ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jay Armstrong is a Licensed Professional Counselor, owner and lead therapist of ALIGN Wellness, a counseling agency located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Married for 28 years to his best friend, Marci, they share two beautiful collegeiates together, as well as two fur babies. Jay began his career in 2013 as a school-based therapist working with under-served populations in North Georgia, and then transitioned to in-home therapy providing therapy to families and children. Noticing the absence of men receiving therapy, particularly within the black community, Jay decided to shift his focus to understand the obstacles and resistance keeping men from healing. Understanding the importance and power of representation, Jay began showing up at minority health fairs, speaking in churches, and partnering with anyone he could to get conversations started about mental health and breaking the stigma. Jay eventually partnered with local activists and began speaking about mental health on radio programs and local television stations, ultimately leading to working with the City of Chattanooga’s Mental Health initiative in 2023 which offered free mental health services for families suffering from mental health challenges resulting from the Pandemic. Since then, Jay has partnered with several organizations whose goals are to promote mental health awareness and wellness; from mental health panel discussions with the Urban League, Facebook Live podcasts with Angie Wynn Ministries, providing counseling services with The Brave Effect for formerly incarcerated individuals dealing with trauma, to hosting weekend marriage retreats to strengthen and promote healthy marriages and families. Jay’s passion and purpose is for helping people heal.
SERVICE MAGAZINE
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