Meet Paula-Kaye Taylor | Mental Health Advocate and Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paula-Kaye Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paula-Kaye, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised primarily in Manchester, Jamaica. My family is working class with my mom, for much of my life, being the primary breadwinner. My family was big on education and so my brother and I did our best to excel in school and to achieve academic success as much as possible despite many challenges we faced financially and otherwise. I think my upbringing – focus on education, working to achieve certain checkmarks, being raised as a Christian – had a very interesting impact on me. While I saw the benefits of being educated and achieving certain things, I also saw that these things were not the be all and end all of life and there is, in fact, more to life – something I’ve explored over the last five years of my life.
I do, however, believe that my upbringing fueled my interest in certain subjects and learning – if even not in a formal setting.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m so happy to be sharing this on a platform outside of my country. I am a mental health advocate and coach. I’ve been in the mental health space for over five years, starting out with blogs and doing media interviews and presentations on mental health. I’ve spent a lot of my time sharing mental health information, speaking on taboo topics like suicide and sharing tips that can be helpful for persons seeking to maintain good mental health. I embarked on the journey of being a mental health coach back in 2019 and it has been a slow and steady climb. I’m still learning obviously and fine tuning my offer all while sharing my knowledge and experience with others. It has not been an easy feat I will say. In fact, there have been a few moments where I’d wonder if this is the right thing to do or if I should just drop it and move on. But there’s just something about helping others feel seen and heard and pointing them in the right direction for help or helping them myself that makes me feel so fulfilled and purposed – I can’t let it go. Not yet anyway.
Lessons I’ve learnt so far building this service and brand would include: do NOT go this journey alone. There are people out there who are qualified and have the know-how to help me build a sustainable brand and business, not just have a passion project that pays me sometimes. I’ve also learnt to give myself grace in the process. I will make mistakes and I will fumble around until I get my footing and that’s fine. Just keep showing up. And finally, I’d say I’m also learning to build tenacity and be disciplined. If I want this to last and I want this to be meaningful I need to keep going.

What I’d love the world to know about my brand and my story is the mission I am on to contribute to positively changing how we view mental health and helping as many people see how it is an important part of us. Its not something to cast aside or only pay attention to when things are bad. My own battle with my mental health as a child into my teenage years and early 20’s have taught me the importance of paying attention and getting help early. Mental health issues are nothing to stigmatize – we all have to deal with our mental wellbeing.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to some women who really carried me, imparted wisdom and helped me believe that I can go after and achieve incredible things. My mother, Paulette Walters-Murphy, firstly because even when we don’t see eye-to-eye I know she’s still there for me. And then there are a group of three women I like to call my ‘older friends’ who are at different stages of life and have shared so much wisdom, opened up to me and helped me grow; Mrs. Flora Garth, Mrs. Corent McDonald and Mrs. Dionne Sicard.
Grateful for all of them and their individual contributions to who I am.

Instagram: @tss_coaching or @tss_books

Linkedin: Paula-Kaye Taylor

Youtube: The Stilled Soul

Other: TikTok: @thestilledsoul

Image Credits
First three images: CJam Photos