Care that kindles the mind for healing
Published:Wednesday | December 4, 2024 | 12:05 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
CHANTAEU MUNROE is a certified clinical trauma professional and Christian life coach whose passion is to help people transform their lives through wholistic healing of the mind and body. Her journey is marked by a steadfast dedication to healing, empowering others, and finding joy in life’s simple pleasures.
Munroe’s life’s journey has been marked by extraordinary challenges, and these experiences have ignited within her a profound calling to make a difference in the lives of others who are grappling with pain, despair, trauma, and the weight of their struggles.
Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. Psychological trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that do not go away. It can also leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people.
Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma, even if it does not involve physical harm. It is not the objective circumstances that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatised.
Growing up in a tumultuous environment, Munroe was thrust into the role of caregiver and peacemaker at a tender age, in which she witnessed first hand, the devastating impact of familial dysfunction and abuse. This early exposure to adversity she said forged her resilient spirit and an innate capacity to provide solace, solutions, and a sturdy support system for her family.
“I believe I had on-the-job training since I was seven years old. I was always helping people to offload their burdens, until it no longer hurt or triggered them. I was an observer seeing family members physically and emotionally abusing each other; and during these tumultuous times, I was always seen as a steady foundation for peace,” Munroe said.
This ‘on-the-job training’ she said has instilled in her a deep conviction that she possessed the innate ability to provide multifaceted support, encompassing the physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological realms, to those who are broken and in dire need of hope.
Munroe is from Hanover, but relocated to St James to complete her high school and part of her tertiary studies. She then moved to Kingston, and completed a bachelor of arts degree in marketing and international business from The University of Technology, Jamaica.
She worked for nine years in banking and finance with Sagicor Group Jamaica, before pursuing a diploma in psychology from the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona and getting certified in clinical trauma care, trauma-informed coaching and Christian life coaching.
“Coping with the trauma of a natural or manmade disaster can present unique challenges, even if you were not directly involved in the event. In fact, while it is highly unlikely any of us will ever be the direct victims of a terrorist attack, plane crash, or mass shooting for example, we are all regularly bombarded by horrific images on social media and news sources of those people who have been. Viewing these images over and over can overwhelm your nervous system and create traumatic stress,” Munroe said.
“Whatever the cause of your trauma, and whether it happened years ago or yesterday, you can make healing changes and move on with your life,” she added.
Munroe experienced the darkest chapters of her life with the loss of twins and battled the precipice of losing her own sense of self-worth. “It was through divine grace that I found the strength to overcome this abyss, igniting a fervent desire to use my own journey to guide and empower others who find themselves on the brink of despair,” she said.
She believed in her purpose of helping others and established CKM Healing Consultancy in 2022 as a conduit to assist people past personal traumas and debilitating life cycles. Her clients hail from private and professional spaces, including couples, teenagers (with parental consent), parents, individuals and groups.
“We believe that with a little care we can help to kindle the mind for healing. Our mission is deeply rooted in providing empathetic care that ignites the healing journey of the mind. We are committed to extending our reach to individuals grappling with pain and trauma, equipping them with essential information, tools, and support to embark on a transformative path towards healing and restoration,” she said.
“Our overarching objective is to empower individuals to rediscover their resilience and emerge from the shadows of pain and trauma, embracing their authentic selves. Additionally, my journey has included the harrowing experience of assisting a loved one in the throes of suicidal ideation, all while balancing my academic, professional, and spiritual responsibilities,” Munroe added.
As an advocate for wholistic healing, Munroe was a co-founder of nonprofit Reach.Inspire.Ignite from 2019 to 2022, which provided a platform in which people could share stories of overcoming trauma to encourage others.
In 2021, through a grant from the Jamaica Film and Television Association and UNICEF Jamaica, her nonprofit produced a short film, I Was Only 12, which highlighted the realities of psychological trauma and sexual abuse, to stellar reviews.
Munroe has written a book that she believes will help heal and move people beyond personal trauma. Entitled Layers of Healing: Discovering Purpose in Pain and Trauma, the book chronicles Munroe’s experience of pregnancy loss through a miscarriage in 2017, and the steps she took to heal from it, demonstrating the phases necessary to peel back the layers of pain to find purpose.
The book launch will take the form of a trauma symposium on December 6, 2024, at The Lavish Palms, Cunningham Avenue, Kingston, at 5:30 p.m.
The evening will feature a guided panel discussion with psychologists, gynaecologists and life coaches including Dr Sara Lawrence-Lewis, founder, Charis Womens Wellness Centre; Dr Kai A. D. Morgan, clinical psychologist and founding director, KAHLE Journey; Odean White, chief risk officer and chief privacy officer, Bank of Jamaica; Jace Myrie, managing director, Jace Myrie Media; and Djavila Ho, licensed associate clinical psychologist and executive director, KAHLE Journey.