We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Courtney A. Clardy, LMSW a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Courtney A., appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
While I was preparing for this interview, a Facebook memory popped up and took me back to the time when I was 23. I was a new Mom, yet, I was spreading my son’s ashes in the vast ocean. This memory reminded me of my courage, bravery, and if God guided me through that, then there’s nothing I can’t overcome. Resilience, a spiritual gift God, is rooted within me, and I am truly grateful that I am able to recognize its presence. The ability to recover, progress, adapt, and bounce back is a timeless offering passed down by my ancestors and cherished elders.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
The essence of who I am is love. I am a woman that gives in love, produces in love, and continuously grows in ways to respond to things that feel chaotic to and with love. In addition to that, I get the honor to do some amazing things as a social worker with over a decade of experience and focuses in parent education, criminal justice, and mental health. I have also worked as a psychotherapist in the past, and currently, I serve as a spiritual and mental wellness coach, an empowerment speaker, a writer, and a published author. Furthermore, I am the proud host of the “Two Minutes of Your Time” podcast, where I guide listeners through meditation and prayer. On top of all this, I am the visionary behind two exciting projects – the Endless Love Membership and the God is Kind Campaign. My passion lies in loving and supporting God’s people, helping them grow, and empowering them to become the best version of themselves while strengthening their relationship with God and their highest self.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Being open-minded, receptive, and embracing the endless opportunities that lie ahead have proven to be invaluable on my personal journey. My father often says: “listening is an art,” and now, as an adult, I wholeheartedly comprehend its meaning. Following the loss of my son in 2013, I granted myself the freedom to be inquisitive and seek answers. I recognized that navigating through such a devastating loss required a genuine curiosity about the journeys of others. Consequently, listening and learning became inseparable companions on my path. By remaining receptive to infinite possibilities, I have been able to encounter the presence of God in various ways, which aligns with the foundation of the God is Kind campaign. Although life may present us with many hardships and challenges, it also offers moments of joy, triumph, love, and all things that embody the goodness and glory of God. My aspiration is for more people to learn how to process their emotions, feelings, and experiences in a healthy manner, enabling them to discover the sweet spot in life without fixating solely on what may be going wrong.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
I have a deep passion for collaborating with individuals, particularly women and women of color, who are eager to embark on a journey of profound personal growth, healing, and transformation. My expertise lies in cognitive, emotional, and spiritual processing, making it particularly valuable for those who are receptive to the process and genuinely committed to putting in the necessary effort. We can become anything that we want to be but our faith also requires our action. Therefore, I find that clients who are prepared to take action align perfectly with my approach.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.courtneyarlesia.com
- Instagram: @Courtney.Arlesia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CourtneyArlesia
- Other: Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/courtneyarlesia Medium Articles: https://courtneyarlesia.medium.com/
Image Credits
Featured Photos by: Nicole J Photography; The Vivid Experience, Takes by Taj
