Meet Your Therapist

Meet Shariyfa Polite, LCSW Therapist. Speaker. Story Holder. Healer. Human
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.What if I told you that your therapist understands exactly what it feels like to carry everyone else's world?

‍I am human. I am a Black woman navigating a world that often expects me to carry it all with grace. I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, a sister. I am who my grandmother prayed for.

And I've learned that before I can hold space for anyone else; I must first honor the human in me.
Because healing doesn't begin when you're everything to everyone. It begins when you start choosing yourself.
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Growing up in Delaware, I was the girl who smiled through uncertainty. Raised by a powerful single mother and supported by a faith-filled community, I learned how to achieve and adapt early.
But behind the accolades was a little girl who learned to perform, please, and perfect in exchange for love and safety.
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Like so many of the women I now serve, I became high-functioning, driven on the outside, yet silently unraveling inside. I was always the one others leaned on until I finally leaned into therapy myself.

‍You know those therapists who talk about healing from textbooks? I'm not one of them.

Therapy gave me permission to be human. To set boundaries. To rest. To heal. Because I don't just talk about healing. I live it.

‍The Path That Led Me Here:

I started helping others early, first as a peer counselor in high school, long before I understood the full weight of emotional labor. I went on to earn my Master's in Social Services from Bryn Mawr College. Over the past decade, I've worked from inpatient psychiatric hospitals to elementary school classrooms, and trained with world-renowned experts like Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score).I continue doing my own inner work because I'm committed to being the kind of therapist who shows up whole.

‍Who I Serve:

‍I work with women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who grew up where strength was a requirement, not a choice.

Maybe you're the friend everyone calls in crisis, the employee who never says no, the daughter still trying to fix your family. You carry everything without prioritizing your own needs. You feel agitated by the same exhausting patterns but can't break free. You've mastered survival. You're accomplished, reliable, and the one everyone depends on.

But underneath is a woman carrying unresolved childhood pain and deep emotional fatigue. Someone who feels "not enough" despite achievements. Someone navigating relationships that drain more than they give. You're tired of holding it all together, and ready to feel safe in your body, relationships, and truth. If you've ever asked, "Why do I feel so heavy even when life looks good?" You're not alone. You're not broken. You're ready to stop surviving and start coming home to yourself.

‍Imagine feeling as calm on the inside as you appear on the outside 

‍If this sounds like you, you've found the right place. Let's start your journey home.