The Mirror and the Mind: Mental Health and Beauty Business Combined

Camille McDaniel, LPC (00:03.918)
Welcome back to another episode. Thank you for joining us for everybody who has been consistent and for everyone who is new. Welcome, welcome. Today we are going to be talking to a therapist who is really wonderful. I have not always had an opportunity to talk to her regularly, but whenever throughout the years I do talk to her, it’s always a pleasant experience. We’re going to be talking to Jessica Harris.

Jessica Harris LPC (00:06.828)
you

Jessica Harris LPC (00:31.66)
Thank you.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (00:32.47)
who is licensed professional counselor here in Georgia today. So I’m gonna just start off, let me tell you about Jessica and then we will get right into our episode. So Jessica Harris, she is, as I said, a licensed professional counselor. She’s here in Georgia and has over seven years of experience working with clients who struggle with eating disorders and negative body image issues. She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from North Carolina A &T.

State University and her master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Liberty University. She’s passionate about guiding individuals through life transitions and trauma and unhealthy relationship patterns and helping them to build self-awareness, heal their relationships with themselves and navigate challenges related to body, food and faith. Jessica is also one thing that we want to just note that she’s originally from North Carolina.

Jessica Harris LPC (01:07.788)
you

Camille McDaniel, LPC (01:30.062)
She now lives here in Georgia with us, whoop, whoop, as I said earlier. And she enjoys just the fun stuff. She enjoys brunch and traveling and trying new foods. And she is deeply motivated by helping others heal with resilience and compassion. So thank you so much, Jessica, for taking the time to talk with me today. Yeah, absolutely.

Jessica Harris LPC (01:30.22)
Cool.

Jessica Harris LPC (01:51.144)
Yeah, absolutely. I’m really excited to be here. The thing I want to like, it’s kind of crazy full circle because do you know when we first met? The thing is for you all, it’s crazy. So I used to follow or I follow you on YouTube. That’s how I knew who you were. And I was working in Sephora this time, still working on my license.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (01:59.684)
Do you know I was gonna ask you that?

Camille McDaniel, LPC (02:17.658)
It was Perimeter Mall, wasn’t it?

Jessica Harris LPC (02:19.466)
No, it was actually, I will never forget it. was Sephora and JCPenney’s in Alpharetta. literally yelled out your name and I was like, Camilla, like.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (02:26.384)
Okay, okay, okay. Yes, North Point probably area, okay.

Miss

Jessica Harris LPC (02:34.324)
I was like, she’s going to think I’m crazy and I’m a stalker. But I was like, I know that face. I was like just soaking up everything that you were sharing on YouTube about private practice and being a therapist. And I was just like, this is so awesome. I get some information. to see you. And that was like our first like actual interaction.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (02:55.448)
that we’re on the same page today. We did not plan that you all because I was gonna say, do you remember when we first met? And so the cool part that I remember about that interaction was that first of all, you were like the same kind person that you are that you were just very kind.

Jessica Harris LPC (03:01.676)
Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (03:14.288)
and super helpful to me because anyone who knows me knows that like, you know, I love interacting and talking. I love my clients. I love people, but I’m talking all the time and listening all the time. When I go out, I sometimes am just real quiet and want to just stay to myself, but you are so positive. Like you could feel all the warmth coming straight from you. I felt so relaxed, you know, and so interesting that when we were sitting and having a conversation.

You were talking about wanting to, you know, get more in the mental health field and the goals that you had for yourself as you are literally helping me do my makeup. So the fact that you now today and this had to be, I mean, this had to been like 10 years ago or something like that. This is a this has been a while ago. And so the fact that now today, yes, you are that licensed professional counselor that you set out to be. You did bring all of your skills with regards to wanting to help people feel better about themselves.

Jessica Harris LPC (03:51.116)
it’s

Jessica Harris LPC (03:57.504)
Yeah. Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (04:10.702)
with the beauty industry and you’re blending the two. Now that’s wild. So yeah, that, yeah, that is full circle moment. It really is. So then I guess just let’s just start there. Let’s jump right in. That leads to the first thing that I was going to ask you, know, like blending beauty and then mental health. I mean, that that’s super creative from, my standpoint. So, you know, how’d you come up with that? you know, I guess what made you just confident to blend those two and just move forward and make it meaningful.

Jessica Harris LPC (04:30.028)
Thank

Jessica Harris LPC (04:38.224)
Yes. So I actually, wasn’t confident in it at all. I played around in makeup when I was in grad school and it was like a self-soothing something I could do because grad school was crazy for me. And coming to Georgia where the…

Camille McDaniel, LPC (04:42.765)
Okay.

Jessica Harris LPC (04:55.532)
The way you get licensed is completely different. So I didn’t know I had to take the exam before you actually get LAPC and everything. So anyway, it was crazy. So that’s how I ended up at Sephora. But my first position in Georgia was at an eating disorder facility. And they were so gracious that they allowed me to do my beauty therapy group there and just be creative. And I was just soaking up anything I could. And part of that was actually reading a book called, Call to Crew.

by Jordan Reiner and I was like, this is so good, so why don’t I create it? And I had other supports that was just like, just go for it and just try to see what happens. So I was just being open and embracing my creativity. And I did not think I was a creative person whatsoever.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (05:28.345)
Hang.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (05:42.448)
No.

Wow, that’s funny how like the the difference between what everyone sees on the outside Compared to how we’re feeling really about our journey on the inside because I’m like, wow, that’s that’s awesome That’s really bold and you’re you’re like, yeah, it’s bold I don’t know how this is gonna work out but it’s actually working out quite well for you actually and I will Talk about that a little bit more as we go along and so then like in all of this Where does your faith come in? You know how?

How did that even help you as you’re moving forward? And like what I thought was bold, but like you’re saying, you know, I was not sure at all how this was gonna play out. you know, tell us more about all of that.

Jessica Harris LPC (06:26.88)
Yeah, I mean, I didn’t when when I didn’t know how it was going to play out and what it would look like. And that was really my biggest wrestle of like, how do I have the balance? And there was just so many different things. But my biggest thing was how do I connect with people of color, people that like me, because it was still so much stigma and just know we just pray it away. And prayer is

Camille McDaniel, LPC (06:53.712)
Yeah.

Jessica Harris LPC (06:55.82)
powerful and also we need both. Like I said, I’m from a small town in North Carolina where I don’t think there’s a Waffle House there. I haven’t been there forever. And then when you’re in those small spaces, there’s not a lot of knowledge there. So I really was in prayer of God guiding me in this and how do I reach more people with this message. And of course, women, people, love beauty. So I was like, this is my way in.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (07:04.002)
Okay.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (07:23.012)
You hear? You hear? You hear? You You hear?

Jessica Harris LPC (07:25.612)
I can share a few things or a few nuggets and words and gems that will say, that’s what a therapist is or this is what she actually does. It will open them up some more and being able to heal in the variety of ways that God designed for us to heal.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (07:44.632)
nice because there are a lot of things that are tied to beauty and community and you know talking and being able to share because oftentimes when you think about it the services aren’t quick so whatever service you’re getting you know right you know you’re going to be there for a little while whether it’s makeup whether it’s nails whether it’s hair whatever you know whatever the service may be so you do find yourself talking and then you know that that allows you to have that space so

that I could see how that could be a end, like a way into kind of helping people to have a different way of looking at just overall health, wellness, mental health. And then another thing that you were saying, know, just a desire to try to reach out to women who look like you, women of color. You started off in an eating disorder clinic and by and large, that community doesn’t have a whole lot of diversity, even sometimes with the patients.

Jessica Harris LPC (08:37.308)
Yes.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (08:37.434)
So the clients, even though it may be affecting large groups of people, I noticed that different cultures, different races view that differently. So you may have also found yourself kind of wanting to be able to maybe share more of that message across the board.

Jessica Harris LPC (08:54.314)
Yeah, it’s been such a blessing because when it comes to talking to people, churches or other ministers and being able to educate them on how this affects us in various ways, they’re like, I would never thought about this. And I’ve had, my goodness, the privilege to work with some amazing clients that were Christian and they were actually, instead of allowing the work

the word and scriptures to help them to be free, they were actually bound in the sense of the way they saw the word and being able to explore that with them in a gentle way. And it just helped them see God in a different space. So if we’re critical of ourselves, we can think God has been critical of us. I’m like, well, where does God’s softness come in with this? does he want you to nourish your body? And what does that look like? And being able to explore those things and that

Camille McDaniel, LPC (09:28.944)
Ha.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (09:45.168)
now.

Jessica Harris LPC (09:54.208)
been a game changer for a lot of my clients.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (09:57.178)
That’s awesome. I can only imagine. Yeah. So then now as you, as you have tried to blend these concepts to help people heal and move forward of like beauty and also mental health, have there been any challenges along the way? Okay. Where do I begin? Right.

Jessica Harris LPC (10:12.96)
girl. Like I said earlier, it’s really how I begin. And again, I’m like, okay, God, you want me to do this? Like, how we do this? So a lot was balanced. So not only with my business of do I do both things like beauty and you know, mental health, because they’re both expensive professions, like being a therapist is not cheap, but also

Camille McDaniel, LPC (10:36.112)
Aha. Yes, yes.

Jessica Harris LPC (10:42.9)
Also, I think about when I was first starting out, do I do therapy in the chair and what’s ethical and all these other things? I’m thinking about all these things. But then also I’m like, okay, but if I’m talking to them about different things that’s sensitive and they start crying and, you know, crying off the makeup. I’m thinking about all these things, but when I come to…

Camille McDaniel, LPC (11:00.686)
Yes! that’s okay!

Jessica Harris LPC (11:07.102)
learn is let me do some of the work and healing before I even apply makeup. And that’s really my heart is let’s have sessions before let’s deal with self image. Let’s deal with your mindset, your self perception. Let’s talk about those things. And then when you feel transformed, when you feel that peace, when you’re connecting with yourself and your body in healthy, positive ways, then let’s put on some different things that enhance the beauty that you already have.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (11:14.032)
Yes.

Jessica Harris LPC (11:37.44)
that has been the most challenging thing. And I feel like I got a good handle on it. And so I have some good things or exciting things coming up soon to promote. But my other thing that I find, found that was challenging was the people being confused in the church about what I do. So misunderstanding and some judgment when it comes to makeup, because we know with certain denominations, they’re like, not makeup or even

Camille McDaniel, LPC (11:44.336)
I don’t think.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (11:59.574)
Mmm.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (12:05.486)
Yes. Right.

Jessica Harris LPC (12:07.44)
And a lot of people, I haven’t promoted as much, but Hena, I actually do Hena, but I actually learned about Hena at Liberty. And the small story behind that is actually, learned about it from a missionary girl.

she was in my grad program and she would go out and do mission mission strips with her dad and the middle east and different things and they would put henna on the hands as a message or story of jesus on their hands henna is all natural it doesn’t you know and i

Camille McDaniel, LPC (12:40.272)
Ohhhh

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Jessica Harris LPC (12:45.216)
their particular on what symbols or what signs I do. But henna is an all natural plant. It’s like it’s literally for them. It’s like putting on fingernail polish. Different cultures actually embrace that. But it’s something that I learned in grad school, Liberty University as a way to minister to people, not in a way of I’m embracing another religion or spirituality.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (12:55.064)
Okay.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (13:01.698)
Yes. And then, yes.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (13:10.874)
That’s a that’s a good one because one of the things that popped up for me Well when you shared that was other other cultures who may have had a belief in Christ and had to find ways to maybe hide it so that they weren’t persecuted if used what was around them in order to send a message so when you’re saying that you know some people yes, it may have another use

Jessica Harris LPC (13:31.404)
Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (13:39.258)
But in that culture, if this is what we have and we can then let other people know through the message that we follow Christ without being detected by other individuals who might do us harm, then this is what we use now. but you know what? That’s why it’s kind of important to know history about other people and what they’re doing and how they’re doing it before we have a of a shut mind all the way.

Jessica Harris LPC (13:42.442)
Yeah.

Jessica Harris LPC (13:54.973)
I’m sorry.

Jessica Harris LPC (14:06.764)
them.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (14:09.104)
Because I do know we have to be very protective and I do know the Bible says you have to test every spirit and I know that you definitely have to make sure it aligns. But then as we allow ourselves to find out, hey, okay, is this this truth or is this is this not the right way? We find out these stories and I hadn’t I wouldn’t have thought about that but that makes me think of some other things that I’ve read along the way about other cultures and what they did in order to go undetected because there was high persecution of Christians.

Jessica Harris LPC (14:30.955)
Yep.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (14:37.302)
in that country in that region and so they did certain things in order to let others know I’m a believer are you a believer but then those who might do them harm would not know what they were talking about wow wow interesting

Jessica Harris LPC (14:45.856)
Mm-hmm.

Jessica Harris LPC (14:49.932)
Exactly. And my thing is that’s a way and place where a lot of the kids that I were with the teens, they were able to embrace that and really enjoy Hina in that way. But I done a lot of research on what I’m doing, what symbols I use and do not use. That’s very important to me and makes me feel connected to what I believe in and my faith.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (15:11.76)
that’s important, yes.

Jessica Harris LPC (15:19.946)
because they’re sort of things that I don’t connect with and I’m not using those symbols, you know. And I know the meaning of them. So, yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (15:23.427)
Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (15:27.098)
So you’re educated on that. Yeah. Okay. So then how, okay. So clients, how are they responding to this? Cause you know, I kind of see it’s a progression like you were saying earlier, you’re like, well, if I start doing the makeup and trying to do the mental health and then they crying off the makeup or not. it’s like, so that, that is a part of it sounds like your therapeutic approach, allowing them to see the beauty in themselves.

Jessica Harris LPC (15:31.468)
Thank

Jessica Harris LPC (15:47.335)
Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (15:51.566)
maybe enhanced by different things that you use that might be, you know, in the makeup, the field of makeup, but initially you’re helping them heal, really, truly heal emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and then you move on to the next part of kind of celebration of that healing. So how are they taking it? Like, you know, what are your clients saying?

Jessica Harris LPC (16:02.798)
What?

Jessica Harris LPC (16:15.466)
They are receptive. They’re like, they’re all for it. There’s of course some clients are like, no, makeup. I don’t push anything on anyone. But when they’re coming to me, they’re like, you’re it. Like God, like some like, are like, God brought me to you. Get to educate them on it and explore.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (16:33.474)
Yes!

Jessica Harris LPC (16:38.614)
where did their ideas about themselves and beauty come from? And that has been a game changer. And then I get to bring in, well, how does God fit into this in your beauty? And all these, because a lot of times it’s hard, find clients, hard to take in compliments. And then, but then they’re wanting that affirmation. So really exploring those things, but they have been so receptive. They’re like, this is, this is cool. I’ve never seen this.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (17:07.984)
Okay, all right. So then ultimately what does that balance look like for you? Because that is that’s a lot of moving parts and I didn’t even get to the next question I asked you I want to know and what is the marketing of a business like that look like but first what is what is the what does that balance look like?

Jessica Harris LPC (17:08.556)
yeah, yeah.

Jessica Harris LPC (17:22.7)
that looks like really aligning. So part of my business and just for clarity, aligning, yes, as far as my business and making sure those different parts are taken care of and I’m giving quality care. I’m very passionate about that because I believe one of my strong values is integrity and giving quality.

So being on time and all those things, but I only do beauty sessions on the weekends. So I’m very clear on that. And then of course I have weekends for my own care, all those things, but that’s more so what the balance looks like. So the beauty sessions are completely separate than mental health sessions.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (18:09.617)
Okay. And then how do you market a business like this?

Jessica Harris LPC (18:14.132)
Honestly, it’s fun and you might have seen some of my stuff. Show makeup. I’m starting to do that a little bit more and I get to be creative. So I get to talk about beauty. get to talk about body. I get to talk about mental health and all those things, but it’s a lot of social media. And honestly, it ebbs and flows with when I get to post up and because that’s a lot of work in itself. it is it’s.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (18:18.103)
Okay.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (18:38.317)
It is, yeah.

Jessica Harris LPC (18:42.816)
doing podcasts. I’ve really been enjoying this so I’m so great. That’s one of the reasons I’m so grateful to be up here. But that’s where or how people get to experience me and whether that’s with churches or with organizations or clients and they get to really know me from what I’m sharing or even just sharing about beauty in general.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (18:47.033)
Hey.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (19:05.686)
nice. Yeah, that sounds okay. So it’s a little bit of everything. And I have seen, yeah, you have a pretty cool social media presence. Matter of fact, I remember even years ago, before I really noticed it with other social media platforms and everything that you would do these clips and you know how you have the voices playing in the background, whether it’s a song or whether it’s a clip from a movie or something anyway.

Jessica Harris LPC (19:31.5)
Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (19:33.336)
and you’re mouthing it as though it’s you. And I’m like, she does that perfectly. Like, she, how is she doing? Look, that is, that’s another level. I’m not there yet, but I was definitely like, that’s on point. Cause you would be picking clips that would say certain things. It’s like, you know, as if you were the therapist talking to a client, but it was coming from maybe like a movie or a song or whatever. Anyway.

Jessica Harris LPC (19:47.852)
you.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (19:56.718)
I’m like, she is mouthing that, like, I almost would believe that was her. So, so your, your like creativity, though, it sounds like just goes in many different directions that then attracts people to what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, you know, and then where they can find you. And so I guess for all of, for all the Christian counselors out there, anyone for that matter, whether Christian or not, and they’re just thinking like,

Jessica Harris LPC (19:59.916)
You

Camille McDaniel, LPC (20:21.26)
Okay, I think I have these ideas. I’m not sure how to blend them, you know, they might be unrelated, but you know, can you give some advice on just what what they should do if they have some what seems like maybe unrelated passions and how they might be able to like integrate them?

Jessica Harris LPC (20:31.468)
Thank you.

Jessica Harris LPC (20:38.604)
Honestly, the first step is looking at ethics. I’ll always go back to that because I’m a stuggler for it.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (20:43.908)
Yes. Yes.

Jessica Harris LPC (20:46.844)
You know, we don’t want to do any harm, no one across any boundaries. And then you get a sticky situation. And I’m very clear with someone that sits in my chair, like, look, I’m not your therapist, but we can chat a little bit. And if you want something separate, then we need to schedule that. So I’m very clear on those boundaries. So being clear with your boundaries, being know your ethics. But just to give you a little bit of a example.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (20:49.029)
line.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (20:56.506)
Mm-hmm.

Jessica Harris LPC (21:09.26)
I talked to a therapist that was a massage therapist and she’s like, how do I do this? And you know, we can’t touch clients and that could be very touchy. So I was like, well, why don’t you teach like couples how to, you know, do massages or, know, that could be incorporated. And I think she actually went to the route of actually teaching mothers how to soothe their babies.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (21:34.85)
wow!

Jessica Harris LPC (21:36.537)
So you can hit me up, email me, we have a chat. But my thing is, there’s things that one of the parts that I think you didn’t mention was, along with eating disorders and negative body mass, is decolonizing beauty standards. So when it comes to decolonizing beauty standards, if we’re in a white America and we’re told that our

Camille McDaniel, LPC (21:41.146)
Right!

Camille McDaniel, LPC (21:55.867)
No, didn’t mention that. Tell us about that.

Jessica Harris LPC (22:06.078)
hips and the way we look and our skin color is something that’s a bad thing. I really have to break down like this is what you’ve been seeing all these years and this is how God created us and he created a variety of beauty. A sunflower and a rose are two different things where they’re both beautiful. So when I talk about decolonizing I really educate my clients a lot on what beauty is and really deconstructing what that is and giving them more

Camille McDaniel, LPC (22:20.048)
Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (22:34.052)
Okay.

Jessica Harris LPC (22:35.982)
insights. with that, with saying that, I do believe a lot of us, especially people of color, are embracing our creativity in the clinical space and giving ourselves room for that. And again, that goes back to, okay, you have a talent, you have, if it’s art, if it’s other things, how can I incorporate it and, and making sure it’s not crossing any boundaries and being clear on, okay, these are coaching clients in this way, or artists, clients, or whatever the case may be on creating a space for

Camille McDaniel, LPC (22:51.471)
No, I don’t.

Jessica Harris LPC (23:05.942)
that.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (23:06.466)
Yes, because we work too hard to get here to be losing it because we are not ethical when we are doing. Okay, okay. That is the honest truth. that’s okay. So that yeah, that’s actually a whole nother side to it because there’s a cultural competency that goes along with doing this as well because definitely I’ve seen I’ve seen a lot of different patterns over the many years that I’ve been doing this as it relates to culture, the United States.

Jessica Harris LPC (23:11.564)
Hey! Hey!

Jessica Harris LPC (23:31.564)
it’s too complicated.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (23:33.892)
how people framed it. So that’s also something that it sounds like then that you are helping as people are working through self-esteem and trauma and all of that. Cultural competency is really important. thank you. Yeah. Okay. That’s awesome. Tell us how, because you have so many, you have so many, you have social media, you have your website, you have different things that you’re offering people can sign up for. You have

Jessica Harris LPC (23:45.233)
Absolutely. Yeah.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (24:01.124)
You have a business partner. have all the things. So tell us, where can we find you? How can people follow you and find out more about what you’re doing?

Jessica Harris LPC (24:02.857)
Yeah.

Jessica Harris LPC (24:06.668)
you

Jessica Harris LPC (24:10.358)
Good.

Absolutely. So the best place where I’m you’ll mainly see me is Instagram and that’s at the beauty therapist Of course at and the be be a UTI instead of a wife therapist Shoot me a DM. I’m open. Don’t be afraid to reach out and then of course my email info at the beauty therapist spelt the same way and if you want to just check me out in general the beauty clinic is where you need to be to get all the

about me and how I support the community and my clients.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (24:47.844)
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for sharing this, for sharing your ideas, for sharing how all that innovation started from concept all the way to fruition and everything else that you’re doing. I appreciate talking to you. It’s always nice and a pleasure.

Jessica Harris LPC (25:03.708)
Yes, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

Camille McDaniel, LPC (25:06.478)
You’re welcome.

CPP Ep. 18 The Mirror and the Mind: Mental Health and Beauty Business Combined