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Mental wellness is something we all aspire to. In March 2021, SHEEN featured highly-sought after Clinical Therapist Candyce (Ce) Anderson for Women’s History Month. You may have seen her on Facebook Live or Instagram chatting it up with people like Entertainer Rickey Smiley, Pastor Hart Ramsey and Author and Media Correspondent Raquelle Harris. Since that time, Ce has purposefully made it her mission to end the stigma that surrounds therapy and mental health.

Not only does she make up the four percent of African Americans who are therapists, she recently opened her own holistic health care practice, Revita Therapy and Wellness and has connected with some of the top celebrities bringing messages of inclusion, education and hope.

We caught up with her again on the end of Mental Health Month and here’s what she had to say.

SHEEN: May was Mental Health Month. I’m finding that more people are open to and appreciative of talking with a professional. What do you attribute this narrative shift to? Therapy at one time was stigmatized and people shunned it.

Ce: I believe it has much to do with the normalization of therapy, just as is a primary doctor or dentist. Social media and public figures speaking out about their mental health struggles and the therapy benefits have helped tremendously. Celebrities like Taraji P. Henson and Simone Biles specifically have modeled and normalized therapy as self-care for Black women.

SHEEN: Why should people get therapy and is therapy just for people who are having challenges?

Ce: Why should we go to the doctor? Because one’s health impacts the quality of life. The same applies to one’s mental health. One does not have to be in crisis to see a therapist. Lifespan events like graduation or retirement, goals, new relationships and self-reflection are all great non-crisis examples of reasons to seek support and a sounding board that therapy can provide.

SHEEN: You have been able to build an incredible and solid brand for yourself and are coined one of America’s top celebrity therapists. How did this come about, and how does this make you feel?

Ce: My experience is a living example of “your gift will make room.” I honestly see my work as a calling and divine path for my life, not as a job. Creating the Ce Anderson brand has taken time, continued introspection, and self-improvement.

SHEEN: What’s the most earnest message you carry for your platform, practice, and clients?

Ce: That wellness is available to all, and all are deserving of it.

SHEEN: How do you remain centered given all of the things you hear daily?

Ce: Firstly, as a part of clinical training, we spend hours learning how to separate this work from ourselves. My mantra is to observe, don’t absorb. This allows me to sit with a client/patient and be present without taking their difficulties on as my own.

SHEEN: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received from a therapist you admire?

Ce: There are several: “You come through your parents; not from them,” and “Allow yourself to be treated sacredly.” These have stuck for me from two of my favorite clinicians.

SHEEN: What are you most proud of in your life as far as your goals and mindset?

Ce: I am most proud of being connected to myself, and to holding Candyce in such regard that I refuse to abandon her for anything or anyone. This mindset has revolutionized what I say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to. Alignment is paramount for me. I am also incredibly proud of creating a practice on my terms and meeting the needs of the Black collective; despite being told I couldn’t AND shouldn’t do it. I DID—and with much more to come.

SHEEN: Give us five applicable self-care tips that we can incorporate into our daily lives right now.

Ce: (1) Set your intention daily: this will govern your day and emotional regulation

(2) Rest: Black people are always on high alert due to our history; we MUST be intentional about rest. Take a break, unplug, and say ‘no’ without explanation or guilt.

(3) Love your body. Caress, adore, touch, look at YOU. Accept YOU. Love on YOU. You are a unique expression of the creator. You are worthy and valuable simply because you exist.

(4) Do things alone. Don’t wait to have an experience because your friends aren’t interested. Go and do that thing.

(5) Sit quietly. Close your eyes, tune out the noise of this world, and be for a while.

Connect With Ce on Facebook and Instagram @ceandersonlive.

 

Leslie J. Griffin is a seasoned Certified Life Coach specializing in self-care principles and practices for men and women. An advocate for healthy relationships through therapy and healing, she believes that the best love begins from within.