Zekeyra Phillips - Clinical Mental Health Intern

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Stories are ways that we connect with our desires. They are opportunities for us to escape our current reality and immerse ourselves into an alternative one with various genres—adventure, romance, fantasy, you name it. However, life is not as simple as a storybook; there is no linear storyline, no frivolous love interest, no secret ingredient to success, and definitely not as predictable as we’d like it to be. Luckily, we are not books. We are much more fluid—we can change the narrative whenever, wherever, or however we would like. When it really comes down to it, we are the author of our own stories. It is up to us to move in a way that will make or break our future.

When we choose ourselves, we choose peace, love, vulnerability, and growth.

I graduated with my Bachelor’s in Psychology from Michigan State University and in the future I will receive my master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Wayne State University. As both my studies and my experiences with clients have taught me, we are the expert of ourselves. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control how we react to it. By doing this, we then can take charge of the direction that we want our stories to go in. Narrative therapy is a therapeutic technique that I am drawn to because it separates the person from the problem. I believe that our problems do not define us, rather it divines us. Certain events that happen “to” us actually happens for us so that we can gain a lesson, perspective, and growth from then on. What truly defines us is how we go about making the most of what we learn during our experiences in life. I believe that therapy should be a collaborative effort between the client and the therapist. Therapy should not “fix” a person—we are not construction projects. Rather, we are all souls trying to find our way back to ourselves. As the therapist, I will provide my clients with the skills necessary to find their way.

Therapy should be a safe space to express the deepest and most vulnerable parts of ourselves and I will make it my mission to ensure that anyone who walks into my office is given the chance to express themselves freely and privately. With my help, I have hope that anyone who chooses to work with me can change the narrative.

Office Location: Zekeyra holds in-person appointments out of our Lenox office as well as telehealth appointments. 

Email zekeyra@treeoflifecounselingservices.com to schedule an appointment directly with Zekeyra.