Today we’d like to introduce you to Artésia Price.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
“People do better when they can.” This has been my life’s motto for as long as I can remember. I was born Artésia Renee Hart, to Tarvis Williams and Alvin Hart, on Saturday, August 17, 1991, in Memphis, TN. At the tender age of 15, my mom was forced into adulthood and parenthood, simultaneously. By the time I was 5 years old, my mom was a mother of 3 and I was a big sister to Reginald and Re’Khel. Even at that young age, I learned that my siblings were just as must my responsibility as they were my mother’s.
I immediately took pride in being the best role model, for them, that I could be. Leadership came naturally to me in all aspects of life. I always strived to be the best version of myself, even through adversity. My confidence and academic success carried me through elementary and middle school until 8th grade when I began to feel everything but confident. Working full-time, attending school, and balancing single parenthood, my mother couldn’t put her finger on what had caused this shift.
After attending 3 middle schools, during my 8th grade school year, her smart, confident, outspoken, leader had started to follow unpleasant crowds and trouble ensued soon after. This worrisome behavior continued through 10th grade when I lost count of how many school suspensions I had received. I was so angry inside and at the time, I had no clue why. It wasn’t until 11th grade, when I had a conversation with my grandfather, that I realized how much of a burden it had been to carry the weight of responsibility and perfection, for such a long time.
For years, I had been rebelling in my own way. Anticipating the arrival of my new baby sister, Harmony, I knew that the only way out was through so I got my act together. I enrolled in college courses while attending Middle College High School and began to put my focus on furthering my education. It was my dream to be to youth exactly what I needed at their age – a listener, an encourager, an advocate, and someone who truly believes that they can do better with the appropriate tools.
Since graduating from college (Middle Tennessee State University – 2012, Tennessee State University – 2014), I’ve dedicated my life to doing just that. Since 2012, I’ve serviced youth and families in the areas of public education, community mental health & outreach, residential treatment, and private practice. In 2021, I founded Therapy From The Hart, a virtual mental health therapy service supporting clients ages 16-35, experiencing life transitions, who reside in Tennessee and Texas.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We all experience adversity in some form and my story is no different. Honestly, my life started with adversity: I was born to a teenage mother. I was raised in a single-parent household. It was a challenge to embrace my uniqueness in adolescence. I lacked the courage to love myself as a teen.
Honestly, every day is an intentional decision to press on. Even outside of these obstacles, I’ve lost people who played significant roles in my journey. My first encounter with grief was in 2015 when my favorite aunt, Lisa, suddenly had a heart attack on Valentine’s Day, leading to her untimely death. Being the first loss in my family, this experience shook us all.
The following year, gun violence ran rapidly, month after month, claiming the lives of my brother (Reginald), my uncle (Alvino), and my father (Alvin). Then again in 2020, gun violence claimed the life of my youngest cousin, Jamarion, at the age of 16. As recently as 2021, I lost one of my closest friends, Kelsey, during childbirth. So I’d say, the road has been everything but smooth; however, I find tranquility in sharing their stories as a part of mine.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Therapy From The Hart is a virtual mental health therapy service supporting clients ages 16-35, experiencing life transitions. Life transitions can be defined as leaving home for college, experiencing a recent divorce, being a child of divorced parents, establishing yourself in a new city/state, navigating adult friendships, setting clear boundaries as an adult child, overcoming childhood trauma, entering/exiting a relationship, newly exploring your sexuality, or starting/ leaving a job, to name a few.
Most times these life transitions are accompanied by symptoms like anxiety, depression, inattention, and even some behavioral shifts. I am clinically licensed in the states of Tennessee and Texas to walk alongside clients through their journey.
In the Black community, mental health is historically seen as a taboo subject. The more positive encounters my community has with helping professionals, the closer we can get to bridging the mental health gap. It is my hope that at the conclusion of treatment, my clients will walk into the world more confident in themselves so that they can ‘feel better.’ Take actions to ‘do better.’ And ultimately ‘be better’ – for themselves, others, and the world around them.
I am most proud of the fact that I am continuously keeping my loved ones’ legacies and stories alive through the work that I am doing at Therapy From The Hart and as the co-founder of the Reginald Louis Burke, Jr Memorial Fund.
We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me is getting to do what you love, every day of your life. Not because you have bills to pay or others depending on you, but solely because it is what feeds your soul.
Success is a choice – making the choice to show up every day, as the best version of yourself. Success is also a legacy – one that’ll impact this world, far beyond one person’s transition to eternity. Success is the goal.
Pricing:
- Out-of-Pocket: $125/ session
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.therapyfromthehart.com/
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/therapyfromthehart
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RLBJMemorialFunds
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin,com/in/artesia-price-9b775291
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/artesia-r-price-sachse-tx/874185
Image Credits
Darrel Price, Jr. (D Price Photography)
