TAMPA, Fla. — A new nonprofit organization is helping empower women and making sure they can access resources to support them spiritually and emotionally.

What You Need To Know

  • Faitherapy's mission is to help women access support to improve faith & mental wellness

  • Resources include counseling, a wise counsel group, devotional series and podcasts

  • The organization is filled with wellness experts and faith leaders

  • The nonprofit's "Radical Transformation 21-Day Challenge" begins Jan. 8

Marilyn Shaw, founder of Faitherapy, says she saw the need to create a safe space for change.

“Faitherapy is a community for women to prioritize their faith and mental wellness,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for them to finally have a space for them, to be intentional about every aspect of their life instead of being stuck and limited to just one perspective.”

One perspective introducing change was during a recent workshop called “Radical Transformation.” As part of a girls’ night out, women created their own affirmation charcuterie boards.

“It’s the foundation for them to really see the words that they need to speak to themselves for where they’re headed,” said Shaw of the do-it-yourself boards.

“I think the words that are speaking to me on the board (are) ‘evolving,’ and ‘strength’ and well as ‘transformation,’” said Jhila Ferguson, who attended the workshop.

Shaw shares her transformation to make sure others can find support.

“It’s important because it’s personal to me,” said Shaw. “When I first had my mental breakdown, I didn’t have a community, I didn’t know where to turn to, but once I started sharing my story and being transparent, other women resonated with it.”

Now, she’s created a community of wellness leaders and faith influencers who have conversations about mental health.

It’s support, Ferguson says, she appreciates.

“Just getting out of that stuck phase and just not holding back and really taking accountability in your life,” said Ferguson. “The people you have in your life, the people you have in your motivational circle and really just taking that step to evolve at bettering yourself.”

Shaw shares her story of evolving. When not inspiring women through Faitherapy, she works as the Marketing and Strategic Project Manager at St. Petersburg College. The SPC graduate started as an intern and is now transitioning to work on campus as a licensed mental health counselor.

She credits her late mother for encouraging the career move.

“I’m getting teary-eyed, because Friday will be a year since she passed away,” said an emotional Shaw. “And she knew I would be here, she saw it before I saw it, she knew that I would overcome and not be stuck in a stigma of mental health issues, but to use it as a vehicle to help other people.”

That’s exactly what Shaw is doing. She recently became a mental health first aid instructor.

“The good thing about the mental health first aid, it’s like the sister to CPR. It’s the first line of defense. I’m able to give people educational tools to help them to work with others that may be struggling and not know what to do,” Shaw said.

Shaw is helping people find that support on campus and in the community.

“It just affirms everything that I aspire to be: resilient, like the words. Just be inspiring, compassionate, kind,” said Ferguson as she finished her board.

A board full of empowering words, Shaw says, that can serve as the foundation for these women and their radical transformation.

The Radical Transformation workshop continues with a 21-day challenge to help kick off 2024.