Today we’d like to introduce you to Sakeenah Hakim.
Sakeenah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I reflect on my childhood or recall things my family told me about myself, I remember that I was considered the peaceful and patient one. The peacemaker and good listener. When I enrolled in undergrad at Clark Atlanta University everyone would’ve bet I was going to major in psychology, but no, I chose business – Supply Chain Management and Marketing to be exact.
Fast forward, I moved to DC to pursue an MBA in nonprofit organization development. Outside of school, my work and volunteer experience involved being a service to others as a tutor or mentor. I ended up taking a year off from grad school and during that time I was introduced to the Master of Social Work program at Howard University.
My fieldwork assignment required me to do individual and family therapy. My first client/family sparked my innate passion and ability to help people heal, gain an understanding of their narrative, discover strengths, and learn how to navigate in this world. Helping others also allowed me to delve deeper into my personal and generational experiences. With my entrepreneurial mindset, I knew I was headed toward starting my own private practice. A reflective experience inspired me to leave Washington DC, and return to Los Angeles a place I called home over 15 years ago. I sacrificed a lucrative job market in DC and took a chance with no job leads and moved to LA, no savings no job offers, just a plan. So to grandma’s house I went. Financial setbacks came and went but my drive lived on. They say to love what you do and get paid to do what you love. I am now a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with my own private practice, Tranquil Core, providing psychotherapeutic services in Mid-City LA and South Central LA. I maintain my service to the community as an Executive Director of the AZ Hakim Foundation that provides supportive services to children and families impacted by incarceration.
Has it been a smooth road?
Unfortunately, some of my experiences brought a wide range of emotions. I’m glad to say that those experiences added to my resilience. In 2011 I lost my only consistent peace of joy, my NaNa. She balanced my hard times out through conversations and visits. She passed a few months before I graduated from Howard and moved to LA. It took me almost a year and a half to find stable full-time employment. I had to survive off of unemployment, no employment, and sporadic temp jobs. She was my rock to get through times like this, navigating my first year back in LA without her was hard. It took everything in me to remember what she saw in me and wanted me to accomplish. The longer it took me to get a job, the longer it took for me obtain my requirements for licensure as a therapist. I came to LA with no networking connections my adult life started from scratch. Keeping my faith, composure, and minimizing my family’s worry about me was a heavy load. Once I became licensed, the self-doubting thoughts creeped in telling me to wait on the perfect moment before I started my practice, but I didn’t know what that perfect moment looked like. During my procrastination, the agency I worked for was acquired, I was laid off and back on unemployment. That was when I said now is the time forget waiting on that undefined perfect moment start your practice. Anyone waiting on that perfect moment, that fear of risk, take a moment to reassess the barriers and make sure that barrier isn’t just YOU.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Tranquil Core, Inc. story. Tell us more about the business.
Tranquil Core is a clinical practice that provides individual, family, and group therapy to individuals ages 12 and up. Our mission is to promote self-discovery and assist our clients with finding and identifying their core self while improving their personal and professional relationships.
We emphasize the importance of finding peace within your core self to help you navigate in the world with an ability to minimize false perceptions. I’m most proud of my practice’s ability to create a space/environment where people feel comfortable letting their guard down, expressing themselves, and trusting me to be a part of helping them meet their goals for personal and professional development.
I’m connected to my work. My approach empowers the individual reminding them that they have the ability to make sound decisions and my job is not to make decisions for them but provide guidance as a partner in the therapeutic relationship.
I offer free 15-minute phone consultations to provide prospective clients with psychoeducation, details on the therapeutic process, and an opportunity to share their goals or reasons for seeking therapy. I don’t believe in meeting someone for the first time and charging them only to find out my clinical approach might not be what they need.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As mental health awareness continues to grow, especially in the African American community. I plan to continue to do work in minimizing the stigma through offering various support groups and services while introducing holistic practices that aid in minimizing various symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Contact Info:
- Address: 292 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Suite 102 Los Angeles, CA - Website: www.tranquilcore.com
- Phone: 3238987695
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @tranquilcoreinc
Image Credit:
Headshot in yellow tank photo credit: @demannindemandphotography; Photo on stairs in yellow jacket photo credit @defcampus
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