Meet Brandie Sellers | Licensed Professional Counselor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandie Sellers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandie, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I grew up in a family that valued hard work, and as a perfectionistic only child I interpreted that to mean something like, “Work hard until you’re dead.” It has taken a cancer diagnosis and getting a degree in counseling for me to understand that we did not come here to work hard, suffer, and then die. I value work as a part of my life, but I also value leisure time as an integral part of my life. Being an aging human and cancer survivor takes maintenance. As a business owner, I arrange my time now so that I see clients four days per week, and use Fridays for my own therapy and other self-care. This balance helps me to be a better therapist, a better mother, and a more joyful human.

Emphasizing leisure also translates to my client care. I ask my clients what they are doing for fun or rest this week, and often the I answer I get is something akin to “cleaning my closet.” Ugh. As a culture, we need to learn how to value and practice rest.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I went to grad school in my early 40’s as a single mom with three kids and two jobs. Five years later, I work one job as a Licensed Professional Counselor. When I look back, I’m not sure how that all worked out, but it did! One thing which sets me apart as a counselor is that I am not afraid to talk about sex or death. I believe we need to normalize conversations about these human experiences. I love helping my clients who are struggling with sexual issues, cancer, or other life issues.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in McKinney, and our Downtown square is fabulous. I would take them to lunch at Patina Green and to dinner at Harvest. One afternoon, we would visit Emporium Pies for a piece of Lord of the Pies a la mode with coffee, and afterward go next door to the Groovy Coop for some fun retro shopping. I love walking outside, so I would take them to Town Lake for a walk one day, and to Erwin Park another day. My granddaddy was born in Fairview, so I would take them to see the little red school house where he went to school and for a country drive, and then for a wine flight at Zin Zen in Adriatica.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shout out to the book “Pleasure Activism” by adrienne maree brown. Her book helped me give myself permission to have more leisure time and more pleasure in various forms, and the result of that has been better mental health and business growth.

Website: MindYourHeartCounseling.com

Instagram: @brandie.sellers

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/brandiesellers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BrandieSellersCounselor