Meet Christina Powell | Mental Health Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Powell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?
My journey as a parent started by me avoiding parenthood constantly. It took me until I stared down turning 30 before I decided enough was enough, and it was time to have children. It wasn’t that I didn’t like children, not that at all actually, I just couldn’t give up my independence. Being a mental health therapist, I was in a job that was taking the energy out of me every day. I finally got into a better position, and made the leap. What I didn’t account for was giving birth two months before the state of emergency for Covid. Add on top of that a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) visit with my son after he was born, and BAM life hit me hard. I was forever changed, and not just from motherhood, but my experience in the healthcare system of America and all its faults (with a bit of goodness from the NICU staff).

I tell you that backstory because having children changed me as a person, and that impacts my own children greatly. While we are fairly habitual creatures, we can find ways to change when we need to. Being a therapist, I try my hardest to think about the angles of what I say, how I say it, and when I say it in regard to how it affects my children. That introspection is that most important thing. It helps guide me to shift my mindset about them, stress, and all the ways we show our children how to succeed in this world – and I don’t mean monetarily. I want to foster well-rounded children for the future of themselves and their peers.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been a mental health therapist for 10 years. I started off as a employee in a hospital system, where I provided family therapy throughout the county I live in. It was a great first job out of school, as I felt that it fostered a lot of opportunities to learn and grow. In that growth, I was able to become the supervisor of that program, which felt like a great achievement in a first job, I must say!

After that, I worked in the same hospital in a completely different capacity. This time, I went into the psychiatric unit serving the severely mentally ill population. This was a 101 crash course in severe mental illness, which I find invaluable as a clinician now. To see how the system functions (and it functions rather poorly from a systemic standpoint), I was able to find value in how my contributions helped in a minute way. I learned a tremendous amount about social work, and I had a wonderful colleague/friend whom I wish I could work with until I retire (but alas, we remain friends and maybe we’ll work together again – Hi MacKenzie!).

The job that brought me out of the hospital is the one I am still in today. I review behavioral health documentation for an insurance company which allows me to see all facets of mental health care. I have reviewed every type of service there is to offer, which gives me a glimpse into many aspects of how mental health is addressed in the United States. I believe this job provides me with a very unique perspective, and gives me knowledge that helps me serve my own clients.

This leads me to my other current job – my own private practice: Mental Perk Therapy. I serve clients in Florida and Texas virtually. I decided to open up my own private practice between the births of my two children. It has been absolutely amazing to serve the people that I do. I specialize in perinatal mental health (the time between pregnancy and through postpartum), anxiety, working professionals, and couples. While I can work within the parameters of any of these specialties on their own, what I find exceptionally cool and rewarding is that I often find myself working on all of it within one person! Many times I have parents come to me after having a child (whether that is 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) and they’re returning to work. They’re often mixed up in the emotions of going back to work, leaving their child with someone else, and trying to figure out how to balance work ambitions with their home life and all the needs in between. New parents also find themselves at a crossroads between their former marriage and their new parenthood. There is often the notion of ‘two ships passing in the night’ between partners when a child enters their lives. I enjoy helping parents find themselves again after having a child, and finding each other again if they’re partnered.

My main goal within my private practice is to allow people to feel heard, vulnerable, and in charge of their own lives. I specifically do not claim to be an expert in the room, solely because its THEIR lives. They know themselves best. I am there to help facilitate their own introspection and allow them the space to put themselves first. It was something I wasn’t offered when I gave birth – neither time. Thankfully, I was not affected by PMADs (Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders). Many many people have been affected by PMADs and they can use the help and support of a mental health therapist during that time. I want to keep making it possible for those who feel the stress, the tears, the rage, the joy, the gratefulness – the absolutely bonkers amount of emotions that come from the impact of having a child in this day and age. I’ve learned that even someone saying “Oh wow, I hear you.” or “Oh wow, that sounds awful!” can be just the little dose of camaraderie that makes someone feel less alone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I currently reside in South Florida, so we have a lot to cover!
I think one of the best spots to take someone out to eat is at Takato. You can have some amazing Japanese Cuisine while staring out at the ocean. I haven’t had a bad dish there ever.
During the day, you might want to see some of the local attractions like the Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock, or Lion Country Safari which has a lot of wonderful activities for kids and adults.
You might also enjoy going out to the ocean – you’ve got a few different areas to choose from spanning all throughout the coastline. Then you can choose to go over to the other coast line near the Gulf of Mexico.
If nightlife is your thing, we have some really amazing nightlife activities and facilities – but I’m pretty out of the loop considering I’ve got two toddlers and I can no longer hang past 10pm (not because I don’t want to, I would fall asleep in the Uber).
You might stop over at Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor for a Kitchen Sink – a Hollywood, FL staple.
If art is your thing, we’ve got some grand museums throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County. The Frost Museum laser show is especially fun.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shout out to my mother. She has been a solid mother throughout my own life, and now an amazing grandmother to my children. Her love and support helps me to serve others to the best of my ability.

Website: https://www.mentalperktherapy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentalperktherapy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mentalperktherapy

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mentalperktherapy