Bertha Freeman-Barrett is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida.  Bertha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Masters of Arts Degree in Clinical Mental Health.  She is also a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional who is passionate about helping individuals from all walks of life cope and heal from their traumatic experience. She is the former Counseling Coordinator of Webster University where she assisted students seeking a degree in Mental Health.  She is an advocate for Mental Health and a firm advocate against Domestic Violence.  She is also the founder and host of a mental health talk show on YouTube titled Intake Talk Show.  The Talk Show  helps bring awareness to mental health  issues, and addresses societal and cultural norms and stigmas that affect the human psyche.

Bertha has years of experience as a therapist starting with working as a residential counselor then as an outpatient therapist for a community service organization (Youth Crisis Center) in Jacksonville, Florida where she provided individual, family, and couples counseling. She has provided therapeutic care to adolescence and adults to promote optimum mental and emotional wellness.  Because of her passion as a therapist and her desire to make therapy affordable, she has partnered with Open Path, a non-profit organization assisting individuals who under normal circumstances would not be able to afford therapy but desires to receive help with their emotional and mental wellness.  In addition, she occasionally  assist individuals seeking therapy through BetterHelp as just another way of helping those who need assistance but are not often able to afford it or find it difficult to find a therapist in their area. She has experience in the following areas: 

• Family conflict 
• Parenting 
• Trauma and abuse (childhood, religious, domestic violence, etc.)
• Communication 
• Suicidal and homicidal ideations 
• Anger and stress management 
• Self-image and self-esteem issues 
• Spiritual conflict 
• Anxiety and depression 
• Transgender
• Improving sleep hygiene 
• Passiveness
• Grieving
• Difficulties sleeping
• Difficulties expressing emotions
• Relationship issues
• Coping with life changes
• Time management
• ADHD
• Improving self-care

To ensure she is able to provide her clients with adequate therapeutic care online, Bertha took an additional step by training and gaining certification in TeleMental Heath. Her therapeutic orientation is eclectic because she believes no one clinical modality suites all.  As a trauma professional, Bertha assist survivors and victims with recent, current, or past trauma. She believes it is not important for clients to discuss details about their traumatic event to heal. However, it is more important to assist clients with identifying triggers and adapting coping skills so they can live in the now and decrease the somatic and sensory effects trauma has on the mind and body.  

She is passionate about assisting individuals with their mental and emotional wellness using evidence-based treatment to heal traumatic stress.  Bertha believes every client is different, and to best meet their individual needs it is important to understand various therapeutic theories and philosophies. Bertha strive to create an open, nonjudgmental, and supportive environment for her clients so they can feel comfortable growing, exploring, and making change.  She seeks to utilize her training to provide clients with practical tools to cope and heal.  As a COVID survivor, she understands all the life-changing situations associated with post-COVID.  After experiencing the virus, she empathizes with current and post COVID patients and strive to assist in helping individuals manage and cope with any associated emotional, mental, and physical effects.

As an advocate of mental health, she understands the importance of caring for one's mental and emotional wellness, and how various factor including society, religion, family dynamics, and culture can affect the well-being of one's cognitive state. As an African-American woman, mother, wife, therapist, and one with many titles that come with being connected to family and other relationships; she understands the stress of trying to balance life, living up to cultural standards, overcoming the societal stigmas associated with her identity, and yet maintaining autonomy and self-harmony.  Her years of working in cooperate America also helps her understand the stressors that many face in the workplace and trying to balance work and life. 

As a speaker, she is passionate about educating, empowering, and assisting individuals to live mentally whole lives by taking responsibility for their mental and emotional wellness.  In every arena, she hopes to help individuals see how important mental wellness is to every aspect of their lives. In addition, she strives to help individuals understand that ignoring one's mental health, significantly impacts one's physical health and vice versa.  She firmly believes that one's life and reality are created in the mind, and when mental wellness is not a priority there is a higher probability of experiencing cognitive distortions that impacts every part of your life.