I grew up north of Dallas in McKinney, Texas. My love affair with music began before I was born, quite literally. My mom recounts -- in a story that I love -- that when she was pregnant with me and standing in church singing hymns, I would kick and jump around in utero whenever the music played. It wasn't long after I started speaking that I started singing -- usually just to myself -- and it wasn't long after I learned to read and write that I started writing poems. I was a quiet kid, but singing and writing were always two ways I felt comfortable expressing myself.

 

College brought me to Nashville, Tennessee where I had the opportunity not only to learn at an incredible liberal arts university, but also to immerse myself in a larger artistic community.  In Nashville I took classes in jazz, classical, and country music. I tried my hand at writing my own songs. I learned about music literature, poetic forms, and watched dance concerts at the same time I was cramming for classes on anthropological theory, western history, and modernism. It was a time of very little sleep and many firsts. Until then, I had no idea people could study art and pursue it professionally. I had no idea I could call myself an artist. But in Nashville I began to be exposed to people who were leaning into their creative identities full force.

 

After graduating, I moved back to the Dallas area and focused my creative energies on learning the world of musical theatre. Musicals are now one of my very favorite things! I love the story-telling, I love the music, I love how each production combines so many art forms at once, and I love the community that is built with every show. I frequently act with regional companies in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, sing in concert settings, and lend my voice to small studio projects -- commercial and personal. Music and theatre remain two great loves of my life, and I think they always will be.

 

That said, as I got older and learned more about myself and others, I also became increasingly interested in mental health, the impact of trauma, and how making art can be a valuable tool for healing. Societies throughout history have turned to rhythm, dance, music, paint, drama, and other art forms to mark significant personal and community events, to process pain, and to celebrate growth. These forms can still help us today to connect to ourselves and our loved ones in powerful ways. And of course, they also invite a certain level of playfulness and silliness which I also believe is super important!

 

My journey through the realms of artistic expression and mental health eventually led me back to school to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. I see clients out of offices in Dallas and Plano TX at Bright Space Therapy, where I specialize in helping adults who experienced difficult childhood events (or other forms of diminishment, loss, or trauma) step into fuller presence and joy in their lives. As I further immerse myself in this work, I continue to be amazed at the powerful ways art, mental health, self-expression, spirituality, and community intersect! We need each other as we navigate our way through this life.

 

You can find info about my work as a counselor and book appointments with me at: https://www.brightspacetherapy.com/mindybell.  It would be my honor to connect with you as a coach or counselor. 

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