Meet Yunetta Spring Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yunetta Spring Smith.

Yunetta, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It sounds cliche, but I’ve always been someone people can easily talk to. I was very observant as a child, assessing situations and needs, ready to be a peacemaker or caretaker. Now I know that was actually a trauma response. My journey and education have brought me to a pioneering place to help others heal from their deeply rooted traumas.

Seeing people lighting crack pipes and prostitutes turning tricks in the alley nearby was normal in our part of Cleveland. My Dad knew we needed a drastic change. He joined the military when I was 11 in hopes that changing our environment would change our situation.

My Dad left the military during my senior year of high school. I was livid! We moved off the post, and I had to start again, making friends, and choosing classes. Psychology wasn’t available at the school on the post, and I chose it.

That class set the trajectory for the rest of my life. As I learned about the mind and mental health, I recalled traumatic experiences and patterns in my community. That lit a fire in me. I wanted to be a counselor.

My passion is seeing people healed and whole by eliminating mental health care stigma, especially in the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, EMDR Approved Consultant, Therapraneur, radiotherapist expert, podcaster, speaker, coach, and published author.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a very smooth road. Discomfort, agitation, and frustration have always preceded the catalyst moments in my life. Poverty, racism, discrimination, disrespect, opposition, and acres of red tape made it difficult to get ahead. Those long-standing systems marked and shaped me. Faith, family, and perseverance have strengthened me.
I am a dreamer and believe dreams are like visions. In one dream, I was providing counseling and had “Dr.” written by my name. (I’m no doctor… yet.) It felt very real, like a vision for my future.

I struggled financially in college and sat out a semester. I finished at Austin Peay State University and received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in African American Studies.

I landed a state job as an eligibility counselor but couldn’t make ends meet. I reluctantly took a second job at a department store. I barely saw my baby daughter, and the situation didn’t feed into my end goals. Never again. To get closer to my dream, I got my master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Walden University in 2011.

I later acquired my license and transitioned into schools in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee.

Supporting military family children is rewarding work, but it felt like I was losing my counseling skills.

Frustrated, I talked with God. He showed me He already provided everything I needed in the ground around me, even in dry spaces where I faced difficulties. God said, “You are not where I have called you to. I have not called you to play it safe.”

I’ve learned over the years I struggle the most when I resist change, when I don’t have a plan, and when I refuse to embrace the process. Now, when I navigate challenges, I pause (eventually) and ask myself three questions. Am I resisting change? Do I have a plan? Lastly, is my formula leading the way or am I walking by faith? I don’t always choose the path of least resistance, but I keep moving forward.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I founded Spring Forth Counseling a private therapy practice in 2016. Isaiah 43.19 inspired the name, “Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” I stepped out in faith for three years, building my counseling practice at night after working all day in school.

In 2017, I was introduced to EMDR and realized this was the tool necessary to heal trauma and integrate lasting change for my clients. There were only two other black therapists in my EMDR training class. Why weren’t there more? Why weren’t we talking about it? It’s important to me because black people have so much historical and racial trauma, and this is an invaluable tool for our recovery.

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, helps clinicians guide clients safely through reprocessing traumatic memories our bodies have stored as a means of survival.

I got my EMDR certification. I became a consultant and established “Ground Breakers.” With Ground Breakers I support EMDR therapists in becoming more culturally aware while integrating EMDR into their practice. I knew I wanted to expose more counselors to the power of EMDR. I’m training to one day become a trainer. It’s become my mission to get the word out about the benefits of EMDR and train clinicians to use it with their clients.

I specialize in treating childhood trauma that manifests in adulthood. Working with leaders, professionals, and public figures struggling with navigating their success and striving to break cycles. Unpacking trauma and unlearning dysfunctional patterns takes time. I have recently added EMDR Intensives to my services. This helps highly motivated clients clear out blocking beliefs at an accelerated pace and we don’t just stop there. I also help my clients recognize their resources and honor how they survived their adverse experiences.

What sets me apart is I approach therapy and consultations with a holistic perspective. Exploring the impact and influence of race, culture, and identity. I understand that within this system how we identify shapes who we are as clinicians and clients.

It’s been said, “Black people don’t go to therapy, they go to church.” I want people to know they can find healing in both, and there is no shame in that.

In January 2020, after the untimely death of Kobe Bryant, the Rickey Smiley Morning Show invited me to share mental health resources on navigating grief. This nationally syndicated show reaches millions of listeners. This is a huge opportunity to share, one I don’t take lightly.

After that, “Talk it out Tuesday” became a weekly mental health segment. Each week we have real conversations about the importance of mental health. I get testimonials weekly from listeners who started their therapy journey because of something they heard on the show. I’m known for being warm, relatable, funny, and gifted in normalizing therapy.

I realized some folks have a hard time finding a therapist, some can’t afford it. So, in 2021, I self-published my first workbook, “Take the Struggle Out of Self-Care: Six Weeks to Create Your Self-Care Strategy.” I created this workbook for those wanting to explore their relationship with self-care independently or within the community.

My most recent project is the Ground Breakers Therapy Directory, the first ever BIPOC EMDR directory. It is growing organically and providing visibility for BIPOC EMDR clinicians and consultants.

If I had to pick what I’m most proud of the brand wise I would say speaking to the “Circle of Mothers” in 2021 for the Trayvon Martin Foundation’s annual gathering. Sharing space with Sybrina Fulton the mother of Trayvon Martin and holding space for a room full of grieving mothers is a moment I will never forget.

That experience gave me a gift I didn’t expect, and that I could never repay. It reminded me to stay humble and always listen to the voice of the room. It showed me we all need safe spaces to narrate our stories and grieve in our own way. It reminded me that we are created to connect, and we heal in the community. Finally, it exemplified the relentless depths of a black mother’s love.

Ultimately, I’ve grown to become proud of everything I do even the “mistakes” have helped me to develop as an entrepreneur, a healer, a mother, and most importantly as a human. I’ve come a long way, I have a long way to go, and it feels like I’m just getting started.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Most people don’t know that I am a poet. I have been writing poetry since I was in the third grade, and I had a poem published around 8th or 9th grade. Writing poetry has been my therapy.

My words have been critical in shifting my attitude about my life situations into hope for the future. Poetry connects me to one of my favorite quotes “Everything you need is already within you” it’s just waiting on the opportunity to Spring Forth.

Pricing:

• Individual Therapy Session $155
• Intensive EMDR Session $225-1200
• Group EMDR Consultations $80 (packages available)
• Individual EMDR Consultations $100 (Packages Available)
• Coaching Sessions $175-500

Contact Info:

• Website: YunettaSpring.com, Springforthcounseling.org, Groundbreakerstherapy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yunettaspring/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yunettaspring/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yunettaspring
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/yunettaspring?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/yunettaspring
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Take-Struggle-Out-Self-Care-Strategy/dp/0578321807

Image Credits
Elle Danielle Photography