Meet Our Team

I'm Charonda, a Licensed Therapist, Counselor Supervisor, Registered Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master, and founder of Embracing Hope Counseling and Consulting.


But before any of those titles, I'm an African American woman who knows what it feels like to lose herself. 


Like many women, I spent years learning how to be what others needed me to be. I'd spent so much time caring for others, showing up, pushing through, and meeting expectations that somewhere along the way, I lost touch with my own voice.


I learned how to be strong, responsible, dependable, and accommodating. I learned how to show up, push through, and keep going.


I was deeply connected to the people around me, yet disconnected from myself.


From the outside, it often looked like I had everything together.

Charonda P. Gardner, African American therapist for women, smiles kindly at the camera. She has locs. She is wearing a white dress and is standing in front of trees.

What I didn't know then was that this season would become an invitation...


An invitation to slow down.


To listen inward.


To question the expectations, patterns, and survival strategies that had shaped so much of my life.


Most importantly, it became an invitation to return to myself. 


That journey transformed my life and continues to shape the way I show up in this work today.


It is also one of the reasons I feel so deeply connected to the women I serve.


I work with Black women who have spent years being strong, capable, dependable, and everything everyone else needed them to be.


Women who have learned how to survive.


Women who have achieved, accomplished, cared for, and carried so much—yet still find themselves wondering:


Who am I underneath all of this?


My work is centered on helping over functioning African American women reconnect with the answer, using a mind-body approach, to support them in creating a life that feels more aligned with who they truly are.

Some of the areas I commonly support clients with include:


  • Chronic self-abandonment 
  • Identity confusion and loss of self
  • Childhood neglect and trauma
  • Healing from emotionally immature parenting
  • Codependency and people-pleasing
  • Spiritual integration for empaths and highly sensitive people
  • EMDR for trauma recovery
  • Psychedelic preparation and integration 
  • Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy

At the heart of my work is a simple belief:


You are not broken.


You do not need to become someone else.


You are already whole.


Even if life experiences, trauma, relationships, or survival patterns have made it difficult to access that truth, your wisdom is still within you.


Sometimes we simply need support finding our way back.


It is one of the greatest privileges of my work to witness women reconnect with themselves, reclaim their voice, and begin living from a place of authenticity, self-trust, and wholeness.


If you're ready to begin that journey, I would be honored to walk alongside you.

Insurances Accepted:

Charonda is currently in network with United Healthcare/Optum, Anthem/BCBS, & Humana & Cigna.


(NOTE: Charonda will be out-of-network with Cigna as of 8/29/26 and United Healthcare/Optum as of 10/06/26)


Self-Pay Rates for Individual Sessions:

Initial Intake - $185

Individual Sessions - $175




Out-of-Network Reimbursement Opportunity

Depending on your current health insurance provider or employee benefit plan, you may receive a partial reimbursement for sessions with out-of-network providers. It is suggested to call your insurance carrier to determine your out-of-network benefits prior to scheduling an appointment. As an alternative, many individuals also opt to use their HSA/FSA cards for therapy.


As an out-of-network provider, we have partnered with Thrizer  to support clients in saving money and potentially receiving reimbursement for out-of-network services. We use this service as a courtesy to our clients and it is of no benefit to our practice. You can use the benefits checker here to see if your plan qualifies. Please note that a mental health diagnosis is still required in order for you to submit a claim to your insurance even for out-of-network billing. Some individuals opt not to involve their insurance at all if they do not want a diagnosis attached to their health record.


Use the tool below to see if you qualify for reimbursement for our services

Payment

We accept Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Flex Spending Accounts (FSA),

and all major credit cards as forms of payment.