Today we’d like to introduce you to Mercedes Moore.
Mercedes, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a mental health professional and advocate. I attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (HBCU) where I majored in psychology. During my time there, I had the great honor of being in the Ronald McNair Scholars Program, and it led me to the family therapy graduate program at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX.
I moved from Stamps, Arkansas (hometown) to Denton, and on my 23rd birthday, I began my career as a qualified mental health professional/ qualified intellectual disability professional. I started out working with individuals who were diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disorders as their primary diagnosis. Then I finally got what I considered my dream job at the time and that was to work with people who diagnoses with mental illnesses. I loved that job and it brought me so much joy. However, I was working towards becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist at TWU and I was a community mental health field worker.
It was the best of both worlds because I was getting so much knowledge in the classroom and rewarding experience in the field. I was drawn to the mental health field primarily because of my childhood experiences. I recognized in my early 20s that I along with other people in my family and in my community could have benefited from talking to a therapist from time to time. So from 2013-2016, I was hustling in the classroom and learning so much about myself while becoming a therapist and learning so much about mental illnesses while working with people who had diagnosed with mental disorders via community mental health.
What stood out to me the most was the stigma associated with mental illness and the lack of education/insight regarding mental health. I just knew I had to be a voice for this field. So in a way that’s how the mental health advocate in me was born.
Has it been a smooth road?
Not at all, I am a first generation college student and I did not know what I was doing. It was unheard of to get a bachelor’s degree let alone a master’s degree. The graduate program made me question my ability to complete it because it was very challenging. I never just had time to read research articles or complete the homework because I was working full time and exhausted when I got home after work and after class. But I fail in love with my classes and professors and I learned so much and it was beautiful.
I failed my state licensure exam, and that meant I couldn’t practice therapy. My confidence was low, and I felt helpless. I was determined though and eventually got it done. Changed my whole perception of failure. I still work full time as a therapist at a community mental health agency while trying to build Therapy Matters Counseling Group with my best friend and walk in my purpose. Finding balance can be hard because my full-time job is stressful and mentally exhausting. But I always tell myself, you better fight for your dreams girl. I appreciate the struggle though, so much beauty in the process of becoming.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Therapy Matters story. Tell us more about the business.
I moved to Houston in 2017 because the pay was better for mental health professionals. My best friend and I started Therapy Matters at the beginning of this year. We are both Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associates.
Therapy Matters was created to decrease mental health stigma and normalize professional psychological help-seeking (therapy). Society has created this taboo-ness about mental health, and as a result, people suffer silence everyday. Therapy Matters aim is to educate people on the difference between mental health and mental illness.
Every single one of us has mental health which is our psychological and emotional well-being. Some people have a mental illness diagnosis which could be Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or Major Depression just to name a few. They’re different, but both are very important. Physical health is also something we all have. Physical illnesses such as asthma, cancer, diabetes, or lupus are not illnesses that we’re all diagnosed with. But it is normalized for people to seek help when they have a physical illness versus mental illness. I co-created this company with my best friend because I see people everyday on social media posting about their trauma, depression, drug habits, anxiety, and low self-esteem issues and I want them to know therapy can be a safe space for them to process those things and heal.
You do not have to wait for a crisis to occur to attend therapy. You do not have to have a mental illness to attend therapy. I want to normalize mental health check-ups. I have worked with couples, families, children, and individuals with diverse issues. Right now, I see mostly women in therapy, so I do a lot of self-esteem/confidence work. I specialize in empowering people to nurture their mental health by helping them become aware of their thoughts.
The thoughts that creep in and make us feel stuck or question our ability to do something can be a hindrance in our lives if we don’t challenge them. Our minds are our greatest asset, and it must be nurtured so that we can be emotionally in sync with ourselves and live up to our full potential. I would love to see more men in therapy, but my overall passion is working with couples. They’re my fave!
Therapy Matters doesn’t consist of traditional therapists. We’re young and sometimes that can be assumed that we do not know anything about raising children, marital or life issues. We wear t-shirts and jeans sometimes, we’re culturally competent, we’re not judgmental, and we don’t attach labels to people. I think just being young sets us apart because we appeal to children and teens as well as adults. The overall thing that I’m proud of is going ahead and starting this company now versus when I was older.
I also started a new podcast with my friends who are also therapists called On The Couch where we also tackle a lot of these issues. So the podcast and therapy practice both kinds of have the same agenda. #THERAPYISFOREVERYBODY #MENTALHEALTHMATTERS
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think we will be more digital and that can be a good and not so good thing. People will be able to get therapy services on more apps versus making time to go in person.
I think that makes it less intimate, but I understand the convenience of it. I definitely want Therapy Matters to grow and become an app one day and be accessible to people all over the world.
A big shift that I hope to see is more therapy in public schools. Bullying is heavy right now, so the advocacy in me is pushing for that to be a big trend soon.
Contact Info:
- Address: 16903 Red Oak Drive Suite 172B Houston, TX 77090
- Website: https://www.therapymattersgroup.com
- Phone: 830-612-0034
- Email: therapymattersgroup@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therapy_matters_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therapyisforeverybody/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARCQq77EaMugvC8a6esJzrba4sUhpR6JSIdDMBP8ZIuIyAyLrRwjvM4fe0yM89XAtxeXHOiiqlJvXrs9&hc_ref=ARSw8k-0BHtZA7gELYIUUXFMGZafQ5GjpR5t7JHWZX5DLFsgUV93Y37XEL7E1wVFaKs&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARA9L90ggiNOVEMXH-0MmvC2TcBDr1cMmQP34uRRwRDa3hGBGpLju6TuEhRdxDLg_76AEw60rAGgHaI2_QGKcFC_vtqMBkl2Y4KdLIf0vFbKPLoxZjsS52r1EWQS3nmV2t7qYn0c31lfRqognA-x3zWU8Q8vvgTb0lFTtdMg3Y44Wl4AuAvhanwLtmmYJXU6Ixxk4W3HO_3n2cCv0QYAzqCx-iVP8iLMt10lxxBdIYqwhHyjw7cMq-d1QDrfEiEBNQ9DOwgX4uunuu-9bTU74Ecu9dTmK3SDfefntJi_n6Qx_VkgUeuBWe45VzvMZeBwVqNGAUxscLJUZT1I8zNbM33r9IZo
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/onthecouch_podcast/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Donte Perry
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