Crystal Brooks
You may have experienced therapy before and know what it is like to have a space to talk. My work offers something a little different. I work with women who are often the ones others depend on the mothers, caregivers, professionals, helpers, and women who have learned how to keep things moving even when they are carrying a lot themselves.
I specialize in perinatal and postpartum mental health and utilize advanced hypnotherapy, somatic practices, shadow work, guided meditation, breathwork, and reflective writing.
You do not have to be in crisis to want therapy. You may be grieving, navigating a major life transition, feeling overwhelmed or anxious, questioning what no longer fits, or simply wanting a space where nothing is being asked of you. As a Black woman and therapist, I am especially intentional about creating space for Black women and other women of color to speak freely without having to translate or minimize their experiences. You do not need to arrive with everything figured out. We can begin with where you are.
First session
Your first session is a space to begin making sense of what has been weighing on you and what brought you to therapy now. We may talk about what feels hardest, what you have been carrying, the roles you tend to take on, and the patterns you have started noticing in yourself or your relationships. I am interested not only in what is happening, but also in what may have shaped how you learned to cope, respond, care for others, or move through difficult experiences. You do not have to unpack your entire life in one session. We will start with what feels safest, most important and begin identifying where you want things to feel different. I trust that you will leave the first session feeling understood, clearer about what we may work on together, and with a sense that there is somewhere meaningful for us to begin.
Strengths
My approach to therapy is holistic, practical, and deeply relational. I look beyond symptoms to help you understand the experiences, roles, relationships, and systems that may have shaped how you learned to cope, care for others, and move through the world. I integrate traditional psychotherapy with trauma-informed care, hypnotherapy, somatic awareness, and a strengths-based perspective. Rather than focusing only on what is “wrong,” we explore what your patterns may have been protecting, what no longer serves you, and what it looks like to respond differently without losing yourself in the process. I am especially mindful of the experiences of women, mothers, caregivers, and people who are often the one everyone depends on. Our work can include learning how to receive support, set boundaries with greater clarity, trust your own internal authority, and make room for yourself alongside your responsibilities. My goal is not to make you into a different person. It is to help you understand yourself more fully, access what is already within you, and create change that feels sustainable and true to who you are.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is often the person others depend on…the caregiver, parent, professional, helper, or high-functioning adult who is used to holding a lot together. You may appear capable on the outside while feeling overwhelmed, emotionally tired, disconnected from yourself, or unsure of where your needs fit. You may struggle with boundaries, receiving support, overthinking, people-pleasing, grief, life transitions, caregiving stress, or the pressure to keep going even when you are depleted. You may also be beginning to recognize that some of the patterns that helped you survive, achieve, or care for others are no longer working in the same way. I work best with clients who are curious about themselves and open to exploring not only what they are experiencing, but also what shaped it. Together, we can look at patterns, relationships, family roles, cultural expectations, and the systems that have influenced how you learned to move through the world. You do not have to have everything figured out before starting therapy. You may simply know that you want a different relationship with yourself one that includes greater clarity, support, discernment, and room to receive as well as give. Return to Peace.
Treatment methods
Integrative
I use an integrative approach, which means I draw from different therapeutic methods based on your needs, goals, experiences, and what feels most helpful in the moment. Our work may include traditional talk therapy, trauma-informed care, hypnotherapy, somatic awareness, strengths-based approaches, and exploration of the relationships, roles, and systems that have shaped you. Rather than using one method for every person, I look at the whole picture—your thoughts, emotions, body, relationships, responsibilities, lived experiences, and patterns of coping. Together, we identify what may have helped you survive or function in the past, what may no longer be serving you, and what can support meaningful change now. The goal is to create therapy that feels responsive, practical, and personal to you.
Transpersonal
Drawing upon 10 years of experience, I integrate spirituality and consciousness in sessions with my clients; guiding them toward holistic healing and self-discovery.
Hypnotherapy
Using heart-opening transpersonal hypnotherapy, I facilitate deep healing and growth in clients
Person-centered (Rogerian)
I use a person-centered, humanistic approach by meeting you as a whole person not simply as a diagnosis or a set of symptoms. I believe you are the expert on your own life. My role is to create a supportive, nonjudgmental space where you can explore your experiences, emotions, relationships, and needs with greater honesty and self-understanding. Our work is collaborative. I bring clinical knowledge, perspective, and tools, while also honoring your autonomy, values, lived experience, and inner sense of what is right for you. Rather than focusing only on what needs to be “fixed,” we also recognize your strengths, capacity for growth, and the parts of you that may have been overlooked while you were focused on surviving, achieving, caregiving, or meeting the needs of others. The goal is to help you develop a deeper relationship with yourself and make choices that feel more authentic, intentional, and aligned with who you are.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Black / African American
Person of Color (POC)
Woman
Top specialties
Burnout
Perinatal / Postpartum
Women's Issues
Other specialties
Anxiety
First Responders/Healthcare Workers
Grief
Life Transitions
Loneliness / Isolation
Perinatal Mental Health
Spirituality
Trauma and PTSD
Serves
Adults (18 to 64)
Individual Therapy
Woman
Doesn't specialize in
Addiction
Addiction / Substance Use
Couples Counseling
Dissociative Disorders
Eating Disorders
Family Therapy
Family Therapy
Fertility & Reproduction Issues
Gambling Addiction
High Clinical Acuity
Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD)
Personality Disorders
Self-Harming
Serious Mental Illness
Serious Mental Illness / Crisis
Sex Addiction
Sex Therapy
Substance Misuse
Suicidal Ideation
Licensed in
FloridaLicense TPSW102
New JerseyLicense 44SC05703600
North CarolinaLicense C011128