Due to the stigma around mental health in the marginalized population she’s serving, Shaniqua aims to be that therapist providing a safe space where clients can have a comfortable conversation (over a cup of tea, if you like!) But surely her trailblazing doesn’t end there. Having that firsthand experience of life transitions and evolution, she gives back to her community by fulfilling them with emotional and mental health support— teaching them how to embrace their deficits and turn them into strengths so as to move forward and cultivate in a space to thrive. Thus her mission statement, “helping folks really evolve and harness their power.” 

Today’s guest is a graduate of the Dope Therapist Academy and epic student of the Elite Coaching Mastermind. A walking testimony of living life abundantly, she talks about what it’s like for therapists to brand themselves, build their own profitable business, and having that dream schedule as a result of being resilient and passionate towards her personal goals and the community she serves. 

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Take the first step to Manifest A Profitable Private Practice! Join the waitlist for the Dope Therapist Academy at https://www.dopetherapistacademy.com/dta-waitlist

Be informed of the latest updates for the Elite Coaching Mastermind 2022 by joining the notification list at https://doctortk.lpages.co/ecm-waitlist

 

Guest Bio:  
Shaniqua Ford is the lead therapist and wellness coach at Soul Werk Café LLC in the south suburbs of Chicago. Shaniqua is a clinically licensed social worker (LCSW), with a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Chicago with over a decade of experience in mental health and holistic wellness focused on trauma, including racial and spiritual trauma, grief & loss, identity, depression, and anxiety. 

Shaniqua is dedicated to helping individuals harness their power to evolve & thrive in wholeness. She created Soul Werk Café LLC with a mission to help individuals remember their own intuitive knowing, cultivate self-trust, & strengthen the connection with self to heal and create the fulfilling powerful life they deserve.

Understanding life transitions and the fight for personal liberation, Shaniqua combines her clinical training and lived experience within mental health, social justice work, wellness, and ancestral healing practices to bring a powerfully aligned therapeutic and transformative experience to clients. 

Shaniqua has been featured as a speaker on the Rising to Thrive Podcast and Perceptions Theater “Talk Back” segment. She has facilitated workshops for the University of Chicago, Women’s Business Development Center, Veterans Business Opportunity Center, and the Black Mental Wellness Expo on topics including, grief & loss, anxiety, depression, and maintaining mental and emotional health as BIPOC creative entrepreneurs.

 

Connect | Shaniqua

Website: https://www.soulwerkcafe.com/ 

Shop: https://www.soulwerkcafe.com/shop-1 

IG: @soul.werk.cafe (https://www.instagram.com/soul.werk.cafe/) 

 

Episode Timeline:
An overview about Shaniqua and her practice (02:37)

How did she get into the mental health field? (03:48)

What population does she currently serve? (06:39)

Shaniqua describes her practice throughout the years (09:49)

What were her huge wins after being a biz owner? (19:39)

Thoughts on office visits vs Telehealth (22:56)

Introducing her wellness kits for self-care (28:21)

A message for people ambivalent about getting help w/ their biz (34:36)


 

Standout Quotes from Shaniqua:
"I use WE a lot because I use a lot of collective and inclusive language as part of decolonization. However when I started DTA, I was a solo practice and now I've transitioned into a group practice; we've had our first mental health interns since January and we have new youth and adolescent therapists who will be onboarding by the middle of June.... And I wanna say, 3 months till the end of that quarter when I signed up, I had my first 10K months ever in my life