Hello,
My name is Dr. Cornelia Gibson and I am a licensed marriage and family therapist in CA. I am the founder and clinical director of Agape Counseling Center and Network in Fairfield, CA and the author of Surviving Broken Promises. Although I work with people every day on mental wellness and personal development, I would like to briefly discuss myself for once. My life could simply be summed up in the title, From Teen Mother to Battered Wife to Divorcee to Doctor, however that’s not where my story begins or ends. I hope this brief synopsis of my life provides inspiration for anyone who has found themselves seemingly written off by their circumstances.
I got pregnant at the age of 17, became a mother at 18, and married the father of my child at age 21, he was 22. Between his jealousy, his insecurity, and my desire not to become a teenage statistic, I stayed in the marriage longer than I should have. I endured physical abuse and lots of mental abuse. I slowly detached myself emotionally while I was still in marriage. Journaling my thoughts and feelings helped quite a bit since I didn’t think that I could talk to anyone about it.
I filed for divorce three times before I went through with it. The final straw for me was when I recognized that I was unsuccessful in keeping the abuse hidden from our child as I tried to do many times. Fortunately for me, I grieved the loss of the relationship while I was still married which made it a little easier in the end.
I was also fortunate to have left with my child, a decent job, my self-esteem, and my self-confidence in tack. What I lost in the process were at least two things: I walked away from a brand-new house we had just purchased. I also instantly lost 205 lbs of him that had been holding me back and it was all worth it. I don’t believe I missed a beat after that. I knew all along that the divorce was his loss.
Fast forward many years. What most people didn’t know about me for a long time was that I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was discovered in 2011, in which at that time I lost my two part-time jobs as a direct and indirect result of my health condition. I could have very easily slipped into despair, depression, and hopelessness but instead, I turned to my faith in God, and He allowed me to view my situation (and all of my other situations) from a different perspective and turn my passion of helping others into a full-time job. That’s how Agape Counseling Center in Fairfield, CA was formed.
God used my health condition to allow me to practice what I would soon have to metaphorically preach. Despite my challenges, I contend that we all have something in which we can give to others who may be less fortunate. God allowed me to thrive, while using me to build a dynamic and culturally responsive nonprofit counseling center and an approved internship site for many colleges and universities. My staff and I served tens of thousands of members in our community as I lived with this brain tumor for 10 years.
It has been 2 ½ years since I underwent a successful major brain surgery, with zero complications and zero subsequent pain meds. God continues to see to it that Agape Counseling Center and Network, our clinicians, our students, and our clients continue to thrive as we recognize our strengths and push through our challenges. I am so humbled and blessed to know that God used me, this teen mother, battered wife, and divorcee to start an organization that would bless so many others.
Here a just a few recent accomplishments:
NAACP Presidential Medal of Freedom in Health Care Award 12/2021. This was days before the brain surgery in which the NAACP knew nothing about.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – 2022 Certificate of Appreciation for Agape Counseling Center and Network
HERprenuer Network International Education Award 3/2023
Meeting with Assembly Member Lori Wilson, 4/2023 regarding the work being done by Agape Counseling Center and Network
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Photo credit: Image courtesy of the storyteller.
