March 19, 2025 • 25 mins
Join us for an enlightening episode with Dr. Shinah Russell as she explores the critical importance of mental health and its often-overlooked issues. Dr. Russell, a seasoned mental health professional, brings over two decades of experience, sharing her insights on how mental health affects us all, from children to adults. We will delve deep into recognizing and addressing the stigma tied to seeking therapy, clarifying that mental health care is essential for emotional well-being, not just reserved for those in crisis.
As we navigate common misconceptions, you'll learn how a simple conversation about mental health can pave the way toward healthier relationships and communities. We discuss actionable tips and strategies for managing stress, recognizing warning signs of mental distress, and putting your well-being first. This episode provides valuable discussions on early intervention, building trust in therapeutic relationships, and why caring for your mental health is a proactive step toward a fulfilling life.
Dr. Russell's heartfelt anecdotes and professional expertise create a warm environment where listeners can feel seen and heard. Engaging, informative, and incredibly relevant, this episode encourages dialogue around mental health, making it accessible to everyone. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how prioritizing your mental health can lead to profound personal growth. We encourage you to subscribe, share with friends, and engage with us!
Connect with Dr. Shinah Russell
https://beginninganewcounseling.com/
Phone: (404)538-0683
Email: shinah@beginninganewcounseling.com
Stay tuned for the next episode of Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson. Subscribe - Follow and Like Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Ready Set Collaborate podcast with Rhonda
Pearson, where we will dive deepinto the world of networking,
collaboration and partnership,unlocking the secrets to a
successful team working withininnovation.
Whether you're an entrepreneur,a creative professional or just
someone eager to understand thepower of networking and
(00:23):
collaboration, this podcast isyour go-to resource.
Join us as we explore thestories, strategies and insights
from experts, entrepreneurs andthought leaders who have
experienced the magic ofnetworking and collaboration to
achieve successful results.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Tune in to Ready.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Set Collaborate podcast on a journey towards
achieving your goals with hostWanda Pearson.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Welcome.
Welcome to the Ready SetCollaborate podcast with Wanda
Pearson and my guest, shainaRussell.
I am so excited to have herhere and I said, shaina, I'm
going to have you on my podcast.
So when I talk to people andsee that's a good fit for us to
be educated and learn stuff,this is where I get my grill on.
So, shani, say hello to theaudience.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hello everyone, it is a pleasure to be here.
Thank you so much, ms Wanda,for inviting me, and I'm looking
forward to our conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Absolutely, absolutely.
It's a conversation.
It's about educating andempowering people and letting
them know what's available outthere.
So let's get right to the chase.
I'm going to actually talkabout Shaina's bio, doctor, I'm
sorry.
Dr Shaina is a dedicated mentalhealth professional with over 20
years of experience ineducation and counseling as a
(01:42):
licensed professional counselor,national certified counselor
and approved clinical supervisor.
She specializes in supportingchildren, teens, young adults,
women and families.
Her expertise includes anxiety,depression, adjustment disorder
, family conflict,school-related issues, stress
(02:02):
and women issues.
Dr Russell takes an integralpart approach to therapy,
providing a nonjudgmental spacewhere clients can explore their
thoughts, emotions and behaviorswhile developing practical
solutions to live alife-fulfilling life.
Beyond her clinical andeducational work, dr Russell is
(02:23):
the daughter of Cheryl and lateBilly C Quinn Jr, wife of
Russell Sr, mother of Shana,victoria and the late Ryan
Russell and Gigi to Hassan.
She is actively involved in hercommunity, serving on the board
of directors for severalnon-profit organizations,
(02:45):
volunteer and an active mentor.
She is a member of AmericanCouncil Association, aca,
american School CouncilAssociation, asca, partners in
Education, pie, americanBusiness Women's Association,
abwa, douglas County Chapter andToastmasters of West Georgia.
(03:05):
She has been a lifelong memberof New Covenant Missionary World
Outreach Center and, for almosttwo decades, world of Faith
Family Worship Cathedral.
In her free time, she enjoysspending quality time with
family and friends, exercising,watching HGTV and helping others
grow personally andprofessionally exercising,
(03:26):
watching hgtv and helping othersgrow personally and
professionally.
She holds a doctor's degree incounselor education and
supervision from I would say, Ididn't say that obviously
university, a master's incounseling education from
florida a&m university and abachelor of science and business
education, florida a&muniversity.
Well, you got a lot ofbachelor's and stuff you're
doing.
When do you have time foryourself?
(03:46):
But this is very impressive.
I am so proud of you, what youdo and help the people in the
community, because, I tell you,I'm a social worker.
I don't have my master's insocial work because I actually
end up going to IBM, so I havemy education at IBM, let's put
it that way but I still didmentoring.
(04:09):
Well, thorn Shine, I am sohappy to have you on the podcast
and it's a pleasure to reallyknow what you do and know that's
health out there, Becausemental health is very important.
We don't know about a lot ofthings that we keep to ourselves
.
Just like when I wrote my book,I didn't realize it was mental
health that I actually held in.
So when that happens, when youhold it in and then finally it's
released, what do you do withclients that does that?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
That's where a lot of people are.
We don't normally think aboutmental health every day.
People focus on physical healthLet me go get my physical this
year but people don't take timeto think about their overall
mental well-being and it'ssomething that we deal with
every day.
When we think about mentalhealth, it impacts our
relationships with others, howwe show up for them, our family,
(04:52):
our friends at work, how werespond to people in certain
situations Just all around.
Everything we do is based uponwhere we are mentally and a lot
of times people do not see thatin that form.
I know there's a negative stigmarelated to mental health and
sometimes people think mentalhealth, you're going to be in a
(05:13):
psych ward and things of thatnature, and that's not it.
That's like the extreme.
And when I think about how Ieven chose mental health, I
chose school counseling firstbecause I had that negative
stigma, like I didn't want towork in a mental hospital with
people who were having thoseextremes.
But stuff happens before iteven gets to that point.
(05:36):
How can we prevent that?
So that is something that Iwant to continue to educate
people on, to make sure thatthey're aware, because there's
little things that can lead upto those big breakdowns and
things that you didn't even knowyou were struggling with.
And it started just a littlething oh, I'm tired today, or
I'm a little irritable and moodyand then it turns into
(05:58):
something bigger laterabsolutely.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
You explained it well .
I'm actually going to add,actually to tell us about the
journey and becoming a mentalhealth professional and why, and
I remember writing my book.
I wrote it but I did not know.
So my daughters actually toldme, mommy, you need to go see a
therapist.
What I need to see a therapist.
Well, I don't need to see atherapist, and that's the thing
when that we, asafrican-americans, as we grow up
(06:23):
, that we don't need to seeanybody.
But actually that helped me tobe able to complete my book and
write, even though it was hard,because I pushed so much down
inside my soul that I did notrealize that was affecting me as
far as my mental health as well.
So thank you for saying that.
So what inspired you to becomea mental health culture
therapist?
Speaker 2 (06:43):
For me.
I got pushed into the mentalhealth side.
Like I said, when I was in mymaster's program they had two
tracks, so it was a schoolcounselor and auto-clinical
mental health.
I chose school.
My undergrad was in businesseducation.
Then I can work with thestudents in school center.
So let me go into schoolcounseling.
And when I was pursuing mydoctorate degree, I had a
(07:05):
professor, and thank God that hedid.
He pushed me and said you knowa lot about school.
We want you to get someexperience because you never
know where you're going to endup.
And so he encouraged me to goto medical mental health and I
ended up in an agency where Imet a lot of great people
Someone who is still my mentortoday after all these years.
(07:27):
But they introduced me and letme see different aspects of
mental health.
So it wasn't that I was workingin like a psych ward or
anything of that nature.
So I got to experience it andthat's how I ended up on this
side.
I didn't get licensed as amental health counselor until
2019, but I was a schoolcounselor since 2004.
(07:49):
So I basically the training isthe same, except the clinical
experience was different.
So I have been in the industryfor a really long time.
But focusing on the clinicalside now is where I am and being
in a school setting, seeing alot of things that come with
children and families and you'relimited on what type of support
(08:11):
you can provide to them becausetheir main goal there is for
education, so you're not reallyaddressing those other concerns.
So now that I'm on the otherside, I have my private practice
where I can help and focus moreon those things that show up in
the school setting or somethingthat people never really want
to talk about but they needsupport working through.
So that's how I ended up inthis space.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
That's awesome because I tell you they really
need it.
I do mentoring at the middleschools for middle school girls
and a lot of things.
You don't know what's going onat home that can affect them at
school.
So what you're doing, I applaudyou for that because I tell you
it definitely does takepatience with doing that.
I remember my college professortold me want to go back and get
your master's in social work?
I said no, want to go back andget your master's in social work
(08:56):
.
I said no, I want to go backand get that.
But it's my life experiencesthat actually helped me to be
able to share what I do today.
So I am so proud of you.
So what's the biggest lessonsyou learned in your journey?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
The biggest lessons I learned is more and, if you
want to keep it aligned to likemental health.
A lot of times, people aresuffering in silence.
They can look like everythingis together and also not being
aware of things that arehappening that could impact you
in a bigger way.
You can be successfully runningyour business, or a CEO of a
(09:31):
company doing really well, butstruggling with how do I handle
my own thoughts and emotions.
I'm feeling overwhelmed.
Do I have appropriate copingskills?
I'm having challenges in myfamily, conflict with my husband
or my children, just differentthings that can happen.
That at some point in lifeyou're going to deal with things
like grief and loss.
Everybody is going toexperience that at some point.
(09:55):
What are we doing with thosethings, and are we so in tune or
we try to be so busy that wedon't experience the loss and
grief and then it shows up inother areas as well?
So that's where I am on that.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
And that is so true because we're going to like.
I just lost a niece about threeweeks ago.
She's only 38 years old andthat's why I was talking about
that was really hard to grieve.
And then my brother died lastyear and we're still grieving
that.
So that is so true and we needyou actually, with your
profession, to help us with that.
But a lot of us, like I said,are very leery of that.
(10:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
And understanding that I think about educating our
community Because inAfrican-Americans we're like we
pray.
We I think about educating ourcommunity because in
African-Americans we're like wepray, we're going to pray and
we're also going to use thepeople that God has placed here
to help us work through thosethings.
And I think that was a bigwake-up call for me too, because
I'm a woman of faith and I lostmy dad in 2019 to cancer and
(10:51):
before that, a great friend whointroduced me to my husband, and
he was young, not even 40 yearsold, and married four kids and
passed away from cancer.
So that was like a big shockerfor us, thinking, okay, why did
God allow this to happen?
But even being able toexperience the grief and also
understanding the grievingprocess because, okay, I'm a
(11:13):
therapist, I know the grievingprocess, I know the five stages,
the grieving process because,okay, I'm a therapist, I know
the grieving process, I know thefive stages but to actually
work through those things andalso knowing that it's not a
time frame around when you'regoing to experience those things
it can be a cycle, you can goback, but to ignore it and
pretend that it's not somethingthat's happened to you, that's
where we fall into a lot oftrouble.
(11:33):
And so, dealing with that, yes,we're going to pray, but we're
also going to use tools that areavailable to help us work
through these times.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I love that what you said.
So what are some of the commonmisconceptions about mental
health and stress?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
had this thing right.
One of the things is thattherapy is only for people with
serious mental illness, andthat's what we talked about at
first, but the truth is therapyis for everyone.
It can help us with stress,relationships, life transitions
and even personal growth.
So it's not just about adiagnosis of a mental illness.
It's about how are we dealingwith life on a day-to-day basis.
Another one that I wanted to,that I want to share, since you
(12:24):
asked that question that mentalhealth issues are a sign of
weakness and that does not meanthat you are a weak person.
Actually, it takes strength toreach out for help, that you are
a weak person.
Actually, it takes strength toreach out for help.
And again, it goes back toshowing that, okay, I cannot do
this alone.
Let me use my tools andresources to help me work
(12:44):
through it, and it takes a lotfor people to do that.
Something else is children andteens don't experience mental
health issues and with that,when we think about it, children
start to have issues.
They can have issues early onFamily going through a divorce,
(13:06):
if they lost someone, if theyhave to move, if something
happens that they don'tunderstand who's talking to them
.
They're learning how to dealwith life issues early on.
And sometimes we just thinkthey're kids and they're not
being impacted by these things,when they really are.
So, again, children andteenagers they are experiencing
and they got a lot of stressorsthat we didn't have when I was
(13:28):
growing up, with social mediaand the influence and how
they're feeling about themselves.
So all of those things impactthe children and teens as well.
And another myth I'm going toshare.
This last one, and this is if Ijust think positive, my mental
health issues will go away.
And I'm all for positivethinking, right.
(13:49):
But look, I want to be positive, I want to see the glass full
instead of half empty and thosethings.
But sometimes we have to dealwith that and it could be that
we are experiencing like achemical imbalance.
That could be it, but it couldbe we're just overworked or
overloaded with responsibilitiesand haven't taken the time to
(14:11):
evaluate those things that arecausing stress.
When people seek therapy, youcan take time to explore what
are the sources that's causingthis, so you will know how to
fix it.
You might not know how to fixit, but you can gain tools to
help you to work through thatprocess.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
And it's so true, not just for children, it's for
adults, anybody that are goingthrough that.
So what are some of the warningsigns of mental health
struggles?
Speaker 2 (14:37):
When I think of warning signs and you guys can
pay attention to your family andfriends, but even within
yourself, but one of the firstthings that I noticed is that
people begin to loss of interestin activities.
Sometimes they start to isolatethemselves.
They are tired or they'reeither not sleeping enough or
(15:00):
they're sleeping too much.
Again, irritable moods.
I don't know why I'm feelinglike this.
I'm really angry and not ableto control like temper or
behaviors.
Those are some of the signsthat come to mind immediately
for me when I think about okay,let's do a mental check.
What's going on?
What's going on here.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
That makes sense.
So how do you especially like ateenager?
How do you get them to open upto you doing the therapy?
Because that's where mygrandson is.
I don't want to go there.
How do you get them to open up?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It's like any relationship you have to build
trust.
So I'm used to working withteenagers.
I know that doesn't comenaturally, but at the end of the
day everybody wants to be heard.
They have something that theywant to say and maybe they don't
know how to communicate thosethings.
So building a trust andrelationship is one of the
(15:54):
things that we as therapists do,so that our clients can open up
to us and talk.
And sometimes it happens rightaway.
Sometimes you have to put thework in to get them to open up.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I agree with that because I'm a nana grandmother
and I have six grandchildren.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Like I used to tell my daughters, either let me tell
you the truth or you want me tolie to you.
I'm going to tell you the truthanyway.
So just pulling that out ofthem makes a big difference.
It they can trust is reallyabout trust that you're not
going to hurt them or you're notgoing to put them down.
That makes a big difference.
And actually getting that trustto start to process Is that
right?
Yes, yes, yes.
(16:32):
Okay, that's great.
At least I said it right.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
You got it, you got it.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
So what are simple ways to manage daily stress?
Okay, got it.
So what are?
Speaker 2 (16:42):
simple ways to manage daily stress.
Ok, I hear it all the time likefrom your medical professions,
but exercising, healthy eating,and I also think that having
like a social life, like whereyou're not all business and no
play those type of things, playthose type of things.
(17:03):
So having balance, doing thingsthat fill your cup, especially
if you have a high stress job ora lot of stress in your family,
finding something that you canpour back into yourself is
really important as well when Ithink about ways to manage it.
Therapy, making a commitmentthat I'm going to go talk to
somebody about, whatever it isthat I'm dealing with, that can
be a way for you to addressstress.
(17:24):
There are plenty like resourcesand things that people can read
.
I always just say let's pullback the onion and see what's
the source or the root cause ofthis stress and seeing how you
can adjust some of those things.
And that's just my take on thestarters to it.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
No, I'm not saying about self-care, about taking
care of yourself.
But some people don't knowabout self-care.
I remember when I usedcorporate, the IBM.
That's a stressful job becauseI'm dealing with sales, I'm
dealing with making my numbers,I'm dealing with I've done the
finance part too.
That's something that actuallywe forget about taking care of
ourselves.
We even like sleep.
It keeps you asleep as well.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And when you mentioned self-care, sometimes
people get that mixed up.
Well, I don't want to beselfish.
No, you're not being selfish.
If you want to continue to showup for others, you got to first
show up for yourself.
So how are you going to do thatIf you wore out, stressed out
and all those things?
So that's something that peopleneed to be mindful of.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Yeah, and that's something that my question was
how do you prioritize your ownmental health?
Oh, yeah, so you want to addsomething to that?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
No, even for me, trying to exercise, being
intentional about the thingsthat, like said that fill my cup
.
I'm a spiritual person, soprayer, um, and attending church
, spending time with my familyand friends, exercising, and
right now I don't watch a wholelot of tv, but when I do, hgtv,
(18:55):
that was my thing, I'm justrelaxed, looking at these
beautiful halls and what ideasthat I have, and that's just it.
Like finding those things andalso evaluating where am I Like
I gauge?
Okay, I'm not feeling likemyself right now, what's
happening and what do I need tochange.
I have learned that not onlyfrom my professional work, from
(19:17):
my personal life and for, like Isaid, working with clients as
well, that's a good one.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
It really does make a difference.
So one final thought, and thenwe're going to talk about your
book too.
What piece of advice forsomeone feeling overwhelmed?
What?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
would you recommend?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
And I know you do a consulting and I told you as
well.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Okay.
So when people are feelingoverwhelmed, first of all, like
I said, taking time to evaluatethe root causes and the sources
and when people are really busy,sometimes they don't even know
they're overwhelmed until theyget to call, like backed into a
corner, and then you have nochoice but to pay attention,
(19:54):
like I am overwhelmed now, butbefore you even get to that,
identifying like what are somethings that will lead you to
that place and what can you putin place to prevent those things
from happening, Absolutely,absolutely, and that's good.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
So I was going to ask you to recommend any books, but
let's recommend your book.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I don't have a book yet, not yet Still working on
that.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Oh, you got to get the book out.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yes, but I thought about several things that I use
and I went to a conference andthis one it's an app, but it's
like a whole life thing and thathas been something that I plug
into as a therapist to find,because so many things happen
with so many people, and I maynot have experienced it, but
(20:42):
maybe my client has, but this iscalled Heart and Health, and
they have tons of information.
This is not the only thing thatI listen to, but this is one of
the best resources that I havefound that has a variety of
areas that people can tune intoand they do have podcasts or
discussions and things.
You can go back and watch therecorders if you're not able to
(21:04):
attend those live things, butthey have a lot of medical
professionals and people in thefield that share on those types
of platforms.
I advertise my business onTherapy for Black Girls, but
they have a podcast that peoplecan go to and listen.
It's a lot of information outthere, too, and, like I said,
when we think about therapy andpeople lives, there's a vast of
(21:28):
things that could be happening,and what I would say, too, is do
your research.
Also, seek the help if you needit.
It's not a bad thing if youneed help.
I know therapy it is aconfidential thing Nobody's
going out sharing your deep,dark secrets and the things that
you're dealing with and we'rehere to support.
I know I have my privatepractice, beginning a new
(21:51):
counseling, but there aretherapists and we're here to
serve.
So we know that there's a greatneed to support those who want
to address their mental health.
And even if you haven't reallythought about it, just do a
check-in like you do with yourhome position.
Let me just go talk to somebodyand see where I am, and that's
just what I would say.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Yeah, and I would recommend that they're going to
see you.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yes, for sure, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
So give us your contact and share with the
audience your contactinformation, how they can get in
touch with you.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Okay, so you can visit our website at
beginningthenewcounselingcom, oryou can call us at 404-538-0683
.
And we'll be glad to assist youwith any of your mental health
needs.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
That's awesome.
So can you give us a shortsuccess story?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
A short success story .
Sure, sure, let's see, becauseI have a lot, but I'll use
because I'll use a success storyof myself, just really, where
you have accomplished a lot ofthings in life but then you also
experience challenges, butmaking sure that you're putting
(23:06):
yourself first.
I have a personal therapist too, and that doesn't mean I'm
crazy If people have that stigma.
I just want to be able to showup and be my best self in every
area of my life.
So, again, evaluating what'shappening and what tools or
resources I need to put in placeso I can be the best version of
(23:28):
myself, and that's what we do.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
That's awesome.
So give us your contactinformation again and tell us
the name of that book or podcastthat you say.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Okay, that podcast, like I said, it's called Heart
and Health and we have a varietyof resources on it and what was
your other question.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Repeat your how they can get in touch with you.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Okay, so you can reach us at
beginninganewcounselingcom, oryou can give us a call at
404-538-0683.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
That's great, and I actually just downloaded that
app.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Okay, good deal, good deal.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
The Heart and Health Medical is what it's called.
I think that's what it is right.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yes, okay.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
And you'll see a little heart around it with
different style of things.
So make sure you download thatapp audience.
But thank you, chyna, for beingon my podcast.
I truly appreciate it and it'sa very informative audience.
Make sure you, andyna, forbeing on my podcast.
I truly appreciate it and it'svery informative.
And, like I said, we just thinkabout therapy or counseling as
oh.
I'm not crazy.
It's not about that.
It's really making sure you'retaking care of yourself.
It's about self-care.
(24:32):
So, Chyna, thank you so muchfor being on my podcast.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
You're welcome.
Thank you for inviting me.
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
So, audience, make sure you download or listen to
Ready Set, collaborate.
It is on every podcast platformas well as on YouTube, and we
have some great guests, such asShaina, to be able to listen to,
because I'm about educating thepower people, and this is 2025.
It's time to begin a new startfor your life and how you can go
on.
Make sure you listen, followand share this podcast.
(25:04):
Thank you, shaina, appreciateyou.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Ready Set.
Collaborate.
For more information about thehost head to
WDPearsonAssociatescom andthat's P-E-A-R-S-O-N.
Want to connect?
Send an email to Wanda atWDPearsonAssociatescom and, as
(25:32):
always, stay tuned for the nextepisode of Ready Set Collaborate
.
Welcome to Ready Set Collaborate podcast with Rhonda
Pearson, where we will dive deepinto the world of networking,
collaboration and partnership,unlocking the secrets to a
successful team working withininnovation.
Whether you're an entrepreneur,a creative professional or just
someone eager to understand thepower of networking and
(00:23):
collaboration, this podcast isyour go-to resource.
Join us as we explore thestories, strategies and insights
from experts, entrepreneurs andthought leaders who have
experienced the magic ofnetworking and collaboration to
achieve successful results.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Tune in to Ready.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Set Collaborate podcast on a journey towards
achieving your goals with hostWanda Pearson.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Welcome.
Welcome to the Ready SetCollaborate podcast with Wanda
Pearson and my guest, shainaRussell.
I am so excited to have herhere and I said, shaina, I'm
going to have you on my podcast.
So when I talk to people andsee that's a good fit for us to
be educated and learn stuff,this is where I get my grill on.
So, shani, say hello to theaudience.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hello everyone, it is a pleasure to be here.
Thank you so much, ms Wanda,for inviting me, and I'm looking
forward to our conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Absolutely, absolutely.
It's a conversation.
It's about educating andempowering people and letting
them know what's available outthere.
So let's get right to the chase.
I'm going to actually talkabout Shaina's bio, doctor, I'm
sorry.
Dr Shaina is a dedicated mentalhealth professional with over 20
years of experience ineducation and counseling as a
(01:42):
licensed professional counselor,national certified counselor
and approved clinical supervisor.
She specializes in supportingchildren, teens, young adults,
women and families.
Her expertise includes anxiety,depression, adjustment disorder
, family conflict,school-related issues, stress
(02:02):
and women issues.
Dr Russell takes an integralpart approach to therapy,
providing a nonjudgmental spacewhere clients can explore their
thoughts, emotions and behaviorswhile developing practical
solutions to live alife-fulfilling life.
Beyond her clinical andeducational work, dr Russell is
(02:23):
the daughter of Cheryl and lateBilly C Quinn Jr, wife of
Russell Sr, mother of Shana,victoria and the late Ryan
Russell and Gigi to Hassan.
She is actively involved in hercommunity, serving on the board
of directors for severalnon-profit organizations,
(02:45):
volunteer and an active mentor.
She is a member of AmericanCouncil Association, aca,
american School CouncilAssociation, asca, partners in
Education, pie, americanBusiness Women's Association,
abwa, douglas County Chapter andToastmasters of West Georgia.
(03:05):
She has been a lifelong memberof New Covenant Missionary World
Outreach Center and, for almosttwo decades, world of Faith
Family Worship Cathedral.
In her free time, she enjoysspending quality time with
family and friends, exercising,watching HGTV and helping others
grow personally andprofessionally exercising,
(03:26):
watching hgtv and helping othersgrow personally and
professionally.
She holds a doctor's degree incounselor education and
supervision from I would say, Ididn't say that obviously
university, a master's incounseling education from
florida a&m university and abachelor of science and business
education, florida a&muniversity.
Well, you got a lot ofbachelor's and stuff you're
doing.
When do you have time foryourself?
(03:46):
But this is very impressive.
I am so proud of you, what youdo and help the people in the
community, because, I tell you,I'm a social worker.
I don't have my master's insocial work because I actually
end up going to IBM, so I havemy education at IBM, let's put
it that way but I still didmentoring.
(04:09):
Well, thorn Shine, I am sohappy to have you on the podcast
and it's a pleasure to reallyknow what you do and know that's
health out there, Becausemental health is very important.
We don't know about a lot ofthings that we keep to ourselves
.
Just like when I wrote my book,I didn't realize it was mental
health that I actually held in.
So when that happens, when youhold it in and then finally it's
released, what do you do withclients that does that?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
That's where a lot of people are.
We don't normally think aboutmental health every day.
People focus on physical healthLet me go get my physical this
year but people don't take timeto think about their overall
mental well-being and it'ssomething that we deal with
every day.
When we think about mentalhealth, it impacts our
relationships with others, howwe show up for them, our family,
(04:52):
our friends at work, how werespond to people in certain
situations Just all around.
Everything we do is based uponwhere we are mentally and a lot
of times people do not see thatin that form.
I know there's a negative stigmarelated to mental health and
sometimes people think mentalhealth, you're going to be in a
(05:13):
psych ward and things of thatnature, and that's not it.
That's like the extreme.
And when I think about how Ieven chose mental health, I
chose school counseling firstbecause I had that negative
stigma, like I didn't want towork in a mental hospital with
people who were having thoseextremes.
But stuff happens before iteven gets to that point.
(05:36):
How can we prevent that?
So that is something that Iwant to continue to educate
people on, to make sure thatthey're aware, because there's
little things that can lead upto those big breakdowns and
things that you didn't even knowyou were struggling with.
And it started just a littlething oh, I'm tired today, or
I'm a little irritable and moodyand then it turns into
(05:58):
something bigger laterabsolutely.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
You explained it well .
I'm actually going to add,actually to tell us about the
journey and becoming a mentalhealth professional and why, and
I remember writing my book.
I wrote it but I did not know.
So my daughters actually toldme, mommy, you need to go see a
therapist.
What I need to see a therapist.
Well, I don't need to see atherapist, and that's the thing
when that we, asafrican-americans, as we grow up
(06:23):
, that we don't need to seeanybody.
But actually that helped me tobe able to complete my book and
write, even though it was hard,because I pushed so much down
inside my soul that I did notrealize that was affecting me as
far as my mental health as well.
So thank you for saying that.
So what inspired you to becomea mental health culture
therapist?
Speaker 2 (06:43):
For me.
I got pushed into the mentalhealth side.
Like I said, when I was in mymaster's program they had two
tracks, so it was a schoolcounselor and auto-clinical
mental health.
I chose school.
My undergrad was in businesseducation.
Then I can work with thestudents in school center.
So let me go into schoolcounseling.
And when I was pursuing mydoctorate degree, I had a
(07:05):
professor, and thank God that hedid.
He pushed me and said you knowa lot about school.
We want you to get someexperience because you never
know where you're going to endup.
And so he encouraged me to goto medical mental health and I
ended up in an agency where Imet a lot of great people
Someone who is still my mentortoday after all these years.
(07:27):
But they introduced me and letme see different aspects of
mental health.
So it wasn't that I was workingin like a psych ward or
anything of that nature.
So I got to experience it andthat's how I ended up on this
side.
I didn't get licensed as amental health counselor until
2019, but I was a schoolcounselor since 2004.
(07:49):
So I basically the training isthe same, except the clinical
experience was different.
So I have been in the industryfor a really long time.
But focusing on the clinicalside now is where I am and being
in a school setting, seeing alot of things that come with
children and families and you'relimited on what type of support
(08:11):
you can provide to them becausetheir main goal there is for
education, so you're not reallyaddressing those other concerns.
So now that I'm on the otherside, I have my private practice
where I can help and focus moreon those things that show up in
the school setting or somethingthat people never really want
to talk about but they needsupport working through.
So that's how I ended up inthis space.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
That's awesome because I tell you they really
need it.
I do mentoring at the middleschools for middle school girls
and a lot of things.
You don't know what's going onat home that can affect them at
school.
So what you're doing, I applaudyou for that because I tell you
it definitely does takepatience with doing that.
I remember my college professortold me want to go back and get
your master's in social work?
I said no, want to go back andget your master's in social work
(08:56):
.
I said no, I want to go backand get that.
But it's my life experiencesthat actually helped me to be
able to share what I do today.
So I am so proud of you.
So what's the biggest lessonsyou learned in your journey?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
The biggest lessons I learned is more and, if you
want to keep it aligned to likemental health.
A lot of times, people aresuffering in silence.
They can look like everythingis together and also not being
aware of things that arehappening that could impact you
in a bigger way.
You can be successfully runningyour business, or a CEO of a
(09:31):
company doing really well, butstruggling with how do I handle
my own thoughts and emotions.
I'm feeling overwhelmed.
Do I have appropriate copingskills?
I'm having challenges in myfamily, conflict with my husband
or my children, just differentthings that can happen.
That at some point in lifeyou're going to deal with things
like grief and loss.
Everybody is going toexperience that at some point.
(09:55):
What are we doing with thosethings, and are we so in tune or
we try to be so busy that wedon't experience the loss and
grief and then it shows up inother areas as well?
So that's where I am on that.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
And that is so true because we're going to like.
I just lost a niece about threeweeks ago.
She's only 38 years old andthat's why I was talking about
that was really hard to grieve.
And then my brother died lastyear and we're still grieving
that.
So that is so true and we needyou actually, with your
profession, to help us with that.
But a lot of us, like I said,are very leery of that.
(10:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
And understanding that I think about educating our
community Because inAfrican-Americans we're like we
pray.
We I think about educating ourcommunity because in
African-Americans we're like wepray, we're going to pray and
we're also going to use thepeople that God has placed here
to help us work through thosethings.
And I think that was a bigwake-up call for me too, because
I'm a woman of faith and I lostmy dad in 2019 to cancer and
(10:51):
before that, a great friend whointroduced me to my husband, and
he was young, not even 40 yearsold, and married four kids and
passed away from cancer.
So that was like a big shockerfor us, thinking, okay, why did
God allow this to happen?
But even being able toexperience the grief and also
understanding the grievingprocess because, okay, I'm a
(11:13):
therapist, I know the grievingprocess, I know the five stages,
the grieving process because,okay, I'm a therapist, I know
the grieving process, I know thefive stages but to actually
work through those things andalso knowing that it's not a
time frame around when you'regoing to experience those things
it can be a cycle, you can goback, but to ignore it and
pretend that it's not somethingthat's happened to you, that's
where we fall into a lot oftrouble.
(11:33):
And so, dealing with that, yes,we're going to pray, but we're
also going to use tools that areavailable to help us work
through these times.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I love that what you said.
So what are some of the commonmisconceptions about mental
health and stress?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
had this thing right.
One of the things is thattherapy is only for people with
serious mental illness, andthat's what we talked about at
first, but the truth is therapyis for everyone.
It can help us with stress,relationships, life transitions
and even personal growth.
So it's not just about adiagnosis of a mental illness.
It's about how are we dealingwith life on a day-to-day basis.
Another one that I wanted to,that I want to share, since you
(12:24):
asked that question that mentalhealth issues are a sign of
weakness and that does not meanthat you are a weak person.
Actually, it takes strength toreach out for help, that you are
a weak person.
Actually, it takes strength toreach out for help.
And again, it goes back toshowing that, okay, I cannot do
this alone.
Let me use my tools andresources to help me work
(12:44):
through it, and it takes a lotfor people to do that.
Something else is children andteens don't experience mental
health issues and with that,when we think about it, children
start to have issues.
They can have issues early onFamily going through a divorce,
(13:06):
if they lost someone, if theyhave to move, if something
happens that they don'tunderstand who's talking to them
.
They're learning how to dealwith life issues early on.
And sometimes we just thinkthey're kids and they're not
being impacted by these things,when they really are.
So, again, children andteenagers they are experiencing
and they got a lot of stressorsthat we didn't have when I was
(13:28):
growing up, with social mediaand the influence and how
they're feeling about themselves.
So all of those things impactthe children and teens as well.
And another myth I'm going toshare.
This last one, and this is if Ijust think positive, my mental
health issues will go away.
And I'm all for positivethinking, right.
(13:49):
But look, I want to be positive, I want to see the glass full
instead of half empty and thosethings.
But sometimes we have to dealwith that and it could be that
we are experiencing like achemical imbalance.
That could be it, but it couldbe we're just overworked or
overloaded with responsibilitiesand haven't taken the time to
(14:11):
evaluate those things that arecausing stress.
When people seek therapy, youcan take time to explore what
are the sources that's causingthis, so you will know how to
fix it.
You might not know how to fixit, but you can gain tools to
help you to work through thatprocess.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
And it's so true, not just for children, it's for
adults, anybody that are goingthrough that.
So what are some of the warningsigns of mental health
struggles?
Speaker 2 (14:37):
When I think of warning signs and you guys can
pay attention to your family andfriends, but even within
yourself, but one of the firstthings that I noticed is that
people begin to loss of interestin activities.
Sometimes they start to isolatethemselves.
They are tired or they'reeither not sleeping enough or
(15:00):
they're sleeping too much.
Again, irritable moods.
I don't know why I'm feelinglike this.
I'm really angry and not ableto control like temper or
behaviors.
Those are some of the signsthat come to mind immediately
for me when I think about okay,let's do a mental check.
What's going on?
What's going on here.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
That makes sense.
So how do you especially like ateenager?
How do you get them to open upto you doing the therapy?
Because that's where mygrandson is.
I don't want to go there.
How do you get them to open up?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It's like any relationship you have to build
trust.
So I'm used to working withteenagers.
I know that doesn't comenaturally, but at the end of the
day everybody wants to be heard.
They have something that theywant to say and maybe they don't
know how to communicate thosethings.
So building a trust andrelationship is one of the
(15:54):
things that we as therapists do,so that our clients can open up
to us and talk.
And sometimes it happens rightaway.
Sometimes you have to put thework in to get them to open up.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I agree with that because I'm a nana grandmother
and I have six grandchildren.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Like I used to tell my daughters, either let me tell
you the truth or you want me tolie to you.
I'm going to tell you the truthanyway.
So just pulling that out ofthem makes a big difference.
It they can trust is reallyabout trust that you're not
going to hurt them or you're notgoing to put them down.
That makes a big difference.
And actually getting that trustto start to process Is that
right?
Yes, yes, yes.
(16:32):
Okay, that's great.
At least I said it right.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
You got it, you got it.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
So what are simple ways to manage daily stress?
Okay, got it.
So what are?
Speaker 2 (16:42):
simple ways to manage daily stress.
Ok, I hear it all the time likefrom your medical professions,
but exercising, healthy eating,and I also think that having
like a social life, like whereyou're not all business and no
play those type of things, playthose type of things.
(17:03):
So having balance, doing thingsthat fill your cup, especially
if you have a high stress job ora lot of stress in your family,
finding something that you canpour back into yourself is
really important as well when Ithink about ways to manage it.
Therapy, making a commitmentthat I'm going to go talk to
somebody about, whatever it isthat I'm dealing with, that can
be a way for you to addressstress.
(17:24):
There are plenty like resourcesand things that people can read
.
I always just say let's pullback the onion and see what's
the source or the root cause ofthis stress and seeing how you
can adjust some of those things.
And that's just my take on thestarters to it.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
No, I'm not saying about self-care, about taking
care of yourself.
But some people don't knowabout self-care.
I remember when I usedcorporate, the IBM.
That's a stressful job becauseI'm dealing with sales, I'm
dealing with making my numbers,I'm dealing with I've done the
finance part too.
That's something that actuallywe forget about taking care of
ourselves.
We even like sleep.
It keeps you asleep as well.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And when you mentioned self-care, sometimes
people get that mixed up.
Well, I don't want to beselfish.
No, you're not being selfish.
If you want to continue to showup for others, you got to first
show up for yourself.
So how are you going to do thatIf you wore out, stressed out
and all those things?
So that's something that peopleneed to be mindful of.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Yeah, and that's something that my question was
how do you prioritize your ownmental health?
Oh, yeah, so you want to addsomething to that?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
No, even for me, trying to exercise, being
intentional about the thingsthat, like said that fill my cup
.
I'm a spiritual person, soprayer, um, and attending church
, spending time with my familyand friends, exercising, and
right now I don't watch a wholelot of tv, but when I do, hgtv,
(18:55):
that was my thing, I'm justrelaxed, looking at these
beautiful halls and what ideasthat I have, and that's just it.
Like finding those things andalso evaluating where am I Like
I gauge?
Okay, I'm not feeling likemyself right now, what's
happening and what do I need tochange.
I have learned that not onlyfrom my professional work, from
(19:17):
my personal life and for, like Isaid, working with clients as
well, that's a good one.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
It really does make a difference.
So one final thought, and thenwe're going to talk about your
book too.
What piece of advice forsomeone feeling overwhelmed?
What?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
would you recommend?
Speaker 3 (19:30):
And I know you do a consulting and I told you as
well.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Okay.
So when people are feelingoverwhelmed, first of all, like
I said, taking time to evaluatethe root causes and the sources
and when people are really busy,sometimes they don't even know
they're overwhelmed until theyget to call, like backed into a
corner, and then you have nochoice but to pay attention,
(19:54):
like I am overwhelmed now, butbefore you even get to that,
identifying like what are somethings that will lead you to
that place and what can you putin place to prevent those things
from happening, Absolutely,absolutely, and that's good.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
So I was going to ask you to recommend any books, but
let's recommend your book.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I don't have a book yet, not yet Still working on
that.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Oh, you got to get the book out.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yes, but I thought about several things that I use
and I went to a conference andthis one it's an app, but it's
like a whole life thing and thathas been something that I plug
into as a therapist to find,because so many things happen
with so many people, and I maynot have experienced it, but
(20:42):
maybe my client has, but this iscalled Heart and Health, and
they have tons of information.
This is not the only thing thatI listen to, but this is one of
the best resources that I havefound that has a variety of
areas that people can tune intoand they do have podcasts or
discussions and things.
You can go back and watch therecorders if you're not able to
(21:04):
attend those live things, butthey have a lot of medical
professionals and people in thefield that share on those types
of platforms.
I advertise my business onTherapy for Black Girls, but
they have a podcast that peoplecan go to and listen.
It's a lot of information outthere, too, and, like I said,
when we think about therapy andpeople lives, there's a vast of
(21:28):
things that could be happening,and what I would say, too, is do
your research.
Also, seek the help if you needit.
It's not a bad thing if youneed help.
I know therapy it is aconfidential thing Nobody's
going out sharing your deep,dark secrets and the things that
you're dealing with and we'rehere to support.
I know I have my privatepractice, beginning a new
(21:51):
counseling, but there aretherapists and we're here to
serve.
So we know that there's a greatneed to support those who want
to address their mental health.
And even if you haven't reallythought about it, just do a
check-in like you do with yourhome position.
Let me just go talk to somebodyand see where I am, and that's
just what I would say.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Yeah, and I would recommend that they're going to
see you.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yes, for sure, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
So give us your contact and share with the
audience your contactinformation, how they can get in
touch with you.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Okay, so you can visit our website at
beginningthenewcounselingcom, oryou can call us at 404-538-0683
.
And we'll be glad to assist youwith any of your mental health
needs.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
That's awesome.
So can you give us a shortsuccess story?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
A short success story .
Sure, sure, let's see, becauseI have a lot, but I'll use
because I'll use a success storyof myself, just really, where
you have accomplished a lot ofthings in life but then you also
experience challenges, butmaking sure that you're putting
(23:06):
yourself first.
I have a personal therapist too, and that doesn't mean I'm
crazy If people have that stigma.
I just want to be able to showup and be my best self in every
area of my life.
So, again, evaluating what'shappening and what tools or
resources I need to put in placeso I can be the best version of
(23:28):
myself, and that's what we do.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
That's awesome.
So give us your contactinformation again and tell us
the name of that book or podcastthat you say.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Okay, that podcast, like I said, it's called Heart
and Health and we have a varietyof resources on it and what was
your other question.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Repeat your how they can get in touch with you.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Okay, so you can reach us at
beginninganewcounselingcom, oryou can give us a call at
404-538-0683.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
That's great, and I actually just downloaded that
app.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Okay, good deal, good deal.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
The Heart and Health Medical is what it's called.
I think that's what it is right.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yes, okay.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
And you'll see a little heart around it with
different style of things.
So make sure you download thatapp audience.
But thank you, chyna, for beingon my podcast.
I truly appreciate it and it'sa very informative audience.
Make sure you, andyna, forbeing on my podcast.
I truly appreciate it and it'svery informative.
And, like I said, we just thinkabout therapy or counseling as
oh.
I'm not crazy.
It's not about that.
It's really making sure you'retaking care of yourself.
It's about self-care.
(24:32):
So, Chyna, thank you so muchfor being on my podcast.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
You're welcome.
Thank you for inviting me.
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
So, audience, make sure you download or listen to
Ready Set, collaborate.
It is on every podcast platformas well as on YouTube, and we
have some great guests, such asShaina, to be able to listen to,
because I'm about educating thepower people, and this is 2025.
It's time to begin a new startfor your life and how you can go
on.
Make sure you listen, followand share this podcast.
(25:04):
Thank you, shaina, appreciateyou.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Ready Set.
Collaborate.
For more information about thehost head to
WDPearsonAssociatescom andthat's P-E-A-R-S-O-N.
Want to connect?
Send an email to Wanda atWDPearsonAssociatescom and, as
(25:32):
always, stay tuned for the nextepisode of Ready Set Collaborate
.
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