Once you meet Joy Harris, you will never forget her or her story of courage and hope. As a teen single mother, Joy experienced the hardships and hard truths of parenthood while nearly still a child herself. One of the most important life lessons to come from those early years of teen parenting was the importance of creating boundaries, setting goals and not stopping until every goal is accomplished. Through all odds, she managed to graduate from Midway College with a Bachelor of Art in Organizational Management and continued her education by graduating from Asbury Theological Seminary with a Masters of Art in Mental Health Counseling.
Joy is a Licensed Mental Health Professional Clinical Counselor through the State of Kentucky, a National Certified Counselor through the National Board of Certified Counselors;a certified QPR Suicide Prevention Instructor and a certified HIV Oral Tester. She has been servicing clients in the Bluegrass Region for over five years.
Her area of expertise include: Individual (trauma, domestic violence, grief/loss, stress/anxiety depression and other mental disorders), Relationship (Gottman Levels 1 & 2 trained, Pre-martial, conflict resolution, etc.), Behavior Modification and Career (purpose, goals and life transition) Counseling. Her counseling approach is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) using a person-centered solution focus personal wellness model. Joy has a passion for individuals who are in the war of addictions and provides therapeutic care with compassion and empathy.
In addition, Joy is an experienced inspirational speaker and teachers. She encourages others to embrace the gift of greatness inside by challenging others to seek and live a purpose-filled life, She empowers others to be all they have been pre-destined to be as they walk in purpose and destiny.
For over a decade, her compassionate and transparent teaching style has made Joy a much sought-after inspirational/motivation speaker across the United States and internationally. Joy is a popular mistress of ceremonies and keynote speaker. She has been pursued by professional/social women’s and youth groups, conferences, workshops, seminar, public school systems and business agencies. She speaks on a number of motivational, practical topics and her message can be tailored to fit specific audiences. This dynamic business has brought hope, healing, and affirmative change to the lives of individuals across the world.
She has traveled abroad over the past five years to Japan and Haiti to share hope by distributing needed resources to meet the basic needs of the native population. She does extensive volunteer work with unwed mothers, at risk and low income youth and college students.
Joy is also known for sharing her though provoking “Scoop of Joy Thought of the Day” across the airwaves as the Host of Sunday Morning Praise on 107.9 The Beat of Lexington WBTF.FM the 2012 Rhythm Of Gospel Radio Station of the Year.
Joy is the author of Authentic Joy: Finding True Joy in a Compromising World. Authentic Joy is designed to help others find true joy and peace by seeking the presence of God in the turmoil of a compromising world. She has co-authored her second “Embracing You” with Angela Roberts. “Embracing You” is an excellent informational resource for parents and/or perfect for a pre-teen/young adult personal study. It is an easy and fun read that will inform you, challenge you and empower you as you journey to Embrace You and live to your full potential.
She and her husband Glynn have a blended family and are the proud parents of four boys and Kookie and Papi to two granddaughter and four grandsons.