We recently began to talk about money. And in the spirit of bravery and transparency I wanted to share a little more. There’s an aspect of our relationship with money that we don’t talk about enough.

It’s MONEY TRAUMA

Taking the leap to grow and scale Journey Therapy Center has been (and continues to be) one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Before I was a business owner I had lots of money trauma  and didn’t even know. (How ironic is that as a therapist-hey we are human too!) I’m not just talking mindsets and habits-I’m talking life and career experiences that always left me feeling scarce.

I’m talking about exposure to money habits I saw in close proximity I thought were normal and a way to get by like debt and bad credit management.

Financial Literacy Gaps

There is NOTHING that will expose your gaps in financial literacy like building and scaling a business. And if you are not ready to deal with your money trauma you will only go so far. And I don’t minimize the systemic racism, wealth and equity gaps, and proprietary lending that got me here. But I also can’t ignore the habits I built that were shaped by miseducation, trauma responses and my own misguided decisions. 

Processing Money Trauma & Changing Habits

I remember the day I pulled all my consumer debt and looked at my personal financial standing and I bursted into tears! Trust me this wasn’t long ago. Truthfully processing money trauma and changing habits and mindsets is another job that requires a ton of humility, honesty and just asking for help.

It’s overwhelming and it would be much easier for me to believe that this part of my narrative that I am rewriting makes me unworthy or incapable of being a successful CEO. That is not true. And quite frankly, I’ve seen people build businesses on lies, scams, and audacity without an ounce of integrity and self evaluation (have y’all watched The Dropout and Inventing Ana?).

I am so thankful for my conviction and belief in myself and the mission of Journey Therapy Center. I am so thankful for my community that is helping me and holding me accountable to rewrite this narrative. And I am committed to creating brave spaces for women, black women in particular to talk about money. We need it and we deserve it. 

Be Well,
Tiffany

Tiffany is not only the CEO of Journey Therapy Center she is deeply committed to building
mental health literacy via storytelling. She contributes to the Journey Therapy Center blog
regularly by sharing her own stories with bravery and vulnerability in hopes of being an
inspiration and destigmatizing mental health.