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Onyx Monthly Newsletter

December 2021

And just like that...we are in December!

2021 seems to have flown by and I can honestly say it was a jam-packed year on so many levels. Onyx had a number of wins this year, so many moments that we were proud of and we feel made an impact on our DC, Maryland, and Virginia family, and of course the greater community at large. We got the opportunity to work with some of the most influential and trending publications - Forbes, The Washingtonian, and New York Magazine, and NBC, just to name a few. These different opportunities allowed Onyx Therapy Group to position themselves in the mental health field as the group that is truly leading the pack on transformative healing.

Here’s a breakdown of some of our favorite moments from 2021!

In January, we launched our LinkedIn Live series “Spillin’ The Tea with Dr. P,” where each month Dr. Plummer and a guest go Live from LinkedIn and Facebook to breakdown the topic of mental health in a variety of areas; from the beverage/whiskey industry, to yoga & wellness, Pride month, Sexual Assault awareness, and so much more. We started partnerships with Black community-focused organizations like Ethel’s Club and Blackgrlthngs, offering up community mental health resources to its members, as well as building relationships with LGBTQ+ focused companies like Folx Health.

Onyx wholeheartedly celebrated Women’s History Month in March, and took part in a Night of Hope and Healing on the OWN Network, and began our work with Flikshop, a small business that strives to keep incarcerated people connected to their friends and families. Our Education & Training team continued their amazing work with the Sidwell Friends School, and Dr. Plummer joined NYU’s Silver School of Social Work to present a two part lecture series on best practices and applications for creating client systems with individuals and/or companies.

Our team then celebrated 2021’s Juneteenth with a staff photoshoot and covid-safe get together, which was broadcasted on the Local WDVM station.

As we dove into the last six months of the year we established partnerships with Mental Health America, for a Pride month webinar on The Trauma of Coming Out, and landed a feature in the Washingtonian about prioritizing mental health as a CEO, how Dr. Plummer built Onyx. From there, Dr. Plummer landed not one, but two, Forbes pieces discussing why the masses of people don’t want to go back to the conventional workplace, and ways to try and reverse it.

As if that weren’t enough, we’ve rounded off the last couple of months by launching Onyx’s official Blog on the Onyx website, announcing our podcast, “Onyx Therapy Group - The Podcast,” and have re-established two of our favorite YouTube series: “Grown A** Woman” and “Teen Talks.” Last but not least, Dr. Plummer was recently featured in an e-book for the Small Giants Community on diversity, equity and inclusion.

We got a lot done this year, but we have no plans to slow! 2022 here we come!!

We pay homage -

So many pillars of our community transitioned from this earth to be with our ancestors. The loss of these Black men really took a toll on our community in many ways, but we can attest to the fact that it highlighted just how much our people suffer in silence with addiction, depression, familial struggles, and underlying health problems. All of this puts mental health under the microscope, and really allows you to see and hopefully understand that we all grow through what we go through, some may just come out on the other side and others may not.

Rest in Power -

DMX (Earl Simmons)

Eric Jerome Dickey

Markie Dee

Black Rob

Shock G

Chi Modu

Biz Markie

Paul Johnson

Chucky Thompson

Michael K Williams

Onyx believes in transformative healing. This healing can come in the form of reaching out to receive counseling services and it may also mean finding new ways to practice self-care. Onyx’s Educational Consultant, activist and Educator Desiree Brown, wrote a beautiful piece on our blog on how we are grieving through these losses as a people. It’s definitely worth a read!

Have you been keeping up with the Onyx blog??

Have you been keeping up with the Onyx blog?! In October, we launched the Onyx Blog where our clinical and educational teams write about various topics that affect our mental health and community. They blend their expertise and knowledge on mental health with their personal experiences and creative minds to construct very moving pieces.

A usual taboo topic - menopause was the main subject of one of our November pieces. Women make up half the population and eventually every one of those women will experience menopause, yet no one talks about it. Hopefully this article will open a door for a much larger conversation to be had...

​​You can read all of the current articles on our website www.onyxtherapygroup.com.

We also launched Onyx Therapy Group - The Podcast, available wherever you stream podcasts! You can now listen to episodes 1-7 of, “Spillin’ The Tea with Dr. P,” where conversation topics range from wellness and mental health, Pride Month, the struggle of applying and paying for college as a POC, healing as a survivor, and more. New episodes go live every Friday so stay tuned!

The months are just melting away and there’s only one month left of 2021! Don’t worry though, Onyx is still working hard to help those in need manage their mental health problems. As things begin to shift with new rules and regulations, and of course our everyday issues, Onyx is here to help.

Take a look at Onyx in the media from last month!

November 10th: Forward Promise Podcast

Dr. Plummer joined Dr. Rhonda Bryant on the Forward Promise Podcast to talk about dehumanization and its influence on the work being done at Onyx as well as discussing their transformative healing. They also go over their definitions of healing and thriving past their traumas.

November 20th : Huffington Post article

Dr. Plummer was recently featured in a Huffington Post UK article around the topic of how we as Black women feel anxiety in regards to our hair, in more spaces than not. Highlighting how much judgment Black women feel from non-black peers in the workspace, the author, Habiba Katsha, quotes Dr. Plummer perfectly: “Black women did not choose their hair type and since many of their hair types are not welcomed or labeled inappropriately, they have been batting with acceptance first with themselves and then with the world.

November 20th : Spillin the Tea with Dr. P and Dr. Ajita Robinson

Dr. Plummer got the chance to chat with Dr. Ajita Robinson, a grief and trauma therapist, to discuss grief and trauma during the holiday season as well as ways to deal with those emotions in a healthy way.

What’s coming up??

For starters, we’ll be rounding off the year with our final Spillin’ the Tea w/ Dr. P on December 16th, featuring special guest Curtis D. Young. The episode will focus on Youth and Art as a Healing Practice as well as new ways for adolescents to upkeep their mental health. We’re also so excited to be having Dr. Plummer contribute to a TIME Magazine piece about Olympian Simone Biles, and how we can maintain our Black mental health on and off the so-called “field” for athletes.

And for the new year, we’re excited to announce that Onyx will be hosting a Mental Health Fair in April 2022, featuring all Black-owned and operated businesses and guest speakers. Held in the DC area and free to the public, we’re excited to bring a safe space for our Black brothers and sisters to speak openly about their mental health and gain access to resources and information.

We’ll also be kicking off a new partnership with the team at SAVE.org. SAVE is the nation’s leading nonprofit suicide prevention agency working to prevent suicide through public awareness and education. For more than 30 years SAVE has been an industry leader in developing and disseminating safe messaging for suicide prevention and mental health around the world, creating innovative programs and materials used to prevent suicide and help those impacted by a suicide loss. Led by Dr. Dan Reidenberg, an internationally recognized expert in suicide prevention and mental health, SAVE has over 1,500 volunteers across the US and 25 charters in several states. SAVE has been recognized as a Champion of Change organization by The White House, received numerous awards and is accredited by the BBB, Charities Review Council, Guidestar and America’s Best Charities. Onyx looks forward to helping them with the mental health programming for their clients and team!

ONYX IS HIRING!

Take a look at the postings below and spread the word, we are looking to add to our team!

GET TO KNOW THE ONYX TEAM!

Congratulations to Andrea Jones of the Education team!

She wrote a full curriculum on social media and mental health for middle school students adapted from a curriculum written by Clinical Director Shanelle Clay. It is an amazing curriculum with 6 weeks of lessons and extension activities.

Keep up the great work!

Happiest of Birthdays to our December team members!

Miriam Lane - December 1st

Maegan Marcano - December 8th

BE SURE TO FOLLOW US ONLINE @ONYXTHERAPYGROUP AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO STAY UP TO DATE ON ALL OF THE IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS ONYX IS A PART OF!

Contacts for Crisis

National Suicide Lifeline: 1-800-273-8355; or dial 988

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

Mental Health Crisis Hotline (DC): 1-888-7WE-HELP

Mental Health Crisis Hotline (MD): 301-429-2185

Mental Health Crisis Hotline (PA): 1-888-796-8226

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Based in Washington DC, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, Onyx Therapy Group is dedicated to cultivating and strengthening the community through mental health practices. With a focus on direct clinical work, professional development/training, and sourcing, Onyx Therapy Group incorporates the values of integrity, respect, loyalty, community, culture, and excellence. As an organization, Onyx Therapy Group has over 15 years in mental health work and 20 years of education and skill-based practice that has positively impacted individuals, educators, and organizations nationally. Onyx Therapy Group is a Black, Woman, Veteran-owned business that believes in and designs transformative healing