Emeka Anyiam is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Florida who has been helping people embrace their best life for 17 years now. He holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology, a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, and a doctoral degree in Ministry. He has a thriving therapy practice, Embridge Counseling Services, in Daytona Beach. This is where his ideas and methodology came to fruition. His passion is teaching and guiding others to truly embrace their situation, good or bad, so they can become the best version of themselves.
Exclusive Interview
You serve as a Marriage and Family therapist; how did you get into the field? I pursued my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy in 2001 and obtained a job as a social service worker that same year. I was very green at the time. I noticed that those around me would often seek counsel from me, so much so that it helped me to realize my true calling in life. I knew I was called to help people during the times when they are most vulnerable. I figured out that I had a way of making people see a silver lining in their problem which planted a seed of hope. A spark and excitement about a problem that they thought was hopeless. I thought to myself this is it! When I came to that conclusion, I decided to pursue marriage and family therapy. I became licensed in November of 2009.
What is the main focus of your practice? Embridge Counseling Services was established in May of 2014. The agency’s focus is to strengthen and empower individuals and families in ways that would eventually make them emotionally whole and independent. My ultimate goal is to strengthen each individual, couples or family in a way that they would not return for services in the future. I aim to give them the tools to handle it, not just for the present but for the future as well.
Tell me a bit about your new book, “Embracing Life.” Embracing Life demonstrates how to become the best version of yourself while maintaining healthy relationships with others. It details the idea that facing different struggles or challenges is a part of life which, when accepted and used properly, can help us instead of harm us. It also describes the steps to accepting those challenges and explains how to refocus and develop it into a cause of action.
What does the title mean to you? I will face many challenges or struggles in life. To me, it means that it’s ok for me to have a meltdown and cry the situation out, but the important part is never to unpack and live there. The first step is to accept the situation because doing so, even though difficult at times, help keep me calm and regain control of the situation. Without accepting the struggle or the circumstance, I am unable to move forward. By accepting it, I am ready to refocus and develop a cause of action to resolve the problem.
The book’s subtitle is “Surviving the Struggle by Learning to Embrace the Experience.” How can people learn to do that? People learn to do this by understanding that because they are facing a struggle does not mean they are weak, their world is not ending and they are not alone. Accepting is the toughest step to take. However, one cannot move forward if they refuse to accept the situation. If they accept it, they will suddenly feel empowered to refocus and develop effective approaches to resolve their issue.
What are the main issues and problems you see people dealing with today? The main issue and problem I tend to see in me practice and beyond is a person’s inability to accept their challenging circumstances. Therefore, they learn to accept and live in this victim mentality. Their consistent rejection of uncomfortable feelings stemming from those struggles only harms them. They believe they should not be feeling that way. By believing so, their anxiety and depressive symptoms are more likely to increase and may result to a more severe mental health issue.
What's the number one message you want people to take away from your book? That people are lovable and capable to effectively face any challenge that comes their way. Like one of the quotes on the back of the book, “Remember the time you thought you wouldn’t survive? Well you did and you can do it again.”
Who do you think would benefit most from reading your book? This book is for anyone who wants to learn and establish the best version themselves. You can learn more at: https://www.embridgecounselingservices.com/
About the book
Embracing Life: Surviving the Struggle by Learning to Embrace the Experience by Emeka Anyiam - The word “embrace” originates from the Latin term “bracchim” and is referred to as “embracer” in Old French. Embrace means to encircle, surround, enclose. How in much of our lives we embrace certain things we love and places. However, many parts of our lives’ circumstances we do not embrace, such as feelings we do not accept, circumstances we reject entirely. In fact, there are certain situations or conditions our society frowns upon that are utterly unacceptable, such as bullying, racism, terrorism and illegal activities. In some cases, due to high expectations and pressures from our society, some tend to violate their own morals by embracing morals that contradict their own, just because our society says to. Sometimes, in some situations, we also allow some individuals to determine what we should or should not embrace in our lives. Allowing others to have total control over oneself could stem from many areas of life, including how one was brought up and changes made along the way.
