Today we’d like to introduce you to Sequoyah Sherrill.
Hi Sequoyah, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Harrisburg, PA as a very outgoing, opinionated, eager child. I was raised primarily by my mom, a single mother who passed away when I was 11. Growing up, grief was a major part of my life, having lost over 7 close family members to death or incarceration before turning 16. Despite encountering so many losses and shifts, therapy was never a topic of conversation in my family due to the stigma. However, I knew from a young age that therapy could be transformative if only we held spaces for discussing difficult topics. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a very fearless, outspoken, and free-thinking child who often asked difficult questions and set serious goals for myself. I never settled for less and understood very early on that I wanted to make a different life for myself and my family.
Early on, I realized education could take me far. My aunt, who raised me after my mom passed away, placed a big emphasis on college and how it could change my life’s trajectory. By the age of 16, I knew I wanted to attend an HBCU, but more importantly, I wanted to help shift my family’s legacy. I figured the only way to shift my and my family’s narrative was through higher education. Being a first generation college student, I had no idea how I would get there nor how I would fund it, but I knew it had to be done! At that time, I had no understanding of how my life would come full circle. In my senior year of high school, I was featured in my local newspaper as one of our city’s “best and brightest”. Within that article, I reported I wanted to be a mental health professional and that I wanted to help children and families in my community. Fast forward 16 years, and I did just that! The formula, a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University, a master’s degree from Drexel University, and a professional license. My dream is a reality and steadily evolving, and I am so grateful.
I am currently a full time entrepreneur and creative, which I credit my Dad for consistently inspiring and nurturing this gift. I co-own and operate an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic called Solid Ground Wellness, LLC., where I work full time as a Co-Founder/COO and a Psychotherapist. I also own and operate an independent mental health consulting firm, Onmycouchhh. The intersection of storytelling and therapy is where I inspire people, companies, and communities to tell and own their stories. Additionally, I co-founded a non-profit organization, Heal-A-Preneur, which aims to help small black business owners navigate and resolve mental and financial barriers to success. Recently, I’ve also become a self-published author. In November of 2021 I wrote my first children’s book entitled “Is That Your Mommy” a book dedicated to my mother and her legacy. Is That Your Mommy was written to help children who experienced parental loss navigate grief and its complexities. It’s the book I needed as a child!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth by any means! As mentioned, the primary struggle I encountered was the loss of my mother at 11. So, if I am honest, the road will never be completely smooth again. The loss of her has shaped who I am and navigating the loss though it has looked different throughout my life, will forever be a struggle. In addition to losing my mother, I grew up underprivileged and therefore encountered numerous obstacles because of this. If I am honest, poverty affected my life in many ways, including limiting my access to quality education, food security, and housing stability. My life has been shaped by trauma, from parental incarceration to family/sibling separation compounded by violence, death, and substance abuse. Sprinkle in some racial and systemic trauma and you have my life! As I mentioned the road was not smooth, but who would I be without my story? In hindsight, it has shaped the woman I am today and I would not change anything thing about it!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I currently serve as Co-Founder and COO of Solid Ground Wellness, an outpatient mental health clinic located in Columbia and Baltimore, MD. We serve as a full CARF accredited clinic offering individual, family, and couples therapy, as well as Psychiatric Rehabilitation (PRP) and medication management. What sets us apart is our dedication to OUR community, when we started, we vowed to provide our services where they were most needed. We started Solid Ground Wellness in 2017 after noticing persons of color were receiving poorer quality of care therapeutically and there also was (and still is) a lack of cultural competency in the mental health field that we wanted to help shift. For this reason, over 80% of our work is done with state-insured persons, on purpose! We are most proud of this!
In addition, I am the CEO and Founder of Onmycouchhh, a consulting firm with an emphasis on mental health where we use stories to help with the transformation of people, organizations, and communities. We believe in the healing power of stories, and in many ways believe it is a form of medicine. Black culture, without storytelling, is like a bird without wings.” At Onmycouchhh, we use storytelling as an act of revolutionary healing. We exist to help people gain insight that leads to behavioral change, and improvements in the quality of their lives. Through our coaching/consulting, conscious apparel and products, and community events we use gentle methods that don’t demand a response, but that stimulate thinking, experiencing, and ideas for problem resolution. What sets us apart is that our products and services get the difficult conversation of mental health started!
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I am nothing without community and am ALWAYS up for collaboration. People can support and/or collaborate with me in a variety of ways.
Contact Info:
Follow on Instagram:
@not.so.coy
@onmycouchhh
@sgwellness_
@healapreneur
Facebook:
Onmycouchhh
Solid Ground Wellness, LLC.
Heal-A-Preneur
Website:
www.solidgroundwellness.org
www.healapreneur.com
Email:
ssherrill@sgwellness.net
Image Credits
Austin Visk
Dream Creator Marketing
