Today we’d like to introduce you to Atosha McLean.
Hi Atosha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My path into counseling wasn’t something I stumbled into — it was a calling that lived in me long before any degree.
I earned my undergraduate degree from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, and later completed my graduate studies at Regent University in Virginia Beach, graduating in 2013. But my journey into the field didn’t happen immediately after graduation. Life took me through a series of experiences that shaped my lens, deepened my compassion, and clarified why this work mattered so much to me.
When I did step fully into the mental health field, I started where people needed the most support — working in community health, inpatient, and outpatient settings. Those environments taught me what textbooks couldn’t: how humans break, how they rise, and how sacred it is to witness both.
Over time, the call got louder. I knew I wanted to create a space where people could tell the truth, release the weight they’ve been carrying, and heal without judgment or performance. That vision became real in April 2022 when I opened Sacred Spaces Counseling Collective — a practice built on authenticity, compassion, and spiritual grounding.
My purpose is simple and unwavering:
I help people recognize their own beauty, turn their pain into purpose, and build a life they can be proud of — a life that reflects who they truly are.
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?
Smooth? Not even close — and honestly, that’s what made me the therapist and woman I am today.
My road has been a mix of detours, breakdowns, and miracles. I’ve had seasons where I was carrying everyone else’s pain while trying to figure out my own. I’ve worked in environments that were understaffed, overworked, and emotionally draining. Community health and inpatient work will stretch you in ways you can’t prepare for — you learn fast where your limits are, and you learn even faster how to keep showing up anyway.
There were years when I questioned whether I was enough… whether I was equipped… whether I was called or just hopeful. Transitioning into different mental health settings, navigating burnout, managing impossible caseloads, and trying to maintain my own well-being — none of that was smooth.
And then there’s the personal side:
Life didn’t pause just because I was helping other people heal. I went through my own storms — family challenges, emotional exhaustion, moments of starting over, redefining who I was, and rebuilding from the inside out. Those seasons humbled me, sharpened me, and pushed me back to God.
Opening my own practice in 2022 came with its own set of hurdles — fear, finances, faith tests, learning how to run a business while still being the heart of the work. I had to grow up professionally and spiritually at the same time.
The struggle wasn’t the interruption — it was the assignment.
Every rough stretch taught me how to walk people through their darkness because I’d had to navigate my own. Every setback forced me to rise differently. Every challenge clarified the kind of space I wanted to create for others.
So no — the road wasn’t smooth.
But it was necessary.
And I wouldn’t trade the wisdom it carved into me.
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?
Sacred Spaces Counseling Collective is more than a therapy practice — it’s a sanctuary.
I created it because people deserve a place where they can tell the truth without shrinking, mask-dropping is expected, and healing isn’t rushed or treated like a checklist. We specialize in trauma, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and the emotional burnout that comes from carrying more than your spirit was designed to hold.
What we’re known for is authenticity.
Clients don’t feel like they’re entering a clinic — they feel like they’re entering a conversation with someone who gets it. I use evidence-based approaches like CBT, mindfulness, and Brainspotting, but I pair them with something you can’t teach: discernment, cultural competence, spiritual grounding, and real-world wisdom.
What sets us apart is the way we hold space.
At Sacred Spaces, you’re not just treated — you’re seen. I challenge your narratives, call you deeper, and help you reconnect to parts of yourself you abandoned just to survive. Healing here is collaborative, spiritual, and liberating.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud of the mission behind everything we offer:
to create an environment where people can rise, rest, and rebuild without apologizing for it.
Sacred Conversations with Atosha
Sacred Conversations is the extension of my work outside the therapy room — the place where transformation becomes communal. It’s where I talk about the hard things people are tired of carrying alone: emotional exhaustion, unhealed childhood wounds, boundaries, burnout, and the quiet suffering so many people normalize.
These conversations aren’t surface-level. I’m not interested in soft, polished messages that make people feel good for five minutes. I go after the soul. I tell the truth with compassion and conviction. I teach people how to come back home to themselves.
The “How Dare I” Movement
This is the heartbeat behind my voice as a speaker and a healer.
“How Dare I” is not an attitude — it’s an awakening.
It’s the moment someone realizes:
How dare I not become everything God created me to be?
How dare I keep playing small, shrinking, or settling?
How dare I pretend I’m not called, not chosen, not equipped?
It’s a movement about reclaiming your identity, your voice, and your purpose — especially for people who have been taught to apologize for their power.
Through workshops, talks, guided reflections, and community events, the How Dare I movement disrupts the old narratives and teaches people how to rise differently.
What I Want Readers to Know
If you’ve been feeling disconnected from yourself, overwhelmed by your own story, or tired of carrying everything alone — Sacred Spaces Counseling Collective is where you exhale.
Sacred Conversations is where you learn.
The How Dare I movement is where you rise.
Everything I do — every service, every offering, every message — is designed to help you heal honestly, grow intentionally, and live boldly.
This brand isn’t just mine.
It’s a call to everyone who’s ready to become who they were always meant to be.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is this: you can’t heal people from a place you’re still hiding from.
I had to stop trying to be the strong one, the perfect one, the one who ‘has it together’ just because I’m a therapist. That version of me wasn’t real — she was a coping mechanism.
The real growth happened when I let myself be human.
When I admitted I was tired.
When I stopped performing strength and started practicing it.
When I let God interrupt my plans and reroute me.
When I learned that avoiding my own wounds wasn’t humility — it was self-abandonment.
Another lesson?
Your purpose will demand a version of you that comfort will never build.
Every stretch, every heartbreak, every detour forced me to rise into the woman my calling required.
And the last big one:
You can’t pour from an empty cup, but you also can’t keep living like you were only created to pour.
I had to learn to receive, to rest, to invest in myself the way I invest in others. That changed everything — my confidence, my boundaries, my business, my peace.
So the most important lesson is simple but not easy:
You become the best healer when you stop hiding from your own healing.
That’s what shaped me. That’s what keeps me grounded. And that’s what keeps my work authentic.
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