#CaringHeartConsulting

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From A Good Friend, to A Professional Pastoral Counselor, Hospice Chaplain &  Ph.D. Marriage Family Therapist Intern

Hindsight 2020: A reflective look at my journey to becoming a MFT Professional

I began my journey into the field of counseling very early in my life. As a pastor’s kid growing up was just different. My exposure to the Black church, Sunday School, and never-ending Bible Studies and church services that would never end, I learned so much about life and the world. I had neighborhood, church, and school friends that knew me by my nickname. Every Black kid in my town had one given to them by some family member(s). My friends were not many but what few friends I did have, would ask me advice about things they thought I knew something about. Sometimes, I knew and most times I did not. Honestly, I never thought much about it. But it kept happening beyond elementary and throughout my middle and high school experience. Listening to people’s problems when I had so many problems of my own became annoying by the time I reached college. Like in high school, I would often be shoulder girls I liked would cry on. One would think that would work to my advantage. It never did because I cared so much about helping them in their pain. I cared that they were wounded emotionally and wanted to help them through that moment. With no training but genuine interest and curiosity, I’d spend time with anyone in a crisis. Knowing that I would be perpetually placed into the friend zone with girls and used and forgotten by homies, I never felt unappreciated because these same individuals would come back to see me with new issues or problems consistently. I began to appreciate this gift when I was encouraged to take a job at a juvenile detention center in Smith County, Tyler Texas. One of my college professors at Texas College wrote a recommendation letter and encouraged me to interview for an intake officer job. My time there introduced me to professional counseling. After completing my bachelor’s in music liberal arts, I moved to Atlanta to go to Seminary. My first year back home, I was stopped in a Walmart by a young Latino man who had been watching me as if he knew me. He came up to me and introduced himself and informed me that he was considering suicide to escape the local gang he belonged to. He continues to explain that our conversation that night saved his life. He retold the encounter of that moment and I recalled every detail with pride for his development and ability to overcome that moment. I had wondered what happened to him after he left the detention center. His introduction of his wife and two children made me smile all the way back to Atlanta as I drove contemplating the impact I had on his life. I decided on the way home to pursue pastoral care & counseling. My professor recommended that I continue my training after graduating with a dual degree from the seminary. Eventually, I would realize that this was truly my calling. Twenty-one years later, I have been a professional pastoral counselor. I’ve worked in multiple hospitals, hospices and along the way, I was fortunate to find love with a beautiful woman who blessed me with three beautiful children. I also became a pastor have ministered and founded two ministries totaling 15 years of bi-vocational work. I became a community organizer and entrepreneur and today I continue to work on my professional development in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy as a Ph.D. candidate at North Central University. My concentration is general family therapy as I continue to work with individuals and couples struggling with Divorce, Breakups, and Family Separation. The purpose of this blog is to share my reflections about various relevant general family therapy and marriage and family resources, topics, and concepts that professionals are talking about and using to help our clients with their problems. I hope you enjoy this journey as I complete my MFT internship. I will also be journaling my reflections as I build my current practice Caring Heart Counseling & Consulting Services. I didn’t end up where I am by accident.  It has been a painful journey, but one, I wouldn’t trade for all the money in the world.  Simply put... I’ve come a long way and many of the stories I will share in future posts will allow my readers to share my current journey. Thank you for taking the time to share this experience with me.

Johnnie B. Porter M. Div., M.A.C.M., B.S., Ph.D. Chaplain

Caring Heart Counseling & Consulting Services LLC.

www.CaringHeartCCS.com