Meet Sabrina Jean Baptiste | Licensed mental health counselor and entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sabrina Jean Baptiste and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sabrina, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted to create the opportunity of creating a brand that relates to mental wellness and self care. With the chaos that was happening around the world in 2020, I felt the need to create a path in helping people navigate thru the chaos. As a therapist, I preach self care and positive coping skills to my clients on a weekly basis. One of the most common and effective coping mechanisms that I work on with my clients is journaling. I love to create art work as my own personal coping skills and thru some brainstorming and motivation from my family, friends and my own therapist I decided to create personalized journals.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a mental health counselor. I have been practicing therapy for about 6 years. I became an entrepreneur in 2020 like most small business startups. It has been a roller-coaster experience for me on my journey to becoming a therapist. I actually wanted to be a scientist at one point but soon realized me and science has a love and hate relationship. But, my goals never changed. I still wanted to make an impact on helping the world and help people improve their lives. That’s when I discovered mental health counseling and that was one of the best career decisions I have made. I have never thought about becoming an entrepreneur to be honest but I love engaging with people and learning about their stories and teaching them how they can grow and develop. It is definitely not an easy journey especially when you are a small business. You are the creator, marketing agent, mail man/mail woman etc. What I learn is the importance of making time and maintaining consistency. There will be times that you may experience some discouragement but also you have to remind yourself the purpose that you are completing this challenge. This is not easy work! But it is worth it at the end of the day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
You can’t go wrong with hanging out in Downtown Brooklyn. There is a place where you can chill and have some brunch. My favorite spots are 333 lounge and Spice. Another hidden gem in Brooklyn is called Czen. If anyone knows me I love soca music. So this is the spot to have some great Asian fusion food and some chill vibes music. Czen is located on ave H. As for their drinks, I highly recommend taking an Uber. I also love Brooklyn winghouse. They make the best rasta pasta with salmon. I love a good salmon.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My therapist really encouraged me to create an idea with my art work. I honestly only created art as a hobby but she helped me see a whole new way of how I can continue to make a positive impact on the lives of others. My sister Jess has been my number one supporter from day one. The days where I felt discouraged, she really gave me a pep in my step to never lose the fight and to keep going no matter what. I definitely cannot forget my mentor Vanessa! She really did her thing and provided me the tools and foundation to help my business thrive. She was the map I needed to follow to help me and my brand to grow. And of course all of my friends are such great supporters of my vision. They really helped me recognize my talent and understand my mission.

Website: www.blackandexxtraordinarydesigns.com

Instagram: @blackandexxtraordinary

Facebook: @blackandexxtraordinarydesigns

Youtube: Let’s Talk Mental Health with Sabrina

Other: TikTok @blackandexxtraordinary

Image Credits
Credit to Kym Fajardo for images taken at prospect park