Nedra Glover Tawwab Sets the Standard for Setting Boundaries

We know taking care of ourselves matters. But when we can’t summon the energy to do the most basic tasks, one of the first acts of self-care can be simply asking for help. For skilled support, psychotherapy is one of the most successful and cost-effective methods to treat a broad spectrum of psychiatric conditions.

On top of all of its benefits, therapy can just feel really good when we openly share and our stories are met with non-judgmental acceptance–not any blankness, shame, or embarrassment. The therapeutic process can guide us back to a life we want to occupy again. 

One mental health professional embodies this very desire in her mission of increasing mental health awareness by learning how to navigate challenging relationships with ease: Nedra Glover Tawwab. 

Nedra Glover Tawwab is one of our top 25 thought leaders, experts, and advocates making a difference in mental health.

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Meet Nedra Glover Tawwab

Nedra Glover Tawwab, MSW, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker, relationship therapist, speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tawwab is renowned within the mental health community for her radical yet simple philosophy of helping others cultivate harmonious relationships with boundary-setting. 

“A lot of boundaries that we're missing are the boundaries that we need with ourselves, around how we operate in our relationships with other people, and how we operate in our relationship with ourselves," said Tawwab in an interview on The Verywell Mind Podcast.

She would often see her clients scrolling on their phones in the lobby and noticed social media could be an important tool to reach others.

Impact and Community 

Tawwab realized people want help but sometimes, they’re not ready to reach out to a therapist yet. To meet people where they’re at, she created an Instagram page that quickly grew and went viral. Today, she regularly shares tips, techniques, and advice about relationships and mental health to her 1.8 million engaged followers.

Growing up in Detroit, Tawwab was raised by a single mother in a home and neighborhood touched by addiction and mental health issues. Due to her early exposure to the impacts of trauma, the experience led her to study healthy coping strategies for mental health awareness through a compassionate perspective. 

Her ability to empathize with others set her on a path to becoming a therapist and eventually founding her own practice aligned with her values. 

Therapy Offerings

For the past 15 years, Tawwab has been working with individuals and couples struggling with communication issues, dysfunctional family members, demanding workplace settings, distressing thoughts, emotional neglect, and uneven work/life balance. 

At the heart of her group therapy practice Kaleidoscope Counseling, Tawwab and her team view therapy as a form of empowerment. They aim to generate long-term interpersonal results that last through a comprehensive mental health approach. 

Tawwab focuses on varying types of therapy to serve many populations, especially Black folks where stigma around mental health and receiving therapy still exist. 

At Kaleidoscopic Counseling, they provide different services such as: individual therapy, marriage therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, EMDR, emotion-focused, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and yoga therapy.

Together, Tawwab and her fellow therapists teach others how to manage difficult relationships, understand manipulative and toxic behaviors, celebrate their authentic selves, and cultivate true mental strength.

Her Philosophy 

While the therapy office can be a great way to unpack trauma, Tawwab believes that taking care of our mental health can happen in a broader context and especially within non-traditional spaces and cultural circles. 

To offer advice for people who need help, Tawwab wrote a book called "Drama Free: A Guide To Managing Unhealthy Relationships" as a resource for people who are learning how to remain authentic to themselves even when they’re in a dysfunctional situation. "Letting people know that certain things are just not working for you is a really helpful way to take back your power," she tells Verywell Mind in her podcast interview.

This year, she’s since released her second book and its accompanying workbook called "Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself" as a roadmap to live within alignment with ourselves and with others by unapologetically creating healthy boundaries. 

Tawwab frequently quotes the beauty of standing up for ourselves and advises others on her site to “end the struggle, speak up for what you need, and experience the freedom of being truly yourself.” 

Looking to the future, Tawwab hopes to continue expanding her reach and impact in the mental health space. Through her encompassing and pragmatic approach to therapy, her focus on boundaries and self-care, and her advocacy for increased access to mental health care, she has helped many individuals and couples live happier, healthier, and fuller lives.