Community Highlights: Meet Gricelda Ramsey of Life Changing Therapeutic Services

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gricelda Ramsey.  

Hi Gricelda, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I have always been drawn to helping people, and people have always been drawn to me for advice and insight. As a child, my elders always said that I had an “old soul.” I did not understand that so much as a child, but as I got older, I realized that God had gifted me with a special insight to situations, and that insight blossomed into wisdom. At an early age, I wanted to be in the profession of helping people, so when I was around 8 years old or in the third grade, I originally wanted to become a doctor. I wanted to be an OB-GYN. After starting college and having more experience, I changed my major to social work. 

I always knew I would attend college. However, my journey to accomplishing my bachelor’s degree was no easy feat. After high school, I attended Michigan State University in the fall of 1989, and while I was excited and enthusiastic about this experience, it proved to be a bit overwhelming for me. I was subsequently placed on academic probation and moved back to my hometown to attend community college. I initially felt like a failure, but my mindset was like I am only a failure if I quit, and everyone’s journey is not the same. When I returned home, I was able to regroup and put a plan in place to finish what I started. I enrolled in community college and continued forward to my Bachelor of Social Work degree, and then I earned my Master of Social Work degree. 

I earned my Master of Social Worker degree and a graduate certification in SW Practice with Couples and Families in 2003 from Wayne State University. I later returned to school and earned a Master of Arts in Education- Adult Education and Training in 2012 from the University of Phoenix. 

As a woman of God, I believe that nothing is generally happenstance. I believe everything we go through, even the things that we invite into our lives through our own decisions, happen for a reason. I believe my journey while I may not have fully understood it at the time was ordained by God, and the series of events in my life has shaped me into the woman I am today and still becoming. 

As a social worker, I have had an opportunity to work in many capacities with a diverse group of people, from survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, child welfare, juvenile delinquency, school social work, residential treatment, family therapy, and individual and marriage therapy. My lifelong dream was to become an entrepreneur doing what I loved to do. I remember hearing Judge Greg Mathis say years ago on his court show “find your passion and allow it to make you money”. When you are doing something, you are truly passionate about, it does not seem or feel like a regular job. Through my journey of employment, I have learned a lot. I had been working contractually as a therapist while working full-time for years. It has always been a dream to start my own practice. I had been procrastinating and operating in fear for years regarding this dream. But then this happened… 

In the midst of this uncertain and at times frightening pandemic, I was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. The blessing of teletherapy. So many people were struggling with anxiety, depression, and grief during the pandemic and were seeking help, but the country was on shutdown. I literally said to myself, either you start the practice now or stop talking about it. In June 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, I went into private practice full-time. I continued to work full-time also, as I grew my practice and put a plan in place to become fully self-employed. One year later, in June of 2021, I tendered my resignation from my job. This was an extremely happy day for me. I was stepping out on faith, and God has truly blessed me on this journey. 

I have been blessed to share my journey with my husband, who is my best friend for almost 17 years. My husband is also my pastor, and we serve faithfully in ministry together at the Church of the Living God CWFF Temple 279 in Detroit, MI. I am also blessed to be the mother of two wonderful adult children and one pretty awesome granddaughter. I have also fulfilled a life dream became a published co-author of my first book. I am super excited and grateful for the many opportunities that have come to me…and my journey continues because I have so many doors to still walk through. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been some challenges and struggles along the way. I believe that anytime you’re on a journey of self-discovery or trying to reach success there will be obstacles or barriers, and roadblocks that come along with that journey. I recently read a quote that said, “a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor”. This spoke to me because it is in the rough times when you really discover what you are made of. You understand the fight within you to persevere. And I have encountered and dealt with a few challenges from divorce to being a single parent for six and half years while trying to finish my degree before remarrying the love of my life, to financial devastation, and dealing with a bout of severe anxiety after experiencing a medical trauma after surgery. 

Through all of that, I would say my biggest obstacle, my biggest challenge has been my own fear and self-doubt. As a young woman and even as a child, I’ve always had dreams of doing great things in my life. In fact, I recall in my early twenties having a vision from God of being on a platform where I would empower and encourage women. My fear and my self-doubt weren’t wrapped up in me not having the potential or the education or the intelligence or the ability to do what I was felt I was called to do; it was simply fear of the responsibility, fear of the success, fear of judgment, fear of rejection. But one Sunday morning, I was getting dressed for church, and I was watching an inspirational talk show, and I heard the actor say that “the enemy is the inner me”. This hit me like a ton of bricks, and it was in that moment that I realized that I am the problem. And although it was a process and a journey to get here, I began to do some work on me to understand my self-sabotaging behavior. Eventually, doors started opening for me; and as that saying goes…”be careful what you ask for because you just might get it”. So, I constantly have to have self-check-ins to deal with my fear and tendency to allow that self-sabotaging to creep in to steal my opportunities. One of the things that I have reassured myself is that whenever I feel fearful or doubtful, I say to myself if God brings me to it, then he has equipped me to do it. And this helps me to keep moving forward. I most definitely believe I am an overcomer. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My practice “Life Changing Therapeutic Services, LLC.” is a counseling, coaching, and consulting company. I have over 20 years of experience in the field. The vision of the practice is to assist clients in understanding that change is in in the power of their hands. How do I help in this process? I pray to God daily for revelation, insight, inspiration, understanding, and wisdom to apply the skills that I have learned during my college training and work-life experiences to help my clients achieve their desired goals. And God has blessed me in a way that allows me to help my clients by breaking down behavior and thought processes that are at the core and connecting dots from past and present, using these life experiences, spiritual observations including biblical principles when appropriate to help my clients understand why they engage and behave and relate to others or interact with others in a specific way. I have been blessed with a unique skill of getting to the core of things in a way that my clients have not connected to or identified in the past, and once you understand the core you can begin the process of unlearning bad habits or unhealthy behavior and finding appropriate solutions to make better choices. I believe in reality therapy. If you cannot or will not face it and put it on a table, you most certainly will not be able to fix it, and therefore, there is no healing, or healing is stagnated. I seek to find “real solutions to real problems.” 

Our goal in the practice is to promote whole person healing…the mind, body, and spirit through healthy lifestyle and behavior practices. It is also my mission and passion in helping the faith community to understand mental health and its impact in our places of worship and community, and removing the stigma of seeking therapy, dispelling the myth, and educating people to understand that you can honor your faith and still engage healing through professional counseling. My other passions in therapy are working with couples and families rebuild trust and positive, healthy interaction and communication through identifying unhealthy patterns learned in early childhood and beyond. For years, I have counseled women helping them to heal from traumatic experiences and brokenness, and understanding how our issues with attachment and need for unhealthy validations may cause us to make poor choices in relationships and friendships; so, they can ultimately walk in their authentic purpose. I have gained a new passion and niche in working with men in therapy to identify emotional barriers established by environmental and societal expectations and create a healing paths and healthy relationship within family and community. More importantly, helping men to understand that asking and seeking help is not a form of weakness, but an act of strength and courage. 

In coaching, I help clients identify specific goals whether spiritual, life, career, or relationship with directed tasks to help clients understand their specific purpose encouraging them by helping them to tap into the power within to walk into their life journey…and Get “N” Touch with their purpose; Keep “N” Touch with the process” and Stay “N” Touch with their destiny. We are also offer bookings for speaking engagements and hosting/facilitating workshops. 

What I am most proud of in my practice is that in under 3 years, we have been able to service and support almost 400 clients. Our referrals come about 70% through word of mouth from client referrals. Additionally, I am proud that I am able to work with and mentor my daughter who earned her Master of Social Work degree in 2020. I am also very proud and honored that I get to marry two of my passions in helping others…my passion for ministry and my passion for being a therapist/partnering with clients in their healing journey. 

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Somethings people may be surprised to know about me is that I have a comedic side to me. I love to laugh and make others laugh. I can be very witty. I am also very passionate about certain things, and I get emotional easily. Additionally, there was a time when I owned a home-based travel agency. I also love to take pictures (non-professional) of beautiful building architecture and animals doing their natural thing (i.e., deer sleeping in my backyard, a baby frog hopping through my grass, a butterfly on a flower, or a colorful bird in the trees). 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lifechangingtherapeutic.gr
• Facebook: facebook.com/solutionstherapst20
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gricelda-ramsey-a6302b31
• Twitter: @gigistyle40
• Youtube: @griceldaramseylmswthesolut9434