Monthly Newsletter
October 2020
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Onyx CEO discusses the unspoken trauma of suicide with Discover-U Health
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September 1 – Dr. LaNail R. Plummer-Marcano talks about the unspoken trauma of suicide. September is recognized as Suicide Awareness Month. This month is particularly important to Dr. Plummer-Marcano because her grandmother died from suicide; therefore, she is extremely sensitive to the signs of depression, impulsivity and more. During her conversation with PamGrace Gachenge, the owner of DiscoverU Health, Dr. Plummer-Marcano talks about generational trauma and how it is passed down generationally.
“Tracking trauma genetically is important when you are thinking about your family history and making decisions for yourself,” states Dr. Plummer-Marcano. “As Black people, we come into the world with generational trauma and so we have to accept it and realize that we might be more sensitive to other things; and subsequently, decide how we want to move forward with that. The other element is to think about who you are and what your experiences are.”
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Onyx’s Director of Training and Educational Programming discusses the impact of COVID-19 and the racial reckoning on students' mental health
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September 16 - Onyx Therapy Group’s Director of Training and Educational Programming, Ayana Malone, partnered with School Leader Lab Friends and Partners to facilitate the second of a two-part series that focused on how COVID-19 and the racial reckoning are impacting the mental health of students. These sessions are designed to raise awareness of how the past five months represent a collective trauma and how the parallel pandemics will affect how students and staff present for learning in the fall. Ayana will lead participants through guided discussions and exercises on how to build a comprehensive plan for supporting mental health wellness in schools.
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Onyx Clinical Director Talks about her personal and clinical experiences during an interview
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 Question: When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Shanelle: Actually, I wanted to be a Congresswoman. I wanted to be the next Maxine Waters. We had a calendar that had famous Black folks in my house, and Nelson Mandela was on one of the pages, and then Maxine Waters was on another [page]. I wanted to be both, so pretty much, I wanted to go into politics.
Question: So, what made you decide to go into the mental health field?
Shanelle: I did everything that was lawyer-ish up until the time I turned 15. I was in a law program with Maryland court and we had to prosecute one of our peers. There was another teenager who I was supposed to prosecute. I started asking mental health questions and behavioral questions. People were like you should probably deal with mental health because you're supposed to be the prosecutor. You’re supposed to be proving her guilty not helping her, so that changed.
Question: Is there a specific issue that you are passionate about?
Shanelle: The areas that are surrounding around black folks, for the most part. Black men, specifically, or Black boys and things that impact them regarding intersectionality; or things that have something to do with Black women issues and their lived experiences. Those are the things that I am the most interested in.
Question: Is there a specific theory or theoretical approach or model that you tend to support?
Shanelle: I’m more of a Gestalt person because I am more factual than anything. I like reality therapy. For the most part, I am flexible based on the client. I have a really diverse clientele. So I can't use the same system for them all, but the things that I specifically feel I do well in, are those two.
Question: What's the greatest lesson you've learned as a mental health professional?
Shanelle: That people will be people. Every person has trauma. Every person needs healing and that's okay. I think one of the biggest lessons is that there is no aha moment, right. Therapy does not look the same as it does on TV. There's no fixing people in an hour. There's no making people regress or turn back the hands of time in 60 minutes or so. It's not like that. It’s a continuing system, so despite what we may see on TV and the illusion that people give about mental health, that's not real. Being real is watching people make changes that make their lives way more positive and when people tell you that they made better decisions. That is way more realistic for me, so therapy is not what it seems. Therapy is welcoming. Therapy is healing. Therapy is needed. Therapy should be required, at some point. I personally feel like that’s a whole other conversation. You know therapy is essential, at this point.
Question: What is your greatest strength as a mental health professional?
Shanelle: I think that I can relate. I'm able to be empathetic. I'm able to see myself in certain situations. Even if I have never lived in that situation, I'm able to see my face as if I was in that situation. I think my best ability that I can relate and my ability to be empathetic are probably my two strongest points.
Question: What would be your greatest challenge?
Shanelle: There's not enough time. There's not enough hours for me to be able to provide the services that I would like to provide to everybody or to the specific populations that I mentioned earlier.
Question: What is your most memorable experience as a mental health professional?
Shanelle: I met with my first client in private practice about seven years ago. I've seen that client who is all grown up and that client said that he/she wanted to be a therapist from the experience of going to therapy, and I was their first therapist. So I think that's actually the most memorable experience and it pulled on my heart strings a little bit.
Question: You have recently been promoted to Clinical Director. Congrats! What is the difference between a clinical supervisor and a clinical director?
Shanelle: As a clinical supervisor, your job is to administer things. The clinical supervisor is the eyes and ears and the assistant to the counselor and the client, which is more of a parallel process. I serve the counselors, and the counselors serve the clients. As the director, there's more of an opportunity to serve in different places. I'm also able to be seen in different places. There are more speaking engagements and opportunities for me to be a little bit more in the forefront.
Question: What do you like most about supervising clinicians?
Shanelle: There's a couple of things I actually like about being the supervisor. I like seeing a clinician being confused about what's going on, not because it's comical or anything, but I just like the innocence that comes with the clinician when they first start. I also like seeing them becoming involved in certain circumstances, and knowing that I can support them and also knowing that they've learned something to support themselves. I like being available to other people. I wish I had more hours in the day to serve as many clients as I would like, and this is kind of my way of serving multiple clients. So, I figure that I only have 10 fingers and 10 toes and two eyes, but by being a clinical supervisor, I can multiply some of my thinking in various ways and in different capacities, so that’s what I like about clinical supervision. I get to hear some cool stories, too.
Question: What do you dislike about being a clinical supervisor?
Shanelle: I wouldn’t say dislike, but maybe less marketing aspects of being a clinical supervisor and the level of responsibility. You're responsible for the counselor, and you hope that you are providing them the supervision that they need for them to be a better counselor. That amount of pressure is a little bit higher than just being a clinician in some capacity. I wouldn't say that I don’t like it. I think I've gotten immune to it but it definitely is one of the less exciting parts of the job.
Question: What do you do for self-care?
Shanelle: I listen to music. I’m a doctorate student, so my self-care is probably atrocious, but other than listening to music, I do like to go out and do random things. I like to go out to restaurants. I like to sleep. I like or light candles. I think I have an addiction. Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
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Onyx Director of Training and Educational Programming leads a series of sessions in restorative conversation at American University
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September 29 – Onyx’s Director of Training and Educational Programming, Ayana Malone, participated in the first session of a series entitled, “Restorative Conversation Series at American University.” Through virtual sessions, Onyx Therapy Group will highlight how current events, like racial divisions, protests, police brutality, and the rise of antithetical groups, impact the mental health of staff at American University. This conversation is a four-part speaker series designed to raise awareness of how the past year represents collective trauma and parallel pandemics across the United States. The series will encompass three affinity processing sessions and one restorative conversation. It will lead participants through guided discussions and exercises on speaking openly, listening consciously, and building community constructively. Ayana Malone, American University alum, will lead the sessions on such topics as:
- People of Color Processing and Affinity Group
- Black, African- American and African Descendants of Slaves (ADOS) Processing and Affinity Group
- Non-Person of Color Allies, Supporters, or Learners Affinity Group
- Restorative Conversations for Allies, Accomplices, and the AU Community
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Onyx Therapist participates in panel discussion with the Center for Equality and Gender Rights and Just Films
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 September 29 – Kemah M. Gbolokai, licensed professional graduate counselor with Onyx, participated in a panel discussion with The Center for Equality and Gender Rights and Just films in collaboration with Chatham University Women’s Institute to discuss the documentary, “Say her name: The life and death of Sandra Bland.” Kemah provided mental health and cultural awareness through the lens as an African-American woman therapist to address trauma and physical and psychological effects of women of color that are involved with the police and in prison.
Kemah has 10 years of experience working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. She has 6 years working with women and children fleeing domestic violence. Kemah has worked in the field of corrections and rehabilitation with clients who have co-occurring disorders. She was able to develop an ability to utilize Trauma Focused –CBT by applying psycho education and parenting skills, Solution Focused, Trauma Informed Care and Reality Therapy with an emphasis in problem solving and meeting unmet psychological needs, while empowering her clients. She has provided individual and group counseling for youth and adults in residential settings and provided group counseling for female offenders. Kemah continues to empower others with mental health and educational information through workshops to undergraduate students, community organizations such as PNG Events, Generation Hope and local media outlets (“It Needs to Be Heard”). She has created a girl’s youth group called VIP DIVAS, a trauma focused and coping skills group to provide social and emotional support and education to adolescent youth.
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Onyx is growing!
Onyx therapy group welcomes the following new counselors and interns:
Adijat Agbo-Ola, M.Ed
Kameka Barnes, MA, LGPC, NCC
DeLicia Boyd, MS, LGPC, NCC
Carrin Brown, MA, LGPC
C’Aira Neal, MA, LGPC, NCC
Kehinde Olugbade, MS, LGPC, NCC
Tia Johnson, Resident Counselor (Trinity University)
Briana Williamson, Resident Counselor (Bowie State University)
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On September 8, Onyx celebrates the 40th birthday of its very own CEO Dr. LaNail R. Plummer-Marcano!
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Future Events
October 1 & 6 – Ayana Malone and Kesha Bradford will be presenting two topics of discussion for their Restorative Conversation Series at American University
October 5 – Jada L. Pannell will be a guest panellist at Breast Cancer Symposium sponsored by the Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Alpha Omega Chapter of Pittsburgh
October 12 – Dr. LaNail R. Plummer-Marcano will be presenting on the topic of “Coming Out” for National Coming Out Day at the University of Baltimore
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