Mazi Robinson encourages women along their personal journeys
A few years ago, Mazi Robinson, a licensed professional counselor and speaker, started noticing a trend in Atlanta and across the country. More than ever, women were turning out for women’s-only gatherings and asking for counseling referrals on Facebook. “It seemed women were hungry for deep, hard truth, the kind of truth that leads you to healing and freedom,” says Robinson. “I began to ponder if there was a way to encourage women to be mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy.”
For three years, Robinson brainstormed and kept a journal for her myriad ideas about how to help women cultivate a life of joy, courage and freedom. In 2017, she and some friends decided to bring one to life by planning a free motivational event, Cultivate [now called Gatherings], at Robinson’s Sandy Springs home. They hoped to have 35 attend but ended up with 125 RSVPs and moved it to Kairos Church, also in Sandy Springs. “We were blown away by the response and have been meeting there every other month ever since,” says Robinson, who is a certified facilitator in The Daring Way, a method of courage-building based on the research of Brené Brown, Ph.D. A year later, she expanded the mission of encouraging women in their pursuit of emotional and spiritual health, and opened Cultivate Counseling in Buckhead, where she and three other counselors provide sessions for women and couples.
What makes Cultivate stand out?
Whether through our free Gatherings or our affordable counseling, Cultivate gives women access and opportunity to mental health resources. What types of themes do you bring into the bi-monthly Gatherings? Our topics include anxiety, how to face change with confidence, how we heal, cultivating healthy relationships and more. We want it to be a place for all ages, life stages and walks of life to feel comfortable. It’s a place to learn and grow with other women.
How did you discover your passion for speaking and counseling others?
My story is a winding one. I was [once] a vocal performance major. Then, I was a teacher for five years at Marist School [in Brookhaven] before going to grad school for my master’s in professional counseling. I stand in awe that nothing has been wasted in my life, whether it was my own personal journey or my years as a musician. I use it all each day when I sit with clients or when I give a talk.
Why did you decide to focus on helping women?
Through my own journey of losing myself in relationships and life choices, and then healing and discovering my own voice and worth, I’ve had a heart for serving women, helping them to step into their full potential and finding freedom from things they struggle with.
You are raising two young boys. How does your work provide insight into that job?
Traditionally, boys are raised to shut off from emotions, detach from relationships and live under this umbrella of “succeed, win and don’t be weak.” While I love for them to be their rough and tumble selves, I try to be intentional about teaching them to identify and talk about their feelings so that someday they can have vulnerable, hard conversations with the ones they love.
CULTIVATE
3525 Piedmont Road
Bldg. 7, Suite 408
Atlanta 30305
404.624.6740
cultivateatlanta.com
PHOTO: Sara Hanna
