View this post on Instagram A post shared by Johnzelle Anderson, LPC (@counselor4rva) Thanks for watching!
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Johnzelle Anderson, LPC (@counselor4rva) Thanks for watching!
Recently, I’ve been becoming more interested of the topic of spiritual abuse, so I was intrigued when I found a memoir (my favorite genre) by Anna LeBaron titled The Polygamist’s Daughter. Trauma From hearing LeBaron’s story, I am in awe of how she made it through such complex and recurrent trauma. Her mother was the fourth wife of a polygamist “prophet”....[ read more ]
Prologue I went back-and-forth on whether or not to share this post; after all, one could assume "first-world problems" from reading the title. With that being said, I chose to share it anyway to exemplify the complexity of this anxiety disorder that I live with. What is the paradox of choice? In his book, The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz...[ read more ]
Given this series, it's clear that memoirs are my favorite book genre. With that being said, Short Stories: The Autobiography of Columbus Short is one of the most dynamic memoirs that I've ever read. I know of Columbus Short from his role in ABC's Scandal; however, his career has spanned choreography, music, and film production. From reading his memoir, I...[ read more ]
It has been a while since I’ve reviewed a book on this blog but this book was so moving that I couldn’t help but share. The Face I Made When the Doctor Said I had Cancer... Again!!! is a memoir that was started by Jonathan "J.O." Newby and was later finished by his wife, Regina Newby after he passed away...[ read more ]
Given the events of the past year, we should all know what racism is and that it is, unfortunately, alive and well. Today, I’m going to talk about a form of racism that happens to folx of color, often by folx of color. It's called colorism. Colorism is prejudice towards darker skin; more specifically, it’s the idea that lighter skin...[ read more ]
In 2018, I was nearing the end of my 2-year counseling residency and saving up to start what would eventually become my private practice for psychotherapy. I worked full time at a counseling agency at the time; however, I supplemented my income by driving for Lyft and Uber. I had been driving for those companies since I moved to Richmond,...[ read more ]
I preordered Cicely Tyson’s memoir back in December, already knowing that her story would be one of the most profound I’ve ever heard. I was beaming Tuesday morning when Audible notified me that my preorder was available. All my other books went to the back burner and I began binge listening, taking breaks of course to do mundane things like...[ read more ]
I have a confession to make. Though I've written and spoken extensively about mindfulness, meditation is not my cup of tea... But here's my actual cup of tea! Though I occasionally use meditation apps in sessions with my therapy clients, it isn't my preferred method to check in with myself. So I've coined a new term, mindful...ish. Below are some of...[ read more ]
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has gained more significance for me throughout my mid-twenties. I say this because I didn't begin embracing my Blackness until about 3 years ago (but more about that in a bit.) So in the spirit of MLK Day, I'm sharing about what Black hair has taught me about my own mental health; more specifically, my...[ read more ]