Meet Dr. B. Nilaja Green

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. B. Nilaja Green and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. B. Nilaja, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My undergraduate education at Georgetown University taught me to be intellectually curious, socially oriented and expansive in my thinking. So, as an English and Psychology double major, I learned to think differently about mental health and recovery from psychological distress. I knew that while evidence based therapeutic approaches help many, often talking isn’t enough. We need to move beyond changing our relationship to our thoughts and emotions, to changing our relationships with our bodies. Everything is connected and when we leave the body out of mental wellness, we are missing an important piece of the health puzzle. Psychological challenges can disrupt our relationships to our bodies, especially when trauma is in the picture.

We are in a mental health crisis in this country and we have been for some time. And those of us with multiple identities are the most vulnerable, but these communities also have a history of resilience and strength, when we have the tools to thrive.

Addressing the impacts of trauma in communities of color requires specialized knowledge and experience, which is why our team at Standpoint Wellness is dedicated to serving clients from diverse backgrounds. We understand the unique challenges faced by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals and strive to offer therapy that meets their specific needs, which includes moving beyond traditional talk therapy. We focus on an integrative approach to mental well being, Integrative or preventive wellness is a proactive approach to health that focuses on combining holistic practices and preventive measures to optimize physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It emphasizes lifestyle factors like nutrition, exercise, stress management, and emotional balance to prevent illness and promote overall vitality. This approach empowers individuals in taking control of their health and fostering long-term wellness. At Standpoint Wellness, we utilize this approach because we believe that it is time to do mental health care differently. We also have created products, such as affirmation cards for trauma survivors and a Client Therapy notebook to help clients take the therapy work with them out of the therapy room and into their daily lives.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When I think about what sets us apart, I consider how our practice stands at the intersection of mental health care as usual, and mental healthcare at another level. Standpoint Wellness is a boutique, integrative mental health practice where we center inclusive, trauma informed mental health care and supplement it with integrative practices. We work with everyone and specialize in working with BIPOC individuals, LGBTQ+ persons, professionals, business owners and veterans. Although I would say that the field of mental health has been making a slow creep towards a more comprehensive approach to treating mental disorder, most of us are still trained in a way that continues to separate the mind from the body. We then go onto careers that expect us to continue the same treatment approaches. Even those of us who realize that we need to approach these problems differently, are often stuck having to figure it out on our own because so few models exist that are sustainable.

Although at times daunting, I am really excited about the challenge of this work because I have no doubt that bringing the body and mind together in treatment is not only the path of the future of healthcare, but is also the most appropriate approach to the problems of today.

As a trauma psychologist, I appreciate that trauma awareness seems to have grown exponentially in the past 5 years or so in the popular culture. I am also cautiously optimistic about the explosion of support for mental health treatments. However, I have also noticed a tendency towards over-pathologizing normal experiences of human distress and discomfort. I believe this can be dangerous and unhelpful. As healthy human beings, we need to be equipped to manage life’s inevitable difficulties without diagnosing difficulties as disorders. At the same time, sometimes, professional help is needed and it is up to us as professionals to have the training and expertise to do good work. This training extends beyond graduate school and the CEUs we have to take to maintain licensure. This training also extends to serious and continuous self inquiry so that we do not get in the way of the healing work of our clients.

So, in addition to my integrative work with clients, I also work with therapists to train them on how to apply a Radical Introspective (RI) framework to their self development. When clients are treated by RI therapists, they are sitting with a professional who has committed themselves to doing their own work, which is one of the most important commitments that a therapist can make. I have created guided journals and materials to aid this work.

At our practice, we have created a welcoming environment, of trauma informed, specialized professionals, who hold themselves to a higher standard so we can show up well for our clients. We work within the therapy room but also extend our work to community based educational events, and organizations. We strive to honor our mission to meet clients where they are, and sometimes, where they are is at work or in the community center on a Friday night.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am a New Yorker at heart, a Brooklynite specifically but Atlanta has truly become a second home. There is just no place like this city. So often, I am struck by the diversity, the vibrancy, the entrepreneurial spirit, the talent and also of course, the Black excellence that lives here and has a legacy here. So, if I were creating an itinerary for someone who was visiting for a week, I would have a hard time, but I guess I would tell them they have to have brunch at South City Kitchen for something fancy, Homegrown, for something classic and smothered and Folk Art for those sweet potato beignets. They’d have to make their way to Decatur for a day trip, with a detour to Charis books, one of the oldest feminist bookstores in the country and of course they would have to go to Revolution donuts, but get there before 3 because they close early. I would recommend after spending time in Decatur square and checking out the boutiques, that they have dinner at Wahoo and check out their fabulous wine selection. Of course, they would have to visit the Auburn Ave historic district, Centennial Park, the Civil and Human Rights museum and hang out on the Beltline and grab some looseleaf tea from my favorite tea spot Just Add Honey. They can’t miss Ponce City Market but should also make their way to Chattahoochee Food Hall for Axe throwing and the best empanadas in the city. They should probably check out the historic West End and its classic homes. They can continue south to Hapeville and just south of that before heading to the airport, they have to check out amazing local music at St. James Live. And then they have to come back for the rest!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I know that my professional community, my personal support systems, my ancestors on whose shoulders I stand and all of the giants in the field of mental health that I admire, inspire, encourage and motivate me to meet my clients where they are, to continue to develop my expertise, to commit to self awareness and personal development and to remaining flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the field.

Website: www.standpointwellness.com; www.introspectivejournal.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/drbnilaja 

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Stephanie Jones (photographer)