I Can’t Believe I Get To Do This ‒ Exclusive Interview With Dr. Charryse Johnson
- Dec 1, 2022
- 5 min read
Dr. Charryse Johnson is an author, speaker, and mental health consultant whose work focuses on the intersection of integrative wellness, neuroscience, and mental health. She is the founder of Jade Integrative Counseling and Wellness, an integrative therapy practice where personal values, the search for meaning, and the power of choice are the central focus. Dr.Johnson works with clients and organizations across the nation and has an extensive background and training in education, crisis and trauma, neuroscience, and identity development.
Dr. Charryse Johnson, Expert Mental Health Consultant
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
Dr. Charryse Johnson is an author, keynote speaker, and veteran psychotherapist whose work focuses on the intersection of integrative wellness, neuroscience, and mental health. She is the founder of Jade Integrative Counseling and Wellness where personal values, the search for meaning, and the power of choice are the central focus. As a clinician, she has worked with individuals, couples and families across the lifespan and is adept at helping individuals navigate challenging life transitions and identity development.
Dr. Johnson holds a B.A. in both Vocal Music and Human Development and Family Studies, an M.A. in Professional Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, with a focus on crisis and trauma. As an executive wellness consultant, she supports non-profits, educational institutions, and corporations looking to develop strategic initiatives that center leadership, inclusivity, and emotional well-being. She is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) and has extensive training in trauma, eating disorders, spirituality, and neurorelational approaches such as Brainspotting.
In August 2021, she released her first book, Expired Mindsets, and was later identified as “10 Authors to Watch in 2022” by The American Reporter. In June 2022, she published Mindset Matters, a guided journal that helps individuals create neural pathways that help reinforce new habit development. Dr. Johnson also serves as a keynote speaker and panelist at summits around the world. She presents on topics such as corporate wellness, mental health, and interpersonal effectiveness. The unique combination of her education and lived experiences allows Dr.Johnson to tailor and customize her approach while maintaining effectiveness. As a mental health expert, Dr.Johnson is a frequent advocate and advisor for news stations in Charlotte, NC and the surrounding community.
She and her husband Randy were college sweethearts and have been married for twenty-four years. They have two amazing young adult children who Dr.Johnson will unashamedly mention at every opportunity she gets. Her favorite hobbies include shopping (yes that’s a hobby,lol), yoga, and spending time with family. Fun fact If Dr.Johnson wasn’t a therapist, she would be a global humanitarian.
What kind of audience do you target your business towards?
The resources I support are targeted toward people. While that may seem obvious or cliché, it’s my way of helping individuals abandon the process of compartmentalizing their challenges. As humans, the unresolved and unaddressed issues in our lives will show up both personally and professionally. Thus, one of my primary goals is to help educate individuals and organizations on the value of comprehensive mental health integration. In my work with individuals and families this exists through offerings such as one on one support, exploration of self limiting beliefs, and teaching skills to help shift towards value-aligned living. On an organizational and corporate level this may come through keynote speaking, participating in summits, assisting with strategic wellnesself-limitings implementation, or developing products or programming to help improve mental health and mindset.
What are your current goals for your business?
Mental health stigma in the workplace is steeped in the reality that most people don’t want to sit around and talk about their problems. Being asked or forced to do so can create resistance, shame and often requires too much vulnerability in a work setting. I believe it is time to make a shift towards implementing MENTAL FITNESS.
Mental fitness allows everyone equal opportunity for personal development and growth. It holds space for various dichotomies of identity, offering each person the ability to choose where and how they apply the new perspectives they glean.
As an expert mental health consultant, keynote, and entrepreneur, I aim to highlight the value of this shift in perspective on mental health. The mental fitness paradigm opens the door for powerful and productive conversations that can teach teams how to operate from a higher place of potential. Learning then becomes more about who you are and how you respond, while working to see yourself through a lens of curiosity and non-judgment. This reduces the need to defend and empowers individuals and organizations to create the change they desire by moving from thought to action.
In a culture of well-being centered on mental fitness, growth is no longer reserved for leaders or managers. It shifts away from being a privilege based on productivity and politics. Each individual has a chance to take an open and honest look at the quality of their life, the hidden messages in their responses, and the presence or absence of their values on a personal and professional level.
Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far? And what’s next?
There are many days I wake up and say to myself, “I can’t believe I get to do this”. It takes great courage for people to work towards healing and I count it an honor to be entrusted with their stories. My greatest achievements are every moment I have the chance to encourage others to believe “better is possible”. For example, I provide mental fitness coaching for members of Eager 2 Motivate (E2M), an online fitness community with participants located around the world. Engaging with this group allows me to help individuals better understand the intersection of their mental and physical health. The mind and body are often viewed as separate entities, but research clearly demonstrates good mental health can have a positive impact on physical health and conversely, poor mental health is a risk factor for chronic physical conditions.
Moving forward, I want to expand the reach and mission of integrative well-being by facilitating international personal growth retreats, developing additional resources for corporate wellness, and creating a hub of online courses and webinars that provide expert mental health resources that can be accessed at any time. I would also plan to develop training resources to equip athletic trainers, coaches and staff on improving mental fitness and resilience in student-athletes. Many of these next steps are in progress and will launch January 2023!
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
The loss of my mother was one of the most pivotal moments of my life and it continues to play a significant role in where I am today. I had only been married for a few years, I was a new parent, and my whole world was shattered. My mother was a very giving and caring person who ran a non-profit focused on supporting families. Watching her battle cancer and the way she seized each moment gave me a new perspective on the priority of presence.
Experiencing life and living with loss has taught me how to grow and learn while working through my own healing. The power of my own story allows me to look beyond a person’s pain and support them in powerful and unique ways. From the classroom to the board room, I connect and stay mindful that there can always be pain hiding behind a smile. Today, my passion is rooted in the belief that our past only holds the power we have relinquished— it is only meant to be a place of reference and not a place of residence. One person, one organization at a time, I will continue to help others honor the space they were designed to occupy.
