Tanika West, LMSW, is a multifaceted wellness professional with over 20 years of experience in the field of helps and 18 years in clinical social work, specializing in grief, trauma, and emotional wellness across the lifespan. A proud product of St. Paul Public Schools, and elated to say that she graduated from “The” Central High School. Tanika continued her educational journey through St. Paul Technical College, Benedict College, University of South Carolina, Liberty University, and Atlanta Technical College, earning multiple degrees spanning culinary arts to social work, along with various multidisciplinary certifications.

Her credentials include being a licensed therapist, certified birth doula, end-of-life doula, life coach, motivational speaker, and ordained elder. She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Tanika’s work resides at the intersection of mental health, spirituality, and wellness, with a focus on integrating honest and vulnerable conversations about trauma, grief, and healing into both sacred and secular spaces. She offers individual and group therapies, trainings, interactive seminars, and faith-sensitive coaching, always with a commitment to removing stigma, shame, and silence from the mental health narrative.

In May 2025, she released her groundbreaking therapeutic book and journal, “What Do I Do When Mommy Is Gone?”—a deeply compassionate resource that addresses the hard subject of grief through the lens of childlike simplicity. Written in a format accessible to both children and adults, it speaks across generations, offering comfort, reflection, and healing language that resonates from early readers to the elderly. Though not yet formally adopted in school systems or grief centers, Tanika is actively working to establish its presence in these essential environments to support families, educators, and counselors navigating loss, grief, and healing.

This title also represents the foundation of a new literary vision Tanika is currently developing: the “adult children’s book” genre—a format that breaks down complex adult themes into digestible, emotionally resonant content, written with the clarity and simplicity of a children’s book. This approach is designed to connect with overwhelmed, emotionally fatigued adults, making healing, reflection, and learning easier to access, retain, and carry.

Tanika is also the creator of multiple therapeutic resources, including the introspective DUDE Deck (for men), The Grief Deck, and a growing collection of healing card decks, books, workbooks, and activities designed for clients, students, counselors, spiritual leaders, emotional healers, life coaches, and wellness professionals alike.

Her current ventures include exploring culinary arts as a therapeutic modality, blending her chef training with mental health practice to create healing experiences through food preparation and nourishment-based care.

She is the author of an upcoming two-book series on mental health and ministry, along with supporting tools and card-based interventions, slated for release by October 2025.And a set of Adult children’s books themed around explaining some common diagnoses, in an attempt to thwart prejudice and biases, slated for release January 2026 works are intended to challenge long-standing myths in sacred spaces and open the door for leaders and believers to explore emotional stewardship alongside spiritual calling.

Through every effort—whether in the therapy room, a pulpit, a kitchen, or a classroom—Tanika West is redefining what it means to heal, lead, and live well in today’s evolving world.