Today we’d like to introduce you to Markesha Miller.
Hi Markesha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am originally from Pageland, South Carolina. My mother was an educator for 0ther 40 years and my father was a farmer. I truly am a beautiful blend of the two. I knew that I had a love for education, however, I have always admired the entrepreneurial spirit and the nurturing effect.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road.
I learned so much about myself during the pursuit of my doctoral degree. I learned about my strengths, my weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and true desires. There were adversities, trials, and tribulations, but also triumphs. I remember my professor/mentor, now also friend, Dr. Catherine Packer Williams telling me that I would either lose my mind or draw closer to God. You see me, so you can imagine that I have a strong spiritual foundation that is growing every day. Dr. Packer-Williams was such a huge part of my becoming. She poured into me unselfishly, molded me, advocated for me, and held space for me.
Ironically, she still does this today. After completing my doctoral program, my parents began to have health challenges which pulled a lot of my attention to them. For the past seven years, I was their caregiver and experienced so much caregiver fatigue. Dr. Packer-Williams also had consumed that role prior to me with her mother. Therefore, naturally, she was a great voice of support.
I lost both of my parents within a year apart, 2020 and 2021. The difficult periods up to their deaths were definitely taxing, yet rewarding. The grief process was long, yet eye-opening and truly a purging of my soul. Many individuals have told me that I never lost a beat with my career over the past seven years and even during my grieving process.
The truth is I probably did not to the natural eye. However, there were times that I felt dissatisfied with my own journey and yet disconnected. (That is a story for another day).
I will though, it happens. Sometimes the storms of life can disrupt our thought processes, our dreams, and our idea of happiness. Then we realize that those storms are actually calm breezes that come to bring us life. I have to say that because of my challenges, adversities, trials, etc., I am a stronger, more experienced mental health professional and woman.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a triple alum of THE University of South Carolina, earning my B.A. Ed.S, and Ph.D. respectively, I am a licensed psychotherapist, consultant, and mental health media, expert. I specialize in mental health as I have spent over 20 years in the field within the scope of academia as a full-time professor, researching, practicing, and consulting.
I am known for being a leading expert within the mental health field whether it is through my research, my books, popping up on a TV screen or radio speaker to discuss mental health, or being appointed to state boards to discuss the impact of mental health and to determine the best courses of action. I identify myself as a true scholar within the field of mental health; I teach, I research, I practice, I serve, and I advocate.
That is a great question… What am I most proud of?
I would have to say that I am most proud of the fact that my parents were able to see the onset of their harvest before they passed. That definitely makes me proud. It reminds me that I set forth goals for myself and accomplished them (I always said that I wanted to have my Ph.D. before I turned 30 and teach at the University of South Carolina. and I did it.) While acknowledging that my parents had dreams for me to climb higher than they were able to reach. I honor and respect that I was their investment. I am so thankful that they were able to see the onset of the return on it.
These questions are insightful… I love it. What sets me apart from others? Interestingly enough, I have always known that I was “marked” and set apart from others. But that is a story for another day.
I would have to say the fact that I do mental health “my way”. I approach mental health through various avenues including healing retreats. This Summer, I hosted an international women’s retreat focused on reviving. This is an annual offer of my practice. In addition, I offer other retreats that are focused on specific populations. I also plan retreats for companies and organizations.
I not only bring the competency based on my education, but I also bring the wisdom of a 100-year-old. (Lol… seriously,) I keep it real. Very real. I grew up around the elders of my family (my maternal grandparents) and the elders of my childhood church. It is a different experience when you really soak up the wisdom and the gems of life from individuals who have seen adversity, experienced major sacrifices, are better than any history book, and just have that nurturing and guiding spirit.
I guess you can say that I bring a lot of that into my practice, into any room that I enter to speak, and at any table that I sit at. The bottom line is, that I take mental health with me everywhere I go. I was in Jamaica with my husband on vacation last month and I was talking about mental health to some of the resort employees. Now, if you know Jamaica and its approach to mental health… they are slowly beginning to embrace it.
But if the opportunity presents itself, I take it. That conversation prompted me being able to connect her with a provider there in Jamaica. and also discuss with the general manager a few other ways of implementing services for their employees. You never know who needs help and may not be able to cry out for it or who is willing to “hold space for them”.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I currently have a new book out, “Hitting The Mark- Your Prescription For Good Mental Health”.
The book focuses on the basic things that you can do to begin to take charge of your mental health. I often tell people that if you have been considering therapy, maybe that is not an investment that you can make right now or you just don’t feel ready. Start with the book.
You can get the book on Amazon and at www.fourmcreations.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drmarkeshamiller.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/drmarkesha
- Facebook:www.facebook.com/DrMarkeshaMiller
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/drmarkesha
- Other:www.fourmcreations.com
Image Credits
Dr. Markesha Miller and Denise Benson Photography
