We had the good fortune of connecting with Marilyn Marie Dabney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marilyn Marie, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
When I decided to put my faith and trust in God. We have to understand that when we are bold enough to take risks and walk by faith, God is willing to take you the rest of the way. I do not think I would be successful without the directive and favor from God.

What should our readers know about your business?
Courageous SELFcare Specialists, LLC provides Christian based counseling for youth and adults. We offer Individual, Couples (premarital/marital), and Family sessions. We also provide Life Coaching and Business Start-up Consulting. We pride ourselves in providing professional, practical tools uniquely designed to fit the needs of each of our clients. Our Biblical approach allows us to bring encouragement, enlightenment, and spiritual awakening in our sessions. I am most proud to say that God has and will continue to allow me to counsel and uplift many people around the World. I find excitement in reading testimonials about how I have helped someone release childhood trauma or unforgiveness. I love hearing how my tools and methods help reconcile broken marriages. I love seeing people succeed in entrepreneurship and overall self-care. I was able to get where I am today by allowing God to lead me and taking a leap of faith because we never really know if this idea will be the right one that leads to success. It was definitely not as easy as it looks. I’ve been in business for 2 years, so there was a lot of trial and error. However, I learned that if you have an idea that you believe in, you should just pray, trust God, and go for it. You will never know everything you need before you get started, many successful business owners did not have it altogether at first either, you learn as you go. You have to start somewhere; the key is to actually start!

I used to deal with depression, toxic relationships, and grief. It was not until I sought counseling that I begin to discover my true identity and life’s purpose. I believe everyone should seek counseling/ therapy at some point of their lives because we live in a sinful World, and everyone have been exposed to some form of grief, trauma, or dysfunction. Contrary to beliefs, Counseling does work, it’s not for “crazy” people, and you cannot “fix it” on your own, otherwise you would have done so a long time ago. Trust the nonbiased trained professionals such as myself, to help you on your journey to healing and wholeness.
I have built my personal growth and healing based off of what I like to call “the 5 Key Components to Overall Self-care” which are: Mental Health, Physical Health, Emotional Health, Financial Health, and Spiritual Health. I use this approach as one of my main methods in my counseling sessions to help my clients to achieve overall self-care for themselves.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I do not get out much. Which should not be surprising because we are in a global pandemic. However, there are a few places I enjoy when I do manage to get out. My favorite food places are Slutty Vegan, This is It! BBQ and Seafood, Juicy Crab, and what I newly discovered, Planet Bombay Indian Cuisine, they have some delicious Naan bread. Exciting places to check out would be the Martin Luther King Historic District (tour of MLK childhood home), Fun Spot America is great for children and adults (I love their mini golf course), check out one of the outlet malls, my favorite spa is Jeju (their massages and saunas are serene), the Georgia Aquarium have been a fan favorite, but I haven’t been yet, and they also have a new Black Wall Street Market that I’ve been meaning to check out soon.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a shout out to Dr. Shameka Pointer, Founder of Open Heart Christian Ministries International. Dr Shameka was very encouraging and introduced me to Dr. Uyi and Faith Abraham, in which through Higher Place Christian University, I was able to further my education and certifications. Dr Faith Has been a great mentor through her Life Mastery Academy, which provides certification training and one-on-one mentorship for neophyte coaches and counselors.

Website: www.courageousSELFcarespecialists.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courageous_selfcarespecialists/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourageousSELFcareSpecialistsLLC/

Other: https://www.thumbtack.com/profile/services/409679039069437954/ https://www.therapytribe.com/listing/courageous-selfcare-specialists-llc-counselor-therapist-jonesboro-georgia-united-states-30236/

Image Credits
SlingshotATL, Daveiga Designs, LLC

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