Meet Jasmine Moore of This Is For You Counseling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Moore.

Hi Jasmine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” was the prompt at my kindergarten graduation. I remember standing at the microphone stand vividly. I even remember proudly saying that I wanted to be Dallas Cowboys cheerleader! (It’s laughable now) Pushing the fast-forward button, if my 5-year-old self would have known that I would instead be a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, I would not believe it! Clearly, I didn’t plan on being a therapist, but the journey leading up to where I am now is one that I don’t regret. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been curious about why people do what they do. Curious about what people meant when they said certain things. Curious about how others can get along with certain people and not others. Just all around curious.

At one point, I became fascinated with popular crimes in pop culture. I told myself I was going to be the person that interviewed families and perpetrators of said crimes to better understand the circumstances. I was going to be the next Nancy Grace or Geraldo Rivera! Yet, I’d always heard, “You’ll always end up loving what you’d least expect.” My interest in family therapy was awakened by accident. I began my minor in Sociology (remember I still have an interest in wanting to understand people), and I also took Human Sexuality as an elective. In a matter of four months, my eyes were wide open, and I entered a new world! I was exposed to subject matters that were fresh and new, and even controversial, but should be talked about. The context of how sex showed up in relationships, be it through gender roles, beliefs, racial and cultural differences, was fascinating! It just made sense! In my final semester of undergrad, I planned to take a course of marriage and family therapy but didn’t take it. At that time in my life, we can blame senioritis. A year after graduation, I began to feel stuck in my career and wanted a change. One day while thinking of my own life, I looked at myself from a bird’s eye view. All of these factors have ultimately shaped my life. I have overcome adversities and experienced resiliency in my life, and I want to help empower others to do the same. How can I do this? Then it hit me: FAMILY THERAPY! Doing some research, I applied for the Master’s program at Texas Woman’s University and within my first semester of coursework all of my years of being curious made sense!

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?
Would anyone say that opening a small business in a middle of a pandemic is a smooth road? Even without the pandemic? Definitely not! A big obstacle for me was accepting and acknowledging the fact that I was ready to start my own practice. Riding the fence of the “What Ifs” was a loop that played out in my mind for months. When it was time to make the decision to leave a “comfort zone” into the “Unknown,” was scary and exciting at the same time. Though it all and even it’s newness, starting This Is For You Counseling has also been beyond worth it! I view this as an ongoing journey that is constantly providing me the opportunity to make a difference with my community and those miles away virtually with support for their mental health needs.

We’ve been impressed with This Is For You Counseling, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
This Is For You Counseling is a small, black-owned private practice providing therapeutic services centered around the importance of relational growth. Investing in your relationships is the first step to healing. This acknowledgment is what sets my brand apart from others is the importance of the client from the very beginning being able to start the healing process by knowing they’re ready to make a difference and are motivated to do so. My hope is to facilitate healing in relationships for willing individuals, couples, and families of all walks of life – including sexuality, gender, race, ability, or culture so they can engage, connect and have meaningful relationships with those they love.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was always bubbly, sweet, personable, and easy going. I think it would be fair to say that I never met a stranger (and I’m still the same way). My interests included all the highlights of nostalia of the typical 90s kids: Nickeloden, Disney Channel, Easy Bake Ovens, Pokemon (remember Pokemon 2000 came out?) Mario Kart and Donkey Kong all day on the SuperNintendo/Nintendo64 – just to name a few. I had a pretty typical childhood but there is one thing that set me apart – I was born with Cerebral palsy. At the age of two, my twin sister, Jennifer and I were diagnosed with a mild Cerebral palsy (CP for short). As both life and time went on things fell into place. The only exception for my family was that weekly physical therapy appointments, sporadic doctors’ visits varying of either Botox injections or leg castings were included on top of trips to the park, little league soccer games, and dance practice – all of the normal activities that children of that age partake in. I actually remember the day of my first and last ballet recital (I didn’t like ballet as much as I thought I would). I was a nervous wreck!

All of those days of rehearsal narrowed down to that very day. My family showed up with flowers and showered me with praise after it was over. That’s the thing when I go back and think about my life, ‘being different’ in my family never felt like ‘being different.’ I was always equal in their eyes. However, at different points in my life, I was told that I wasn’t going to be able to drive a car, and not to go too far to college due to doctor’s appointments, and even that therapy wasn’t a good fit. Of course at the moment, even if for a split second, I held space for it. But as long as that second seems to last, another reality also exists. “Go for it.” was my parent’s response. When I decided to do it, they would be right there to support me. These experiences have shaped my life and my work with those in the therapy space where I’m always mindful of the little nuances that have made an impact in others lives.

Pricing:

• Individual Therapy – $100/50 minute session
• Couples Therapy – $125/50 minute session
• Family Therapy – $125/50 minute session
• eCourse: Love Yours: A Course for Learning How To Embrace Who You Are – $75

Contact Info:

• Email: jasmine@thisisforyoucounseling.com
• Website: www.thisisforyoucounseling.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/__themooreyouknow