( ENSPIRE Health & Wellness ) Just B Consulting Partners Within LVRN
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabrielle Maya
Meet Syreeta B, she is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 14 years of experience. At a young age, she started her path to mental health when witnessing the struggles her family faced. She went to California State University-Northridge and received undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Af-Am Studies. Soon after she relocated to San Francisco and enrolled in a Graduate program at The California Institute of Integral Studies, where she received a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Holistic Psychology and Medicine. This paved the way for her to become the founder, President, and CEO of Just B Consulting.
Just B Consulting began at a chance meeting at a concert. Syreeta had the pleasure to meet the owners of LVRN, a record label that is based in Atlanta. She presented the idea to create a Mental Health & Wellness Program within the label and soon become a collaborator and consultant with an in-house program within the company. The goal was to focus on the mental health of music artists and employees. Her unique holistic treatment has broken barriers in the mental health world. In a short time, she created a new normal in the music and entertainment industry that taking care of your mental health is an important component of any career. ENSPIRE talked with Syreeta about the services Just B Consulting provides, where her passion for mental health stems from, the importance of applying consultations in the music industry, and the struggles to overcome in a business.
What services does Just B Consulting provide within LVRN?
Just B. offers an array of services within LVRN. We offer Mental Health and Wellness support to LVRN staff members, executives, and even artists. Some of the LVRN team takes advantage of weekly therapy sessions that are paid for and supported by the company. We also provide Executive Coaching and group conversations with the executive team, which happens on a monthly basis. We also provide interview feedback with potential candidates to support them in creating the most optimal work environment. Intentional spaces were created for employees to work and/or decompress while in the office. There was also weekly lunch provided in the LVRN office to promote a cohesive work environment. We work alongside the executive team to create team-building outings and activities to show all team members how much they are appreciated. Amongst other things.
Have you always wanted to become a psychologist/counselor?
No, When I first got to college, I thought I wanted to be an Accountant until I realized you had to take math classes, and I hated math..lol. I was an Accounting major for literally two weeks before I became a psychology major.
When did you first feel that this is what you were meant to do?
Two weeks after becoming an Accounting major is when I realized that psychology was more my speed. At first, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it because the only understanding I had about being a therapist was what I saw on TV which also meant that I had to prescribe medication, which I was grossly against, because of my own life experience seeing people that I loved over-medicated or using other forms of self-medication. I always had an interest in understanding myself and my family and our generational trauma and that is what led me into actually wanting to make a profession out of it. I wanted to understand my own family dynamics first, which then made me interested in others.
Why did you choose the music industry to get started on this program?
I’ve always loved music. I am named after a musician, Syreeta Wright, Steve Wonder’s muse. Music is a huge part of my life, it is the way I learn new concepts, I read to a melody which helps me remember things easier. Needless to say, music is a cornerstone in my life. When studying to become a therapist I’ve had the desire to make a global impact and the way I knew I could do that was by working with individuals that were already able to capture the hearts and minds of people in a global way. I understood if I supported artists in creating a safe space for them to explore being their best selves, those emotions would be communicated in their music, and that would be the way to impact the world. Music is so powerful that it transcends many of the barriers that we create in our world. Music is a unifier, it’s a connector. When you put good into the world, it literally makes it a better place, just as when you put harmful music into the world, it also makes it a more problematic place.
What challenges did you face when creating this program?
When first starting out, I received a lot of NOs, like a lot of No’s…lol. However, I knew the vision I had and the intention Just B. was created out of that it was needed. So I stayed steadfast in my pursuit and finally, I was given the opportunity by LVRN to support them in a time when there was a lot of uncertainty in the world and it made a difference for their staff, them as executives, and for some of the artists. For that, I will be eternally grateful. They took and chance and believed in Just B. because they knew it was needed, which gave other labels the courage to follow suit.
What have you realized and learned when working as an in-house counselor for artists and employees of LVRN?
My hypothesis through this process has been founded: “If companies offered in-house mental health and wellness programs would employees take advantage of it? And if so, would it create a more sustainable and attractive working environment”? What I found was my hypothesis was correct. Having an in-house mental health and wellness department allowed individuals to feel and be supported in a way where they could bring their whole selves into their work. They felt and understood their employers cared about their overall well-being which allowed most of the employees, executives, and artist to give above and beyond their capacity before implementing the department. Caring for individuals is a cheat code I wish more companies utilized.
What Programs and Services do you offer at Just B Consulting?
Many of the services we implemented with LVRN are the services and programs that we offer at Just B. We tailor our approach to the need of the company that we contract with. Basically, if there is a need in the space of mental health and wellness we can provide it. Retreats, workshops, quarterly and yearly planning, nutrition, in-house massage, and meditation. If the company is open to it we can do it.
Why should individuals choose holistic methods to help them with their mental health and wellness?
Because legal fees and settlements are expensive. Creating an environment where people feel cared for and cared about allows for growth, expansion, and productivity in ways companies have only dreamed of until this point.
What are some holistic practices you have learned that have broken the barriers of modern medicine as a solution for mental health?
The fact that we as humans can navigate through many uncomfortable situations with our breath, is one of the many cheat codes that I’ve come across in the work I do within Just B. Also, if we pay attention and take a proactive stance on Stress Reduction and Stress Management this also allows for many of us to perform at an optimal level, no matter what our job or responsibility is.
What are your long-term goals with LVRN do you plan to expand your holistic practice with other music industries?
I am so proud of what we have been able to do as a collective within LVRN. Our collaboration has changed the way mental health and wellness have been talked about and presented in the music industry. The collaboration with LVRN has opened an array of doors within the music industry and beyond. The attention we have gotten for being thought leaders has given other industries permission to follow suit and seek out Just B. for services. My long-term goal with LVRN is to continue to grow and inspire and for all of the other industries Just B. is in, our long-term goal is, and has always been, to be the leading consulting company that is called upon to create in-house mental health and wellness departments for every industry globally.
Part of her expertise is helping clients heal from several forms of trauma such as: childhood abuse (emotional, verbal, physical, sexual), lack of attention, affection, and nurturing in childhood, post-traumatic stress disorder, heartbreak recovery, divorce issues, betrayal, affair recovery, anxiety, depression, grief, anger, emotional abandonment, physical abandonment, career issues, and racial trauma. Syreeta takes an approach by setting up a special space for those feelings. This allows her clients to explore the depths of their minds, and soul, and face their fears without judgment. The point of this approach is to challenge her clients using a fluid therapeutic approach to ‘Just Be’.
For more information go to Just B Consulting. You can also follow their Instagram for updates. Interested in joining a program click here. Want to see what other services they provide, please click here. If you want to hear a music artist’s impression of Syreeta B, please view this video with Summer Walker.
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