Origin Story

"I was born at a very young age"...Groucho Marx.

My mother is Polish and immigrated over to Chicago during the war as a pre-teen. Many years later, she met my father, who was Greek, who had also immigrated over as a child. I would not learn until graduate school that children whose parents were refugees or even just immigrated, are highly susceptible to intergenerational or transgenerational trauma. Because my father unfortunately & unexpectedly died when my mom was 6 months pregnant with me, I sustained developmental trauma. My little fetus was swimming in a sea of cortisol, hearing all of the reactions of people around me, & was susceptible to all of my mother's emotions.

It wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I discovered that Jamille was an Arabic's boy's name. My mother always told me she wanted to name me after my father, James, and that she always like the name "Camille", thus, Jamille. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jamille meant beautiful & I have had several people from the Middle East tell me that it's like beauty from within, or beautiful Spirit, or at least that is my understanding & what I choose to resonate with. So then Jamille Wellness Counseling is a play on the beautiful theme...Jamille wellness...beautiful wellness...wellness is beautiful. When I share that story with people, I usually add that I am trying to live up to my name or grow into it. To feel beauty from within. To feel grace, compassion, softness, kindness...and so, my story continues.

With every relationship, including those with my clients, I learn something about myself & my path. I aspire to empty my cup, to arrive in each moment with curiosity about what is actually here. What is projection? Illusion? Countertransfernce? What beliefs and stories are running on autopilot in my mind that are causing me separation from that inner beauty? How is my somatic experience informing those thoughts? Where is my breath? I bring myself back to these core practices time and time again to cultivate my story more in alignment with my name. In Sanskrit, "Sat Nam" means "True Name", and no matter how your name translates, you too can connect with your true name & spirit.