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Meet Trailblazer Dr. Gina Pazzaglia

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Gina Pazzaglia.

Dr. Pazzaglia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Most call me Dr. Gina. My goal is helping others learn to “Rewrite your Script.” This is not only the theme at my agency, Restorative Alternative Wellness but a personal story of rewriting my own life script. I was raised in an environment of domestic violence from a mentally ill mother. I married early, believing I would change the world, only to realize the world I faced as a child followed me into adulthood. My early childhood experiences shaped me into a person who gravitated towards caring for others in a lot of different fields. I became a mental health aide at the age of 17 at Rusk State Mental Hospital (at a time when they still did lobotomies!), I was a childbirth educator and lay midwife. I had three children in my first marriage, but the relationship was strained by my husband’s substance abuse and underlying mental health issues, and I realized furthering my education would allow me to move me and my children into safety, and let me impact the community in a greater way.

My experiences with trauma and mental health issues in loved ones led to my interest in Social Work, and later, the development of a comprehensive method of healing – addressing environment, body, soul, and spirit for each person that I work with. After getting my Social Work degrees, I was able to go into the field, eventually, start my own agencies, and now, am reaching out to help people all over the country through my radio show.

Has it been a smooth road?
There were many times I set out to rewrite my script in my lifetime. Rewriting my Script began when I was fifty, almost ten years ago. The not-for-profit mental health agency, that I considered my baby, had dissolved due to a federal audit and I had another business that was struggling through the 2008 recession. I was miserable in a marriage that was strained; I had gained 40 pounds, was going through menopause, looked and felt horrible, had no energy and felt defeated. I began to exercise but still felt trapped and helpless, and even worse yet, my ex-husband abruptly filed for divorce (via text) after 15 years of marriage.

He told me, “In the next six months you will be happy I left.” (He was right…) I downsized and changed my practice to a DBA and a residential practice; I referred to it as “my therapy cave.” I was still seeing quite a few patients, despite losing a few due to flooding of tears from the divorce. I realized I had to have a strong plan of recovery because I was going downhill fast. Since I am a really good therapist, I decided to create my own wellness plan, including ballroom dancing, personal training and continuing to journal and process my own emotions.
However, when you are a visionary and entrepreneur, there are many challenges and struggles that assist in making you strong, courageous and creative in order to come up with solutions., I have struggled through family mental illness and abuse, deaths, divorces, single parenting, difficult teenagers, teen pregnancy, step-parenting, family addictions, welfare, businesses, betrayals and many other areas that have helped to increase my empathy. My social work education emphasized unconditional positive regard for everyone I work with, no matter their background. I am a mother of five children and six grandchildren, one great-grandchild (and multiplying) so I have plenty of personal experience for all of the family dynamics I encounter in clinical work.

Women are unique, in that, they often love “too much” and lose themselves in the people around them. So, the advice I have for younger women who are trying to climb the mountain of entrepreneurship is to take good care of yourself, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically, and remember where you begin and end (your boundaries). It is easy to get caught up in helping others with their potential and then lose your own vision of what you were born to do on this earth. Allow yourself to learn from other mature and experienced women so you don’t have to tread down the dangerous and perilous roads they are able to warn you about.

We’d love to hear more about Restorative Alternative Wellness.
I still do my “cave-dwelling” therapy sometimes, but I have done a lot of restructuring through book writing, developing multiple audio hypnotherapies and speaking engagements. To date: I have written a Trilogy with a workbook, two children’s books, and 16 workbooks.

My focus over the last two year has been to launch into the world of media. This includes television, YouTube, radio and written platforms. One of my peers reviewed articles, Essential Nutrients and Psychopathology was published in ACTA Scientific Nutritional Health, I was featured in D’FYNE Health and Fitness Magazine: Practicing what She Preaches, and His Favor Magazine, a magazine celebrating diversity and success. I was the Assistant Producer through Catalyst Enterprises on a Telly Award-winning documentary trailer for “The Heart Of A Diva: The Leona Mitchell Story”, the full documentary of which is coming out in 2020.

I am also currently co-owner and operator of Yuck Yay, Inc. Our vision is to incorporate therapeutic and leadership principles and strategies to improve personal and business growth and development. We are being sponsored by Santé Center for Healing (close to Dallas) as well as Metro Technology Center to provide workshops to other clinicians and business related to health, wellness, business, leadership, and management. In the near future, we hope to have a television show that focuses on mental health and overall wellness. I also plan on opening several other locations, including a satellite clinic in the Dallas area.

I am proud that over the years, I have literally assisted thousands of people in rewriting their scripts and making life long changes. I am most known for treating the Adult Child Self, working through all of the issues from childhood that is negatively impacting their current life, transforming tragedy into triumph. My vocation is a product of my ministry and mission.

What sets us apart is our faith-based strategies as we focus on three core areas: Body, mind, and soul to deliver healing to the authentic self. The services we offer enhance the wellness of individuals, families, and groups. Restorative Alternative Wellness is a therapeutic, alternative health center that offers anonymity due to its placement in a residential setting. Patching up symptoms does not treat the whole person, nor does it remedy underlying problems. Therefore, we deliver a wide range of progressive, holistic therapies to help our patients to achieve optimal physical, emotional, and spiritual health by addressing contributing factors – changing lifestyle, beliefs and old habits in order to facilitate healing. Each day is a miracle as I walk along with the transformation of those who I reach through my various services.

Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
When I felt ready to launch to my next level, my networking on LinkedIn led to meeting Corey D. Taylor with Catalyst Enterprises. He specialized in branding and image, so I hired him to help the growth of the business and to get me out of my therapy cave. When he said “jump,” I jumped, and within six months, I had changed my style, my hair color, lost 20 more pounds and co-hosted a television show for several months. Eventually, we partnered to launch a radio show on iHeart radio, Dr. G says and moved to Sirius XM as Rewrite Your Script. Currently, we have a syndicated show through Wilkins Radio Network in four locations: Kansas City, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Richmond, VA. Many of my friends and family did not support me in intangible marketing using media and branding and has often felt like an uphill battle, with many difficulties. Beware of costly networking groups that can often become cultish, finding individuals that are invested in your vision is worth searching for.

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Image Credit:
Corey D. Taylor

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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