In today's world, life coaching has become an increasingly popular tool for personal and professional development. For African Americans, working with a life coach who understands their unique experiences and challenges can be particularly beneficial. This directory highlights some of the top African American life coaches who can help you achieve your goals and live a more fulfilling life.
We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of various indigenous peoples, recognizing and honoring our ancestors of African descent whose spirits, labor, resilience, and joy are also deeply connected to these Lands.
Choosing the right Black life coach is a personal and important decision that requires careful consideration.
Why Choose a Black Life Coach?
If you are Black or African American, you may face trauma, racism, and microaggressions on a day-to-day basis. These experiences can create a deeply embedded pain within, that a white counselor or life coach would never be able to truly understand. Black life coaches can help you feel understood without adding intentional or unintentional prejudices.
Mental healthcare has historically been a racist and prejudicial system. Black people are more likely to be misdiagnosed within the mental health field, simply because counselors and therapists are not properly trained in cultural competence. Implicit bias and racial disparities have always been a problem within the mental health community. There have been many studies done that prove black people are not given the same quality of health care as white people.
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A black therapist will help you go back in time and figure out the “why” in order to grow and evolve. A life coach, however, is all about moving forward. You might want to set up a session with a life coach if you are in a career you enjoy but have areas of development that you would like to focus on. A life coach can work with you to take action to enact small, positive changes in your day-to-day life. You might also like to see a relationship coach to help you develop your networking skills, or your connections with friends/family. Or, you can see a business coach, self confidence coach, or leadership coach for help in these specific areas.
Today, you should hire a black life coach. The main difference will be how amazing you'll feel in your mental health, physical health, career and relationships. You should hire a black coach because the entire directory is composed of the most highly qualified practitioners and thought leaders in the industry, and you deserve top notch support. It is by far the best gift you can give your Future Self, 6 months from now... 2 years from now... even 30 years from now. Because life coaching will change the entire trajectory of my life.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of excellent black life coaches. It is, however, composed of coaches I personally know and can vouch for, and those who were directly referred by trusted colleagues. Life Coaching Works. It's the highest-return investment you can ever make.
Featured African American Life Coaches
Here are some examples of outstanding African American life coaches who are making a difference in people's lives:
- Iyanla Vanzant:
You may be familiar with Iyanla Vanzant from the hit TV show Iyanla, Fix my life. Iyanla is an inspirational speaker, life coach, television personality, and best selling author of In the Meantime, and many more self-help books. Iyanla is known for helping clients to dig deep and put in the work needed to heal and transform. In the midst, she uses her own transformations as a guide and key point in showing that it can be done. Iyanla is the founder of Inner Visions Spiritual Life Maintenance where she offers spiritual coaching.
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“We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.” ― Iyanla Vanzant
- Lisa Nichols:
Lisa Nichols is a life coach, motivational speaker, and best-selling author of ‘No Matter What! 9 Steps to Living the Life You Love’. Lisa was also a celebrated teacher in the best selling self-help book ‘The Secret’. Lisa Nichols truly defines black success, her inspiring story of saving to someday live her dreams, then actually achieving it still resonates with many. Apart from inspiring others with her story, Lisa shares daily motivation and coaching tips on her Instagram and through her speaking engagements. Lisa is also a YouTuber and her channel is filled with motivation content greeted at helping you to achieve your dreams. She is the founder of Motivating the Masses as well as the CEO of Motivating the Teen Spirit, LLC.
- T.D. Jakes:
If you are interested in a distant coach who speaks to your religious beliefs as well as offers you motivational material then T.D Jakes is atop the list. He serves the congregation at The Potter’s House Church, Dallas, Texas, and their sermons can be found online. Apart from that T.D Jakes operates a podcast The Potter’s Touch which aims at bringing healing closer to home through tackling tough situations in life. Both, provide excellent tidbits for navigating life and relationships.
“A setback is a setup for a comeback” ― T.D. Jakes
- Tiffany Aliche:
When it comes to life coaching you can never leave out the finances. Within this realm, we turn to Tiffany Aliche, a best selling author, financial coach, and educator. She considers herself to be “America’s favorite financial educator”. The Budgetnista will help you to lower debt, save for housing down payments, and master your budget. She prides herself on not only empowering women but also providing resources to help women get their financial lives in order. She has been featured on Good Morning America, MSNBC, and many other prominent media.
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- Dr. D Ivan Young:
Dr. D Ivan Young is a certified master coach, with a Ph.D in Holistic Life Coaching. Dr. Young is also a best-selling author, TEDx motivational speaker, and relationship expert. He specializes in helping people to build the life they want in personal relationships, business, and other aspects. He offers couples counseling, singles counseling, group coaching, and athletic counseling/coaching among others. He has also produced a guided meditation CD titled A Time To Chill.
- Akilah C:
She uses her platform and coaching skills to empower and uplift girls and young women. BEAUTY within the company name stands for Beautiful, Extraordinary, Ambitious, Unlimited, Talented, and Young. She currently operates several boot camps that teach young adults leadership and self-efficacy skills.
- Benjamin:
Benjamin is a certified coach who uses a holistic approach to health and wellness. He operates Therapy for Black Men with his wife, a licensed mental health therapist, Vladimire Calixte.
Black Women Life Coaches on Instagram
Instagram is a social media platform where coaches, influencers, photographers and millions of other businesses thrive. With over a billion users on the platform, there is bound to be wealth of talent. Instagram is a social media platform that fosters community and encourages engagement.
Here are some Black women life coaches who are making waves on Instagram:
- Morgan: Not many use brand colors well or consistently, but Morgan nails it with her cheery orange.
- Jason: He is a great writer with compelling quotes and equally engaging captions. What really sets his Instagram account above the rest though is his willingness to share his space and collaborate. He regularly hosts chats with other experts in their fields.
- Iyanla: Her use of audio snippets from her app is a brilliant touch in promoting the app and adding authenticity. She has an incredible and reassuring voice that gives you all the right feels.
- Lisa Nichols: Her Instagram feed is a mix of graphics, videos, and private and professional images. She writes thought-provoking captions and consistently takes the time to reply back to those who leave a comment.
- Yasmine: Her Instagram approach is predominantly words of encouragement, where she asks her audience to “Say it with me.” And though simple, that little added touch makes her audience feel a little less alone.
- Valorie: She mixes professional with personal images, as well as mixing in different kinds of media content.
- Joc: Her Instagram is inspirational with a great mix of content that empowers women and in-depth captions.
- Rosetta Thurman: She writes engaging captions that are essentially mini blog posts.
- Ladajah: Her feed looks incredible and is perfect for her target audience.
- Mars: By the summer of 2020, she started getting consistent engagement and has been a rising star ever since.
- Yolanda: From her wardrobe to the color of her lips, she personifies her bold brand.
- Kimberly: She is a great writer, and she is brilliant at video delivery. She’s also proof, yet again, that you don’t need every image to be a slick, professional image to rock Instagram.
- Domonique: We love how seamless, colorful, and professional Domonique’s Instagram feed is.
- Moesha: Not only is it visually amazing, but her content is also super engaging!
We encourage you to be more than a passive lurker on the feeds of the Black life coaches we featured in this blog post. Be active. This will help these life coaches rise in the Instagram algorithm machine. And in turn, you might find they return the favor when they see you consistently supporting them.
Additional Resources for Finding a Black Life Coach
Here are some online directories and resources where you can find Black life coaches:
- BetterHelp: Offers access to Black life coaches who have an in-depth understanding of who you are, what you want to achieve, and the challenges that you might face as an African American.
- Find-a-therapist.com: An online platform where you can find an online directory. There, you can personalize your search by different categories, including type of professional, gender of your therapists, area of expertise, and more.
- Coaches of Color Collective: Offers a comprehensive directory where you can find Black coaches with different areas of expertise, including life coaches.
- The Hardy Clinic Wellness Center: Offers Black life coaching services in Georgia. All professionals there are women, which could be perfect if you’re looking for a female coach.
- Therapy for Black Girls: The Therapist Directory is a listing of mental health professionals across the country who provide high quality, culturally competent services to Black women and girls.
- Therapy for Black Men: TherapyForBlackMen.org is a directory to help men of color in their search for a therapist. Using the directory, men can search by therapist location and specialization.
- Therapy for Latinx: Therapy for Latinx uses the latest technology to make it as easy as possible for people to find therapists, life coaches, emergency mental health centers, and free/low costs community clinics.
Here are some additional resources for finding a POC therapist near you:
- Asian Mental Health Collective: It’s the mission of Asian Mental Health Collective to raise awareness about the importance of mental health care, promote emotional well-being, and challenge the stigma concerning mental illness amongst Asian Diasporic communities worldwide.
- Association of Black Psychologists: This listing is comprised of Psychologists who are members of The Association of Black Psychologists who own and operate their own private practice business or are employed as therapists, and have elected to participate in this directory.
- Ayana Therapy: We strive to de-stigmatize mental health in marginalized communities through education.
- Bay Area Muslim Therapists: We are a network of Muslim mental health practitioners- based throughout San Francisco Bay Area, CA.
- Inclusive Therapists: Inclusive Therapists offers a safer, simpler way to find a culturally responsive, social justice-oriented therapist.
- Institute for Muslim Mental Health: The Institute of Muslim Mental Health is committed to optimizing the Muslim community’s emotional health and well being by mobilizing a network of mental health professionals to ensure all American Muslims have access to high quality resources.
- Latinx Therapy: Latinx Therapy is a directory and podcast with relatable, bilingual therapists and mental health resources.
- Melanin & Mental Health: Melanin & Mental Health was born out of a desire to connect individuals with culturally competent clinicians committed to serving the mental health needs of Black & Latinx/Hispanic communities.
- SAMHIN: South Asian Mental Health Initiative and Network, SAMHIN, was formed in 2014 to address a broad range of mental health needs of the growing South Asian community in the United States, beginning with New Jersey.
- Sukhi: Sukhi has identified more than 500 multicultural therapists that can help you deal with the nuances of just being human.
Disclaimer: Just Davia does not verify the license, skills or experience of anyone listed in the directories provided. Therefore, you are strongly suggested to use each directory as you would a telephone directory, simply to locate mental health professionals in your community.
Leveling Up Your Instagram Profile
After viewing such insta-worthy content, let’s talk about leveling up your own profile. As you saw with many of these life coaches, quotes work great for engagement. And as luck would have it, we’ve rounded up 52 of our favorite life coach quotes to fill your feed. As for the other days of the week, make sure you mix it up. That way you can test what works best with your audience.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to Instagram, but authenticity is key. As for captions, make sure you spend some time on them. If you’re not sure what to write, research what works for other life coaches and put your own spin on it. And please don’t forget to do your hashtag research. You want a good mix that will get you engagement but also, use hashtags that your ideal clients would use.
Just remember, Instagram should be one component of your marketing strategy - not your whole strategy. And last, but not least, don’t neglect your blog. While not a social media platform, it is the one platform you own and fully control. Your blog is honestly just as powerful - if not more so - in helping your ideal clients find you. It is also the space where your content will continue to be discovered months, or even years after it was published.
Led2Win was created to help people looking to improve themselves and we work with a number of Life Coaches on our content. As a self development blog created by an African American, we take pride in lifting up minority voices and stories. Here is a post highlighting just a few of many Black Life Coaches who are helping others reach their fullest potential.
How to Choose the Right Life Coach
Here are some tips to help you choose the right Black life coach:
- Identify Your Goals: Clearly define your goals and objectives for seeking a life coach.
- Credentials and Qualifications: Look for a life coach with the appropriate credentials and qualifications. Check if they have relevant certifications, training, or memberships in coaching associations.
- Specialization: Consider a life coach who specializes in areas that align with your goals. Some coaches focus on career development, relationships, or specific personal growth aspects.
- Experience: Evaluate the coach’s experience. Consider how long they have been practicing, the types of clients they have worked with, and any success stories or testimonials.
- Cost: Discuss the cost of coaching and ensure it aligns with your budget.
This list is not exhaustive it is a place to start - check out the coaches mentioned and see if you can find something for yourself in one of their many works.
