I spent this past weekend immersed in community, culture, and faith, a soul-nourishing reminder that left me with fresh energy for the work I do every day.

Friday was the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation’s “Can We Talk? Arts & Wellness Summit” at National Harbor, and Saturday was Worship for Wellness – A Night of Hope in Richmond, VA. 

Together, they offered a powerful picture of how arts, movement, and ministry can open doors to mental well-being.

Friday, October 10 — Can We Talk? Arts & Wellness Summit

The “Can We Talk?” weekend (Oct 10–12) gathered clinicians, healers, artists, and community leaders to honor World Mental Health Day and advance culturally rooted care. The three-day event blended rich conversation with creative practices, culminating in a Sunday brunch (“i AM The Table”) hosted by Taraji P. Henson, in support of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation’s mission. (Source)

Sessions That Stood Out

🌿 The Business of Healing: Ethical Entrepreneurship for Healers & Helpers

Led by Dr. Tekesia Jackson-Rudd, this timely session explored how to build sustainable, values-aligned wellness practices. As the wellness sector grows, her guidance on margins, boundaries, and mission clarity was both practical and protective for clinicians and coaches.

🎧 Hip-Hop Therapy for Teens

Dr. Jeff Rocker demonstrated how music and lyricism can help teens express emotions, break stigma, and build emotional regulation skills. Seeing engagement rise the moment the beat dropped was unforgettable, it proved that culturally relevant therapy speaks directly to the heart. (Source)

🥁 Drumming & Hip-Hop for Generational Healing

Dr. Obari Cartman led us in rhythm and movement as tools for nervous-system release and collective healing. The drumming circle offered an embodied experience of regulation, less talking, more feeling (more regulation), reminding us that healing doesn’t always begin with words. (Source)

Beyond the sessions, the summit celebrated multicultural wellness practices, from forest bathing to movement arts, and featured a creative marketplace. It felt like a living ecosystem of healing, one that reflects how wellness truly unfolds: together, in community.

Saturday, October 11 — Worship for Wellness (Richmond, VA)

The next evening, the Christian Cultural Center hosted Worship for Wellness – A Night of Hope at the Altria Theater. From the first chord, the atmosphere blended praise with practical encouragement, centering emotional health in the life of faith. 

The program invited reflection, testimony, and collective hope, a beautiful reinforcement that spiritual life and mental wellness are partners, not rivals. (Source)

Why This Weekend Mattered

✨ Culture is a clinical tool.

Music, rhythm, and movement speak the nervous system’s first language, especially for teens and communities carrying generational (layered) stress.

✨ Ethics protect both the healer and the healed.

Sustainable, values-driven wellness practices ensure that access and care can grow without burnout, building viable, values-aligned systems that sustain both access and quality over time.

✨ Faith communities are amplifiers.

Worship settings can normalize mental-health conversations and widen the circle of support

My Gratitude…

My deep gratitude to the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF) for creating a homecoming for culturally grounded care, and to the Christian Cultural Center (CCC) for showing what it looks like when worship makes room for wellness. 🌿

Weekends like this remind me why I champion integrative, trauma-informed, lifestyle-based approaches to healing, because the most powerful transformations happen when care is communal, creative, and continuous.

If you attended either event, I’d love to hear what moved you most. 

And if you’re interested in bringing integrative mental wellness programming to your organization or faith community, let’s connect. 💫