Umutesi Ruranga

I am a trained and licensed professional counselor from New Jersey in the United States. My educational background consists of a Bachelor's degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Biology, as well as a Masters & Educational Specialist degree in Professional Counseling. This educational background helps me to integrate mind and body into my counseling work. After gaining experience and background knowledge in neuroscience & counseling, I went on to provide counseling services abroad in Kigali, Rwanda. Coming from Jamaican and Rwandan heritage myself, I was able to work with people in the capital city who were eager to take agency over their own mental health and overall wellness. Outside of my educational and professional career, I have a passion for learning new languages and immersing myself in different cultures. Being exposed to many different languages and cultures as a child, and now as an adult, has taught me how inextricable it is from the process of emotional healing. As a result, a huge goal of mine is to continue to de-center Western ideologies in mental health and highlight the wellness practices that have been erased or hidden by way of colonialism.