Oana Write (Thoughtfulicious)

The Many Facets of Mental Health Care—A conversation with Julius M. Jefferies, Licensed Professional Counselor and Founder of Simply Healing

September 4, 2025September 4, 2025Leave a comment

Mental health is a crucial part of our overall health. Our brains control everything we do, and therefore we cannot have health without mental health; it is truly the most important part of our overall health! Caring for our mental health should be as customary as getting our yearly physical checkup—and some!

There are many ways we can take care of ourselves mentally with or without the help of a specialist. A holistic approach is generally best for best long-term success: take care of your mind, body, and soul.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to talk with Julius Jefferies, a mental care professional who shared his thoughts on the subject.

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The Helping Hand—and Paw—Just Around the Corner

May 23, 2025May 24, 2025Leave a comment

Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado: A Unique Approach to Holistic Mental Health Care in Colorado

May is Mental Health Awareness month, a time when many of us recognize the importance of taking care of our well-being. Personally, I found solace in volunteering for a remarkable nonprofit organization in Colorado back in 2020. Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado, known for its motto “Rescued Animals Rescuing People,” is dedicated to providing animal-assisted psychotherapy to all. Learn more about the invaluable work they do, how you can get help, and how you can help!

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Emily Lindemann Coeur Interior Design Denver

Emily Lindemann: Interior Design

June 30, 2023June 30, 2023Leave a comment

I don’t know that I ever imagined owning my own firm. I’ve always been a self-motivated and driven person. I think it probably always made sense that that’s where I would go eventually.[…] It’s been an amazing journey, an incredible challenge as well as a unique blessing, and I wouldn’t change a minute of it.–Emily Lindemann

Being a mom and a successful entrepreneur and business woman is not easy. However, Emily Lindemann made it happen. Read about her path to success, the challenges along the way, and her savvy advice.-Oana Harrison

Emily Lindemann is the principal and director of Denver based interior design firm RugglesMabe, and owner of Coeur Cabinet and Curated Interiors. She is a member of the Design Leadership Network, an exclusive, invitation only, network of leading architecture and interior design firm principals in the U.S.

With a Bachelor of Science in apparel design and production, and a minor in business administration from Colorado State University, Emily applies her strong background in textiles and high-end design to both businesses. Her unique approach to residential design blends traditional with modern aesthetics. She creates beautiful spaces incorporating rich textures into classic and timeless designs, creating balanced and joyful environments.

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Dr. Christin L. Roberson presenting in front of an audience

Dr. Christin L. Roberson, Ed.D: Career Coach

June 22, 2023June 30, 2023Leave a comment

Sometimes there is a discrepancy between who you are and what you do for a living. You should feel proud of the institution where you’re working and the work you’re doing. If you are unhappy at work and feel a disconnect, you might want to reconsider your direction.-Dr. Roberson

Changing careers mid-way can be challenging but also rewarding. Although there are many good books and other resources on the subject, I find it helpful to learn from people around me who actually went through the process successfully. I talked with Dr. Christin Roberson who transitioned from a long career in higher education to owning her career coaching business, The Career Doc. She candidly shared her experience and offered valuable advice.-Oana Harrison

Dr. Christin L. Roberson, Ed.D, is a Gallup-Certified Clifton Strengths and Career Coach who helps individuals learn about their talents and how to best utilize them to achieve a fulfilling career and life. She recently pivoted from a 15+ years career in higher education into recruiting in the tech industry and now provides full-time career services.

Her educational background includes a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Azusa Pacific University, a Master’s in Educational Organization and Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Alverno College.

Dr. Roberson has been featured as a guest on Gallup’s podcast, Called to Coach, presented at the 2017 CliftonStrengths Summit, and completed Strengths Certification Training in Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University.

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Karla Pámanes: Graphic Design

April 9, 2023Leave a comment

It’s crazy how this was a dream and now it’s here. I think back on how scared I was of being on my own, in my career and in my personal life. I knew it would be a challenging path and I just had to focus on the good stuff, on my work and my son. Now, I’m excited to teach everything I have learned about brand design from my 15 years of experience in my course and to help my clients with their brand identity needs. Being on your own is a lot of work, but it’s been good and I’m grateful—when it gets overwhelming, I just take a step back, look at everything I have accomplished so far, and say to myself: I got this.

Karla is an award-winning designer, branding expert, and mentor based out of San Antonio, Texas. She has designed for brands such as HGTV, Food Network, Facebook, in addition to several other amazing companies. Her focus is on building branding that tells a story and reflects the core values of a company. Her motto is to “be the person you needed when you were younger”. She created “The Brand Design Academy” to share the knowledge and experience she has learned over her 15 years of experience with corporate brands and small businesses.

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Andrea Crouse: Event Excellence

June 11, 2021December 15, 2021Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I cannot function well in a cluttered space. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to work from home, the importance of having a space to think clearly increased exponentially. I will never again underestimate the joy and freedom a well-organized space can bring!

Cue Andrea Crouse, a professional chaos wrangler, aka professional organizer, founder/owner of Event Excellence. Andrea’s work background taught her valuable skills in project management, legal affairs, business planning, and more. But her true value is within herself: she has the power to take a messy room or a mess of ideas and corral them into coherence.

As a new entrepreneur, she faced the challenge of the pandemic, as well as some personal family health issues. She is a testament that a positive mindset and perseverance can help you overcome and thrive. She is living her life in gratitude, and shares her experience and extraordinary organizational skills with others. Her guiding principles are straight-forward: lead with love, help others, stay positive.

Oana

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Sybil Bailey: Afro Mermaid Skincare

June 4, 2021June 9, 20211 Comment

Life can be messy. Our plans may or may not work out the way we, well, planned…. But if you give yourself time, and if you believe you can reinvent yourself, you can achieve what you really want. Case in point, my friend Sybil had a dream: to be an esthetician (licensed skin care professional). However, sensible and well-intended people around her steered her in a different career direction. She did well for herself, and found professional excellence along the way for twenty-plus years. Then, what looked like a door closing—a corporate restructuring—actually opened the door to pursuing her childhood dream. Once again, some reluctant voices cautioned her that starting over again in her 50s might not be a wise decision. However, Sybil persevered, and chose to listen to her inner voice. She went back to school and became an esthetician. She opened up her own business and found her bliss. She is thrilled to have taken a chance later in life.

New beginnings can be scary, especially later in life, but they are also exciting. This is one of the things I’ve always admired and loved about America: you can always reinvent yourself at any age, and you can be successful. You are not stuck with the one thing you studied in school, with the path that your degree dictates, or, with the path that your circumstances dictated in the past. It’s OK to try different approaches until you find your version of happiness and fulfillment.

It’s your life. Live it your way!

Oana

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Heather Jagels: Mountain Zen Yoga Studio

May 28, 2021January 6, 2023Leave a comment

Although a corporate career can be rewarding, too often the corporate world can be hard on our health and cruel for the soul. Before the pandemic sent us home, the corporate world wanted us to be tireless office soldiers, often ignoring our human side, and the fact that we are also parents or partners. Jobs take priority over kids’ soccer games or spending quality time with family. Taking time off to travel or relax is ridiculously limited (US is the only advanced economy that doesn’t mandate employers to offer paid time off; private industry usually offers 10 days of PTO as compared to 25-40 offered in some western European countries, while annually 768 million vacation days go unused in the US).

The American corporate world doesn’t leave much room for balance. More often than not, if you want a career, you are expected to sacrifice your personal life and even your health. We don’t take time off for fear of losing our spot on the ladder. And often we find ourselves working hard for many years only to be casually replaced or laid off one day, unceremoniously discarded, leaving us feeling gut-punched. When you invest so much time and effort into a corporate career, it’s hard to let it go and move on, but more often than not it’s very rewarding—especially on a personal level. It can awaken a perhaps forgotten part of your personality, it can allow for more creativity to come alive, and provide a new sense of freedom.

Heather was one of the many wonderful professionals who was laid off due to Scripps Networks Interactive’s restructuring and then acquisition by Discovery. When the rug was pulled from underneath her feet—both in her professional and personal life (divorce)—she turned to the one thing that could restore balance and happiness in her world, while still allowing her to put her professional background to good use: she started her own yoga practice.

I talked with Heather about her path to small business ownership and how she navigated multiple challenges, including the pandemic, ultimately finding happiness and personal success.

Oana

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Sara Mitchell and Kris Hazard - Dancing with the Knoxville Stars

Kris Hazard: Ballroom Dance Instructor

May 21, 2021January 6, 2023Leave a comment

As a dancer and teacher myself, I can identify closely with both the instructors and the dancing community who have been deprived of the joys of dancing due to COVID-19. Ballroom dancing has a lot of variety, which keeps things interesting and pleases a variety of style preferences: from elegant and smooth to rhythmic and dynamic. It’s the best workout, in my opinion, because it makes use of many muscles, large and small (some you didn’t even know you had!—think soles of your feet and toes) while also incorporating a social aspect that makes it more of a fun experience than a gym workout. Beyond the positive physical results, ballroom dancing is a huge mental wellness element: the movement releases endorphins, and studies showed the positive impact on memory, but the true difference maker is the social interaction, the community built around it. That is definitely something that the pandemic disrupted and we all sorely missed. When lessons and parties ceased abruptly, we all suffered. Dance studios and instructors had to find alternate ways to support themselves and find creative ways to continue teaching.

As a part of the blog series on “Happiness Purveyors,” I talked with one of my teacher friends, Kris Hazard who is a dance instructor in Knoxville, Tennessee to get his perspective on things.

Oana

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Happiness Purveyors

April 14, 2021December 15, 2021Leave a comment

The past few years brought a special set of challenges that most of us never anticipated. Even for those who had stability before, the circumstances shook a few pillars, but for those courageous souls who chose to carve their own entrepreneurial paths to personal success, the pandemic has been especially challenging. The travel, performing arts, beauty, fitness, and restaurant industries suffered perhaps more than others—and we suffered with them, stripped of the comfort and joy they all provide. I think we all experienced enough deprivation to understand just how important travel, good food, health care, and the arts are for our happiness.

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