Healing Generations: My Path from Pain to Purpose

I grew up in a dysfunctional household. Actually, not just dysfunctional, by the time I was 17 I had experienced 8 of the 10 Adverse Childhood Experiences highlighted in the ACES report. Just as the ACES study suggests, my life as a young adult was somewhat in shambles until someway, somehow, I took responsibility to heal and become whole.

This journey I speak of has been decades in the making, with so many twists and turns. It’s funny because before my father passed, he would say: Tysha is going to be my personal psychologist. She’s going to fix me. I didn’t quite desire to become that psychologist my father spoke of, and it isn’t my responsibility to fix anyone, however, my journey did meander into becoming a licensed mental health therapist and certified rehabilitation counselor with a passion for helping folks just like me--survivors of childhood dysfunction.

My wholeness journey required enough understanding that it created…empathy for my parents; my father for being an alcoholic who abused my mother, and my mother for staying. You know, we don’t always see our parents as humans with their own personal life journeys. We usually see them simply from the lens of their role of being our parent. I was able to make this lens shift for myself. It was necessary. It was painful. It contributed tremendously to my well-being and that of my own mother-daughter relationship dynamic.

During the pandemic, when the world was quiet, after I had given birth to my only daughter, I stumbled across a social media post advertising One Circle Foundation’s Mother-Daughter Circle Facilitator Training. It immediately resonated with me that, wow, there are other daughters experiencing what I had, and I could create an environment using the Mother Daughter Circle tools to aid in their healing.

One Circle Foundation GRACIOUSLY provided financial aid so I could access their two-day Facilitator training. It was energetic and dynamic! I benefited most from the experiential approach to learning. We didn’t simply talk about the curriculum, we were immersed in it. I kinda felt as if I were in an actual Mother-Daughter Circle. We explored generational storytelling, which is so helpful in fostering empathy, communication trends common to mother-daughter relationships, and life mapping to restore connection and so much more. The trainers demonstrated how to create safe spaces that foster deeper conversations and then agreements that bring relational healing. They walked us through every step of the program. Leaving, I felt confident I could successfully implement.

I am so happy with the work I have started using the One Circle Foundation’s training as a guide. Since completing the training, I have been fortunate to offer circles in various capacities, from the full 8-week circles to one-to-one family intensives. Most notably, I was able to offer Mother Daughter Circles to my local Girl Scouts as well as in settings for moms transitioning through life stressors. Maintaining fidelity to the model, yet highly responsive to what is needed by my families, has allowed me to curate experiences my families will never forget. I guess my father had a hunch his daughter would be a solution!

If you are like me and have a passion to be a solution, this is your sign to go for it!

Register for a One Circle Foundation Training or purchase Curricula and start a Circle today. To bring a training to your community, email training@onecirclefounation.org