Hello, I'm Hanifa Akpe Okoli, LPC
And here is a little about me...
As a child, I just knew that I was going to become a lawyer. I was the kid who wanted to BE Ben Matlock. There was something about advocating for those who couldn't advocate for themselves that fueled me. After one semester of majoring in Political Science at The University of Georgia however, I quickly changed the objective... but not my overall goal of helping others.
I changed my major to Social Work and found that I loved it. Social Work taught me all about how to work with people, and I love people. While in college, I interned and later worked for a 24 hour Crisis Intervention Shelter. After receiving my Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, I became a preschool teacher for two years- that was such a fun experience.
When I decided to pursue graduate school, I made the decision to leave the social work route and pursue psychology. I found that I was more interested in understanding what "made people tick" and using that information to help them resolve issues. I attended The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, IL and received my Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology with a Counseling Specialization. I focused specifically on treatment for trauma as well as treatment for children and adolescents.
For a number of years following graduate school, I practiced therapy for DCFS wards in Specialized Foster Care. When I decided that I wanted to focus more on the adult population, I moved into the private practice setting in Chicago. Here I worked with a diverse population of individual clients and couples before transitioning back to Atlanta in December 2019. I am excited about returning and look forward to meeting you and the work that we will achieve together.
Hanifa is fully licensed to practice in Georgia.
Specialties include:
Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Life Transitions/Adjustment, LGBTQ+, Grief and Loss, Anger Management, Issues of Identity, Relationship Issues, Couple's Counseling, Difficulty Managing Life Stressors
All orientations and identities are valued and welcomed; come as you are. Ijeoma Counseling is working with adults only.
Photo courtesy of Stefanie Jayne Photograpy