Today we’d like to introduce you to Trevor Winfrey.
Hi Trevor, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I have always known I wanted to get work in a helping profession. Growing up watching the Cosby Show, I was inspired to be either a doctor or lawyer, but that changed around high school once I began to understand the paths to get to those careers. Instead, I decided to become a psychologist–at that time, I was not aware of precisely what a psychologist was. I went to undergrad at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where I majored in Psychology. After graduation, I worked at a rental car company and transitioned to a financial consultant with a bank in the inner city. I knew I wanted to help people more, but I could not figure out how to do so while living in Chattanooga, TN, so I moved to Houston, TX, where I hoped to find my true calling. I began working as a Child Protective Services Investigator, but how I could help was limited in many ways. After a few years in Houston, I wanted to do more, so I applied to start the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at the University of Memphis. When I moved back to Memphis to begin the program, I began working as a call center specialist at a psychiatric and behavioral health hospital, eventually transitioning to an admissions supervisor. During my tenure at the behavioral hospital, I was a graduate assistant at the university, where I was allowed to work with students in need of academic coaching as well as work as an instructor for students majoring in different helping professions. I also began interning as a therapist at different counseling organizations and found a golden opportunity to work with Dr. Justin Dodson at his practice, Navigating Courage Counseling and Consultation. While working at Navigating Courage, I have utilized my compassion, empathy, and drive to help others begin living the lives they want to live. Since graduating, I have worked as a supervisor at an organization providing intensive services support to the Memphis community. I have become an official team member with Navigating Courage. I am looking forward to the continued growth with Navigating Courage and am excited about the impact we can make when working with our clients!
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Though the road was not smooth, everything happened as they were supposed to. Through every hardship, I was able to take away something that made me stronger and more capable of handling the following situation. I can remember, not too long ago, when I was utterly overwhelmed by everything I was responsible for–my hospital job, internship, assistantship, students, schoolwork, etc. One day, while working at the hospital, one of the patients pulled out a lot of my hair. At that moment, the weight of everything I was carrying crashed onto me. This was incredibly challenging because I do not allow pressures to bother me to the point where others can see. I was frustrated with my working conditions, personal life issues, and the overall feeling of stagnation in my life, and I–though I hate to say it–exploded. It was some major learning lessons at that moment, but taking away lessons was the last thing on my mind.
Thanks for sharing that. You could tell us more about your work.
I am a clinical therapist at Navigating Courage Counseling and Consultation and a supervisor for intensive services with the Mental Health Cooperative (MHC). With Navigating Courage, I have been able to work with a variety of clients, including adult men, adult women, teens, families, and couples dealing with challenges such as anxiety, depression, life transitions, conflicts with identity, interpersonal issues, and more. Lately, I have been honing my focus towards specializing in working with adult men, minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, and with people struggling with interpersonal and relationship issues, anxiety, and self-identity conflicts. Along with providing therapeutic services, I have also done consulting work with different organizations to utilize their resources better and adjust their approaches when working with people to be more trauma-informed. This has allowed me to make lasting impacts on clients in ways I did not know that I could. Having recently started as the intensive services supervisor with the Mental Health Cooperative has also been a rewarding challenge thus far. MHC is a new organization in the Memphis area but has been in other areas of Tennessee for 30+ years. MHC aims to provide wrap-around mental and physical health services to aid in making a better life for those seeking services. The supervisor position allows me to empower, guide, and educate my team on how to be the best care managers for those in our care. Both positions have been advantageous. One allows me to direct face-to-face interactions with clients. At the same time, I develop as a clinician, and the other offers me professional and leadership development to continue making a lasting impact on my community.
So, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you before we go? How can they support you?
I am all about community, collaboration, and innovation. I believe that Memphis is a special place, and it takes the community to ensure the betterment of everyone. I’m always open to collaborating on different social, fundraising, and educational events that would improve anyone’s quality of life! I am always happy to teach, plan, organize, or do whatever the task calls for to impact whoever positively. There are plenty of people with new, fresh ideas who would show the different facets of Memphis, and it’s the community’s responsibility to support and encourage each other to bring these ideas to fruition.
Pricing:
- $100/individual talk therapy session
- $150/family therapy session
- $125/couples therapy session
Contact Info:
- Website: navigatingcouragecac.com
- Instagram: @_mr.winfrey
Image Credits
Kinnawa Kaitibi – African Thunder Studios
