Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawnnell Batiste.
Hi Shawnnell, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Choosing Empowerment was born out of both lived experience and professional calling. I did not wake up one day and decide to start a mental health practice. Choosing Empowerment emerged through surviving, healing, and then my realization that too many people like me were being underserved, misunderstood, or completely left out of the mental health conversation.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, but before any credentials, I am a cyclebreaker. I know what it feels like to live in survival mode. To keep showing up while quietly falling apart. To be strong because you had no other option. I also know what it feels like to finally slow down, tell the truth, and realize that strength without healing will still cost you.
My own healing journey showed me something real quick. A lot of mental health spaces were not built with people like us in mind. Too clinical. Too detached. Too focused on what is “wrong” instead of what happened, what makes sense, and what needs to change. I saw people being diagnosed without being understood and taught to cope without ever being empowered.
So I built what I could not find.
Choosing Empowerment was created to be honest, culturally grounded, and practical. A space where we can name trauma without being reduced to it. Where accountability and compassion exist at the same time. Where healing is not pretty, performative, or passive. We tell the truth here, even when it is uncomfortable.
I started one client at a time, working with people dealing with anxiety, trauma, grief, identity struggles, and the weight of systemic stress. Over time, the work grew because the need was loud. What began as therapy expanded into coaching, groups, advocacy, community education, and media through platforms like the Phuck That Bull Shit Podcast. Different lanes, same mission.
Today, Choosing Empowerment serves BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, system impacted, and marginalized folks who are ready to do the work, not just talk about it. We focus on mental wealth, not just mental health. That means helping people understand themselves, break cycles, make empowered choices, and build lives that actually fit who they are.
This journey has not been easy or linear. But it has been honest. And everything we do is rooted in one belief. Healing is not about fixing you. It is about remembering your power and learning how to use it on purpose.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No. It has not been a smooth road at all, and I am very honest about that.
Building Choosing Empowerment has meant navigating systems that were never designed for me or the people I serve. Access, funding, insurance, visibility, and credibility all come with extra hoops when you are a Black woman doing this work differently and refusing to water it down to make others comfortable. I have had to learn how to operate within a system while also challenging it. That balance is not always welcomed. Being honest has cost me opportunities, partnerships, and rooms I could have sat in, but I chose alignment over approval every time.
Burnout has been real. Holding space for other people’s trauma while managing your own life will test you. There were seasons where I was surviving the very things I was helping clients work through. I had to learn boundaries, pacing, and how to stop operating from constant urgency. I also had to get real about money. Building a mission driven practice while prioritizing accessibility is hard. I have had to be creative, strategic, and very clear that not all money is good money.
One of the biggest growing pains came when I decided to take on interns. That choice was values based, not convenient. I believe in developing clinicians, not using interns as free labor. But stepping into training meant realizing very quickly that school was not preparing them for the realities of this work. They knew theory and diagnoses, but many did not know how to sit with pain, work across culture, hold boundaries, or care for themselves in the process.
Finding the right places to connect with interns was a challenge. Then once they came in, I had to build what did not exist. New training structures. New ways of teaching. Real conversations that do not fit neatly into textbooks. I had to learn how to teach across different learning styles, nervous systems, and confidence levels. That meant slowing down, modeling the work, repeating myself, and adjusting my expectations.
There was also discernment. Everyone who wants to be a therapist is not meant to be one, and everyone who wants to intern with Choosing Empowerment is not a good fit for this space. Learning when to pour in, when to redirect, and when to say this is not the place for you was uncomfortable but necessary. Protecting clients, the integrity of the work, and my own energy had to come first.
The road has been rough, but it has also been refining. Every challenge forced me to clarify my values, strengthen my voice, and build something that is honest, intentional, and rooted. Choosing Empowerment exists the way it does because I refused to take the easy route. I chose the right one.
We’ve been impressed with Choosing Empowerment, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Choosing Empowerment is a mental wealth practice, not just a therapy office.
Yes, we provide therapy, coaching, and clinical services, but what we really specialize in is helping people understand themselves, break cycles, and make empowered choices in real life. We serve BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, system impacted, and marginalized individuals who are tired of surface level healing and ready to do honest, grounded work.
We are known for being direct, culturally grounded, and real. We do not pathologize people for reacting normally to abnormal circumstances. We talk about trauma, anxiety, grief, identity, relationships, and systemic stress without stripping people of their humanity or power. Accountability matters here, and so does compassion. We hold both.
What truly sets Choosing Empowerment apart is that we do not believe healing happens in isolation. We are about the whole person and the world they are navigating. Mental wealth is impacted by systems, access, culture, finances, transportation, stigma, safety, and support. Ignoring those realities is irresponsible. So we do not.
We build community through groups, workshops, events, and safe spaces where people can be seen, heard, and challenged without being shamed. We actively work to break barriers that keep people from engaging in services by addressing things like cost, accessibility, stigma, and logistical obstacles. If there is an unmet need, we do not wait for permission. We create a way to meet it.
Choosing Empowerment also integrates advocacy and education into everything we do. We educate clients and communities about how external systems, institutions, and power structures impact mental health and emotional wellbeing. We promote critical thinking, self awareness, and discernment so people are not just healing, but understanding what they are healing from and why.
Another area that sets us apart is how we develop future clinicians. We are intentional about training interns and clinicians to be not only clinically competent, but culturally responsive, emotionally grounded, and ethically solid. We teach what school often leaves out. How to sit with pain. How to listen deeply. How to hold boundaries. How to take care of yourself while doing this work.
What I am most proud of brand wise is that Choosing Empowerment has stayed honest. We have not softened our voice to be more palatable. We have not chased money at the expense of our values. We have built trust by telling the truth and showing up consistently for our community.
What I want readers to know is this. Choosing Empowerment is not about fixing people. It is about empowering them to see themselves clearly, understand the systems they are navigating, and move through life with intention. If you are looking for healing that is real, community rooted, and committed to breaking barriers, this is the space we built on purpose.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned is that alignment matters more than approval.
Early on, it was tempting to shrink, soften, or explain myself in ways that would make the work more palatable to systems, funders, or audiences that were not built with us in mind. Every time I tried to do that, it cost me clarity, energy, and peace. When I stayed aligned with my values, even when it meant moving slower or losing opportunities, the work stayed honest and sustainable.
I also learned that you cannot pour from an empty cup and call it service. Burnout is not a badge of honor. Urgency is not commitment. Learning how to rest, set boundaries, and say no was just as important as learning how to serve. If I did not model that, I was reinforcing the same harmful patterns I was trying to help others break.
Another hard but necessary lesson was that everybody cannot go where you are going. Not every client, intern, collaborator, or opportunity is meant to come with you. Discernment is a form of care. Letting go does not mean failure, it means integrity.
Above all, I learned that healing work has to be rooted in truth. Not comfort. Not performance. Not optics. Truth builds trust. Truth builds community. Truth builds something that lasts. And when you lead from truth, the right people find you.
Pricing:
- Individual Therapy $107-$152
- Mental Wealth Coaching starting @$88
- Equitable Access Options starting @ $62
- Support Groups $26-$53
- Psychoeducational Workshops & Community Experiences ($ varies by offering)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.choosingempowerment.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choosingempowerment
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/choosingempowerment
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnnell-batiste-lpc/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@choosingempowerment_NoBS
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@choosingempowerment29
