( ENSPIRE Health & Wellness ) Icia Ragsdale Is Featured On ‘Politics & Prose’ Podcast
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabrielle Maya
Icia Ragsdale is a Baltimore Native who has risen from her trauma and has made it her purpose to counsel others into healing. She graduated from Morgan State University and is a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist. Her areas of expertise include trauma, substance abuse mental health, and sex offender recovery. Icia Ragsdale is able to speak on motherhood, marriage, trauma, faith and spirituality, and purpose. She is the Founder of Designed 4 Purpose Ministries and Designed 4 Purpose Counseling and Therapeutic Services LLC whose goal is to help individuals through the Word of God to process their trauma and to lead purposeful lives.
Her spiritual authority is recognized as a community leader. To delve a bit deeper into how she found spiritual passion, it began through her own traumatic experiences. Icia had her own battles of healing and reflecting on her trauma. Her mother used to work at a factory during the day at night and on weekends as a hairstylist. Icia spent a lot more time with her father. But when he was diagnosed with lung cancer when she was six, she had to witness him deteriorate over the years. At nine years old, he passed away. She was only a young girl and processing a family loss was a challenge that is hard to bear for anyone. This led to anger, and rebellion, all part of the grieving process. Her anger drove a bit of a wedge in her relationship with her mother.
However, one experience brought her on a new path. When she witnessed a breakthrough between a mother and daughter at a church, it brought up the motivation to set things right with her Mom and heal together. Two years later Icia’s mom was in a car accident two months after her college graduation. Through all these unfortunate circumstances, years later Icia Ragsdale became committed to helping others overcome trauma. Part of helping others in similar circumstances is through her live talk show ‘In My Father’s House Pre-Conference Chat’ where new individuals from different walks of life discuss philosophical, spiritual, and trauma healing. Icia Ragsdale was also a guest on Gail Dudley’s Podcast Politics & Prose.
ENSPIRE has spoken with Icia Ragsdale about Design 4 Purpose Ministries, how the Word of God helped her healing journey, her two books, being a guest on Gail Dudley’s Podcast, and more!
When did you begin creating Designed 4 Purpose Ministries?
Designed 4 Purpose Ministries started in 2012 as my therapy business name (Designed 4 Purpose Counseling & Therapeutic Services). As I continued to grow in the things of God, I started following the footsteps of other amazing anointed clinicians who could see how God cares very deeply about our mental health and how He shows us this clearly through the Word of God. To more specifically answer your question, I officially launched the ministry side of Designed 4 Purpose in 2022, with the launch of In My Father’s House Conference 2023.
Tell us how the Word of God came into your life after your family loss, and how it has helped you throughout your life.
Honestly, the Word of God has always been in my life, and it was the anchor that sustained me through those losses. I think that losses have a way of creating opportunities and spaces for the Holy Spirit to become more real to you. For me, there were times that I was so low, that it was only God that had arms long enough to reach me and pull me out of those depression pits and anxiety chambers. It was in the loss that His Word was the foundation I was able to stand on as He multiplied His grace, peace, and love towards me.
With your expertise and your own personal journey, what are some important lessons and advice you can tell us about facing trauma and how to slowly heal?
The most important lesson I can share about trauma is not to allow someone else to define what trauma is to you. You know what you know, and you have to trust the information your mind and body is telling you at that moment. God gave you all those things to navigate this world in addition to His Word, and sometimes we have to give voice to what our insides (discernment) are trying to tell us. I have had to learn to take off all superhero capes and give myself grace and permission to fall apart. In a recent situation in my life, I had to be okay with losing everything I knew and starting over. What I learned, if you aren’t starting from scratch, you do start from freedom!
How was your podcast feature with Gail Dudley, tell us the importance of what you two discussed.
I loved everything about the podcast I was able to do with Gail Dudley. She was engaging, educated, and insightful! I thought it was important that we were allowed to normalize the conversation around trauma and therapy. As a society, many are moving away from the thought process of embodying shame and guilt around receiving mental health services, and through different conversations, we can provide support and empowerment to promote wellness.
When did you create ‘In My Father’s House Pre-Conference Chat’, what’s its purpose, and how do you pick your special guests?
So, the pre-conference chat was our way of introducing the speakers for the conference to the audience. Some guests were known by some attendees, but some were unknown and from different states. It was an opportunity for the speakers to be authentic, and honest and show people who they are at their core. As people are invited to share in something as sacred as The In My Father’s House Conference, it is also just as important that they have an opportunity to be vulnerable if necessary and share their hearts as well.
Are there any new upcoming speaker events audiences can look forward to?
I just opened my own outpatient mental health trauma clinic, and I have been focusing all my attention on that project. However, now that it is open, I am open and ready to take on new challenges. Follow my social media for updates as they happen.
What do you hope Designed 4 Purpose Ministries achieves in the future?
I hope that this minister leads ALL to their purpose. God doesn’t waste anything, not our mistakes, our greats, or anything in between. Sometimes the only missing thing is our ability to forgive ourselves and allow the trauma to transform into wisdom that can be used as a ministry for and to others. Any way God wants to use this ministry will go in that direction!
Icia has published books where the themes are tied to hope, purpose, and facing trauma. “Letters 4 You” provides insight into trauma and the impact it has on individuals, ‘I am Purpose’ teaches children to expand their emotional vocabulary, and ‘Purpose, Bold and Free’ is the second installment in the purpose series, focusing on anti-bullying. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student at Walden University and hopes to use the Purpose children’s book series to empower, promote, and equip children to use healthy communication and pro-social skills.
What do you hope your two books ‘I am Purpose’ and ‘Purpose, Bold and Free’ will achieve when children read it and what are the potential benefits?
I hope to give children language and a voice to express how they may be feeling. There are often times that children have big feelings and can only show or express them without the ability to communicate about them. Through these books, and the others I’ve written, I talk about relevant issues that children experience in hopes that they can see themselves or their peers in the characters and develop empathy, understanding, and self-expression that keeps themselves and others around them safe.
Follow Icia Ragsdale on Instagram for updates on her ‘In My Father’s House Pre-Conference Chat’. To listen to her Podcast feature, go to Gail Dudley’s Politics & Prose Season 2 Episode 3. Visit https://iamdesigned4purpose.com/ for more information on upcoming speaker events.
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