Meet Tenesha Brooks of Brooks Psychological Services

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tenesha Brooks.

Tenesha, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always been a helper and encourager, trying to help people feel better, find solutions for problems, and connect with resources. I initially started college as premed and wanted to become a pediatric neurosurgeon or neurologist because I found the brain fascinating. I didn’t want to pick a natural sciences major because as a doctor I would be studying the sciences for the rest of my life. I decided to do something in the humanities because I wanted to complement my science training with “soft skills.” I wanted to understand how people are motivated and how to support families during challenging times. I majored in family studies and fell in love with how the mind works. The connection between our emotions, past experiences, how we view ourselves, and our behaviors captivated me. Along the way, I decided that instead of working with the brain anatomically, I would work with the brain emotionally and become a therapist. I got my masters in social work from Boston University and started my career in Massachusetts.

As I went through training and started working in the field, the desire to own a mental health private practice, providing therapy to clients who look like me began to grow. When I met my husband, psychologist Dr. Randolph Brooks, our visions aligned and Brooks Psychological Services was born. We are a virtual private practice, working with clients in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and North Carolina.

Brooks Psychological Services exists to provide a space for Black professionals and students to put aside code switching, take off their 9-5 armor, and truly be heard. In addition to providing individual and couples therapy, we provide educational seminars within the community, consultations, and corporate wellness workshops on topics such as navigation work stress and preventing burnout, overcoming self-doubt and imposter syndrome, and creating work-life balance.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When my husband and I started our private practice, we had a clear vision of the clients we do our best to work with, but neither of us had previous business experience. Our biggest challenge has been marketing. There are several different options of marketing strategies and no guaranteed successful combination of strategies. A lot of it is trial and error. The landscape of private practice has also changed in the last five years since we’ve had this business, so what we did when we started is not what works now. When we first started, it was prepandemic and virtual therapy was still niche. It was mostly EAPs and a few therapy practices. Post pandemic, most private practices offer virtual services and larger venture funded businesses have entered the online therapy space making it harder for individual providers to compete. We have tried a variety of different marketing strategies and are still trying to find that right combination of things that works in a constantly changing landscape. In order to succeed, it’s important to remain agile, open to change, and remain educated on shifts in the marketing space. It is really a time for therapists to diversify their income streams to be able to remain stable amidst changes.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Brooks Psychological Services?
I love helping Black women manage work-related anxiety and specialize in helping Black professional women and students in toxic or unaffirming work/academic environments regain their confidence, overcome imposter syndrome, and quiet self-doubt.

Sometimes as Black professionals we feel overwhelmed, burnt out, underappreciated and we make the conclusion that there must be something wrong with me, or I’m not good enough, or I shouldn’t feel this way.

Instead of looking at the environment for what it is: soul-sucking work tasks, micro and macroaggressions everywhere, unreasonable demands beyond the job description, and systemic policies that disvalue your contributions and experiences.

In an environment like that,
of course your joy would be dampened,
of course you would struggle to get out of bed in the morning, of course you would wonder why your efforts aren’t making a bigger impact.

Flowers need the right soil to bloom. Maybe the issue is your soil.

This perspective shift is one of the most meaningful pieces of work that I do with my clients. When you can begin to understand that you’re not crazy because of the feelings you have, it creates room for hope. And hope is where change happens. Hope is where we can begin to strategize about ways to improve mood, decrease anxiety, and rebuild confidence.

If this resonates with you, I would love to work together!

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I enjoy slowing down and spending quality time with my husband and sons. I’m always looking for something to do as a family. Thankfully, Raleigh has a little bit of everything for everyone. My favorite thing about Raleigh is all the parks! Also, lots of new restaurants are opening so there’s always something new to try.
I wish housing costs in Raleigh were lower. So many people who grew up here can no longer afford to buy or rent here.

Pricing:

• 1 hr initial assessment- $200
• 45 min therapy session- $175

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brookspsych.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooks.psych
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brooks.psych/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tenesha-patrick-brooks