but the nobo effect is a real construct that has harmed Us in ways that the rates of mental illness are skyrocketing and people feel they are their diagnosis what I have learned being a therapist for years is that at such a young age we become lost in a hopeless Venture believing the narratives and trusting the narrators instead of understanding how the creator of the universe has fearfully and wonderfully made each

one of us with a unique thumbprint we have 36 trillion cells and all of them were created to love us so that is the main purpose of this podcast hopefully it gives you a new story a hopeful understanding and tools you can utilize to build new neurop Pathways to a deep understanding that you were created in the image of God a whole being with Biology psychology and Theology and that he loves you so let's discuss my

philosophy and my approach to being a holistic counselor I began this this journey working with families and teens since 1990 first I was a preschool assistant at a place called Brower Children's Center where I worked with preschoolers who had moderate to severe disabilities then worked at a private Church Preschool that's where I met my hubby JY while becoming a youth counselor at that church then began a job for a government inner city preschool where I worked

part-time while going to school in the evenings to become a therapist and raising a family during the day in 2004 I had one of the best experiences I was the only intern at Cross Creek School in Brower County which was a cognitive behavioral school from kindergarten to 12th grade for emotionally and behav behaviorally disabled or I like to say differently abled students it was here when the question of why arose so much now picture this I

am a very young intern learning how to do this career I set my soul on I had so many questions like why are these kids on so many different medications and their brains are not fully developed yet why are not the parents or caregivers in therapy if it's them that are raising them why are we not listening to them and just worried about them taking their meds why why why I drove poor Mr Peterson my supervisor

insane I became frustrated and angry at the same time I began to understand the Dynamics of government red tape big Pharma insurance nobo and so much more I was still at Nova Southeastern University receiving my masters in mental health and only a few professors I felt understood the whole being while other professors were stuck in their ego their therapeutic modality and brainwashed by the diagnostical St statistical manual fourth edition I was told that the DSM was

my Bible and I needed to know it inside and out not only to help my patient but to pass the test you can imagine how that beautiful three-letter word would erupt in the middle of class why why does this book have to be my Bible why is it that a bunch of westernized psychiatrists mostly white white males have all this power why are we not taking into consideration the different cultures from all over the world we

find in Broward County why are we not educating parents and teachers with skills instead of just giving out pills so as I kept being gaslit ignored or punished I decided to First Do no harm and go back to the one psychological and the one spiritual modality that I loved Carl Rogers and his unconditional positive regard and my faith in Jesus Christ I began to read and pray and became curious about the mind body and spirit connection

how can I truly see the human in front of me how can this the person feel understood heard seen and loved and that my dear listener was another step to the holistic approach I graduated in 2007 but still was working part-time at the preschool until I finally landed a job in 2009 through Craigslist I Friends of Children a nonprofit organization yeah you heard me right Craigslist I think about that and I'm like oh my goodness but

anyway if you're an intern listening to this please know I fully remember those beginning years of UNC uncertainty trying to find my footing trying to navigate the complexities of insurance companies paperwork expectations and burnout in Community Mental Health how the impostor syndrome would creep in all the while making sure every tea was crossed and every eye was dotted going into these homes of these families in the poorest neighborhoods trying to help one family at a time

seeing myself in these teens that I was there to serve this Rich experience gave me an understanding that what most humans need no matter where they are from is respect and a really good listening to in 2011 I began searching for another job and went back to being a teacher where the paycheck was more stable in January of 2012 my youngest son had a traumatic brain injury that changed our lives I had to quit working to

homeschool him and this is where I began to really dive deep into the biology of the holistic approach I have today I did not want to go straight into the pill pushing that many doctors were telling me to do I began to take books out of the library yeah cuz the internet wasn't how it is today and um so the books I took out were about healing the brain naturally so even though I have been an

advent follower of alternative method since my young years I mean it's not my fault that my ancestors were herbalists midwives and mediums even though I am a disciple of Christ and do not practice the religious parts of sanaria I do understand there is a place for ancestral W wisdom the lord gave us everything on this Earth to heal sunlight food water breath Community herbs and uh when I say herbs I'm not talking about marijuana even though

that has its place too anywh who this transformative Journey has not only shaped my professional path but has also reinforced my commitment to holistic healing principles now fast forward to 2014 my son was doing better and went back to school full-time I wanted something different looking back I realized that after that traumatic experience in 2012 I wanted to find another kind of career so a friend of mine Trisha from chatter gold Studios shout out T Trisha

who I went to Crystal Lake Middle and deerfi High she was a professional photographer and a producer and so she encouraged me to send the pictures that she took to a send them to agents So within a month I had a few agents and began to get gigs and that is where I got bit by the bug all the way until February 14th 2018 when the tragedy of Parkland shooting happened tomorrow will be the sixth anniversary

of this horrendous tragedy I had a few parents call me to ask if I still worked as a therapist I wanted to help but I wasn't not licensed nor was I working in the field and little by little the gigs stopped coming and the Holy Spirit was nudging me to go back to being a therapist and by September 2018 I became a therapist at an alternative brow County School in 2000 sorry in 2020 before the pandemic

in my community suffered another big tragedy this time teen suicides and the murder of a football player player even though I was not working at Deerfield Beach High School being an alumni living only miles away from where the suicides happen and having seen clients who knew the victims personally I had to really dig deep into my faith to keep me effective for the students I was serving on February 8th 2020 after a mental health town hall

meeting before the second suicide happened I wrote The Following poem at I would say about 3:30 a.m. and this is from my poetry book called wrath to riches Justice to gems and I'm going to read it to you right now it's called Love In Christ broken and bruised am I being used correctly in your eyes feeling paralyzed sick and tired by words inspired with no lasting results feeling the insult the pain so intense I can't get

any rest my heart heart breaks for the Youth of the city my heart is broken and gritty shattered from the inner city the at risk youth whom we pity but they're all at risk being tricked by the hypocrite do as I say not as I do I see why they're angry I'm angry too I was just like them self-medicating oh God so much pain so much suffering and these teens are not being heard caregivers say just

sit down and Obey take this pill and be still go ahead run away just shut up toughen up I don't got time must make the dime be alive barely survive on these streets this is the heartbeat the heartbeat of our youth in Brower County the Youth of this nation I understand the altercations I got your back I'll pick up the slack as much as I can take my life I will forsake I feel you I got

you I hear you just hold on for another day I'm learning from what you say please don't be dismayed don't waste your life away you'll make it through I believe in you my sweet one I love you for I remember being there too I am part of your suffering crew so pray for my life as I continue the fight to carry on young one as I try to sing your song please hold on you're not alone

you are never alone I hope this love will suffice Love In Christ Mrs Rice so now here we are my friend today February 13th 2024 you're listening to the rantings of this human who just shared a glimpse of her story on what led her to become a holistic counselor honestly there there's so much more to the story but I don't want to make this podcast about me I created it to make it about you since I

can only be the therapist of certain number since I can only be the therapist of a certain number of clients I thought interviewing integrative Professionals for some of the episodes would help you the Seeker to learn skills or give you a deeper understanding of mental health in a different way a growth mindset not the fixed mindset that so many are stuck in I want to teach the intern who is looking for support and to reach the

soul that feels there is no hope so if you are curious and want to learn more you could subscribe to this podcast check out my website sign up for my blog Liberation Lunas follow me on social media at throughthe valy therapy and join this tribe as we walk together on these Uncharted Trails of healing the mind body and spirit with this holistic counselor remember that Jesus loves you thanks for listening until the next time trust in

the Lord guard your heart and renew your mind bye