Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Lenora Johnson of Portland Metro

Lenora Johnson shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Lenora, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
I love this question, because the biggest misconception about mental health therapy is that all we do is “sit and talk.” If only it were that simple. Therapists undergo years of intense education, clinical training, and mandatory supervision to ensure that we’re not just supporting people, but we are actually helping them learn how to heal themselves.

To even call ourselves therapists, we must earn a master’s degree at a minimum. Many helping professions can begin with an associate or bachelor’s degree, but our field requires advanced graduate training, licensing exams, and thousands of supervised hours before we’re trusted to work independently.

And it doesn’t stop there. We are required to complete ongoing continuing education every single year to stay up to date on ethics, trauma research, cultural relevance, evidence-based practices, and new treatment options. Good therapy is both an art and a science deeply rooted in skill, structure, and intention.

So no, we don’t “just talk.”
We assess, intervene, educate, challenge, support, and help people rebuild their lives from the inside out. And we take that responsibility seriously.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Lenora Johnson, MSW, LCSW-S, CTMH, CCATP, the founder of L.C.N. Wellness and the SelfCareApist™, guiding people back to themselves through trauma-informed therapy, grief education, maternal mental health support, and holistic wellness. My work blends over 20 years of experience in health and human services with my signature I.D.E.A. Method, an approach rooted in Innovation, Diversity of thought, Engagement, and Accountability.

As the SelfCareApist™, my brand is built around making healing accessible, culturally responsive, and infused with community care. That’s why I created Pour With A Purpose™, a self-care retreat designed to help people step away from survival mode and reconnect with joy, rest, and intention. It’s not just a getaway; it’s a healing experience that aligns with my mission to make self-care more practical, soulful, and grounded in real-life tools that people can take home. One of my newest projects is the Pour With A Purpose™ Cruise, setting sail in October 2026. It’s a next-level self-care retreat at sea, blending workshops, healing practices, and curated experiences designed to restore your mind, body, and spirit.

I also lead Mood Swings & Milk Stains™, a perinatal and postpartum subscription program supporting individuals from fertility to parenting. With therapy-informed guidance, group support, and mind-body wellness tools, this program gives parents the space to breathe, heal, and feel seen during one of the most transformative seasons of their lives.

At L.C.N. Wellness, I’m dedicated to creating safe spaces for people to explore their emotions, rewrite their stories, and thrive with intention. Whether through therapy, coaching, retreats, or education, my goal is always the same: to help people find their way back to wholeness, one compassionate step at a time.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful came from two very unexpected places: a box of furniture parts and a blinking computer screen. I grew up with parents who supported every curiosity I had, and one of my biggest joys was figuring out how things worked. I was that kid who watched Bob Vila religiously and checked out every “how it works” book I could find, TVs, microwaves, anything with buttons or screws.

So when my parents bought new furniture, they didn’t bother hiring help. They handed me the box. Assembly required were my favorite words. The moment I watched my first microwave stand roll across the room, or stepped back to admire a dresser I put together piece by piece, I felt something spark: confidence, clarity, and a sense of, “Wow… I did that.”

That same energy carried into the digital world. Building my first successful line of code gave me the exact same rush: the feeling of creating something from nothing, and watching it work because of me.
Those early moments taught me the power of curiosity, creativity, and trusting myself to figure things out, skills I still use every day as a therapist, creator, and the SelfCareApist™ behind L.C.N. Wellness.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me something success never had the capacity to teach: how to believe in myself even when the world was falling apart. My hardest seasons showed me that I could survive, grow, and eventually thrive not because life was easy, but because I refused to let pain keep me stuck.

One of the lessons that shaped me came from a Buddhist text where the Buddha said, “Pain is universal, but suffering is optional.” That line changed everything for me. It helped me understand that pain is a part of being human, but suffering is the story we choose to carry. I learned that I can honor the painful reality without letting it take up permanent residence in my life.
Those experiences are exactly how I developed my New Kids On The Block ideology, the understanding that trauma, grief, anxiety, and depression always show up together like a four-member group. You can’t treat one without acknowledging the others, because healing requires a full-picture, whole-person approach.

Suffering taught me how to find joy on purpose. It taught me resilience, self-trust, and the kind of optimism that’s earned, not inherited. Success feels good, but it never taught me how to rise after I fell, or how to be graceful with myself when things got messy.

Suffering did that.
And honestly? I’m better for it.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Is the public version of me the real me? Oh, absolutely. I don’t have the energy to be out here running two or three personalities like I’m auditioning for a daytime soap. What you see is exactly what you get. I cuss (strategically), I laugh loud, I build things, I create things, and I talk to my clients the same way I talk to my cousins, direct, loving, and with a sprinkle of “don’t play with me.”

I love good vibes and a good spirit… and yes, that includes wine. My first Pour With A Purpose™ retreat was literally a bourbon-inspired self-care trip to Louisville. Because why teach self-care if I’m not actually living it? I model the life I want folks to give themselves permission to have joyful, grounded, and just a little bit bougie when needed.

So yes, the public me is the real me. No masks. No watered-down version. Just Detroit honesty, therapist heart, and a whole lot of self-care magic.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
That no matter how hard you try, you can’t outsmart life. I don’t care how many vision boards you make or how many planners you buy, being blindsided is part of the human package. Trust me, if there were a cure for getting caught off guard, I’d have bottled it and sold it in the L.C.N. Wellness store already.

You can’t outrun the worst parts of yourself, and you can’t cling to the best parts either. Life keeps shifting. People change. We change. Seasons change. As much as we try to freeze the good moments or sprint past the hard ones, everything still evolves.

So here’s what I know: if you want any kind of consistency, you must embrace the reliability of change. That’s the one thing you can count on to show up every single day. And once you stop fighting it, life gets a whole lot more manageable… even when it’s messy.

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