http://www.soulfullbydesign.com/

Stephanie Burton, LMHC, 2013 S Anthony Boulevard, Fort Wayne, IN (2025)

12/17/2025

Throughout my writing process for Sisterhood & Seasons, I found myself reflecting deeply on the impact of my mother—not only our relationship and the strong bond that has weathered many seasons, but the example she set for me as a Black woman in community with other Black women.

I still hear her sayings: “Be kind always, because you might be entertaining an angel,” and “You have to be a friend to make a friend”—Ms. Lucine’s version of Proverbs 18:24. 💜🙏🏾

I think about how she showed up for me when I came to her with schoolyard and high school hallway woes—moments when I felt isolated, left out, or bullied by other Black girls.

She never told me to fight back or retaliate out of malice. Instead, she would say, “You just keep being you,” and she’d share stories from her own childhood. When jealousy was at the root, she encouraged me to pray for them and to be mindful about friendship—not in a suspicious way, but with wisdom and discernment. She taught me to choose community with girls and women who are also willing to be a friend.

My mother didn’t just teach me that I have a light—she showed me how to share it, honor it in others, and celebrate it alongside them.

These lessons often guide my thoughts about what I am, and will be, modeling for my daughter.

In Chapter 16, “Sisterhood & Seasons,” I invite readers to reflect on this question: What will my Friendship Legacy be?

Here are a few prompts to begin that inner work:

What did my mother or mother-figure teach me about friendship with other women?

How has that shaped how I show up in friendships today?

What do I want to pass down to the next generation of sisters about friendship?

Stephanie Burton, LMHC

12/16/2025

One of my intentions in publishing ‘Sisterhood & Seasons’ was to collaborate with other women to host healing circles—open space to talk honestly about the beauty and the ashes of our sisterhood seasons.

I’m grateful to share that the first of these circles will take place next month, at the invitation of my sweet Soror, “The One & Only” Felicia Renee. She doesn’t just build a table and offer chairs—she says to the women in our community, this is your table too, sis. 🫶🏽💙🙏🏾

I’m looking forward to honoring that spirit in our Sisterhood Circle of Conversation on January 18. I hope to see you there!

Note: If you’d like to purchase the book before the event, please order soon. Books ship in 7–10 business days, with an additional 5–7 business days for delivery depending on shipping method.

12/15/2025

"Value divergence is one of the most common sources of strain in adult relationships, particularly in friendships formed during earlier, more identity-fluid stages of life. Value divergence occurs when two people start to hold different beliefs or prioritize other aspects of life. As we mature, our values often become more clearly defined through lived experience, introspection, and social context. When our values begin to diverge from those of long-time friends, tension can arise—not necessarily because of hostility, but because the shared framework that once bonded us begins to look different." - excerpt from Chapter 5, "I Am Changing: Values, Beliefs and Becoming Ourselves" in "Sisterhood & Seasons Workbook: Reflections and Practices for the Seasons of Black Women's Friendships"

This might show up in our friendships as differences in things such as:

💜Spontaneity and flexibility
💜Morals and behaviors such as lying, cheating, etc.
💜Life ambitions and which things hold higher priority, ie. family or career
💜Financial habits
💜Gender roles, whether traditional or more personalized
💜Views on, and engagement in justice, equity and access, and how they view various social systems
💜Religious or spiritual convictions
💜Opinions on topics we hold as important or unimportant

The "Beliefs Bubbles" is one of the "Girlfriend Gem Exercises" that rounds out Chapter 5, "I Am Changing: Values, Beliefs and Becoming Ourselves" in "Sisterhood & Seasons Workbook: Reflections and Practices for the Seasons of Black Women's Friendships." You can download a FREE PDF version of this worksheet on my website! Check comments.

12/13/2025

You ready to dig a lil deeper?

Since the release of my new book, Sisterhood & Seasons Workbook: Reflections and Practices for the Seasons of Black Women’s Friendships, I’ve been setting the tone for why sisterhood—and amplifying the friendships of Black women—matters so deeply to me.

From a therapeutic perspective, our relational bonds serve as protective factors.

Clinical research consistently shows that safe, secure relationships impact emotional regulation, stress hormones, immune functioning, and overall longevity. In other words, our friendships not only shape our joy—they quite literally influence the quality—and to some degree, the length—of our lives.

Now…brace yourself.

I wanna talk about a touchy subject:

Competition.

The kind that quietly activates attachment wounds, scarcity thinking, and survival responses in our sisterhoods.

Thinking with my therapist hat, unaddressed competition often emerges when connection feels unsafe, conditional, or limited. It can tarnish trust, alter attunement, and keep relationships stuck in comparison instead of connection.

Let’s talk about what competition actually looks like in Black women’s friendships, how it shows up, why it exists—within systems rooted in white supremacy and patriarchy that have historically pitted us against one another (think colorism, ageism, proximity to power, and chronic scarcity narratives), and most importantly, how we interrupt it together through awareness, repair, and collective care.

Let’s dive in, and keep the conversation going from here, by taking it from the comments to our own sister circles. Let’s create and cultivate spaces where it’s ok to be real, raw and honest with one another, without defensiveness. We’re all learning and growing together.

Stephanie Burton, LMHC

12/10/2025

I’m SO excited to share that my new book, Sisterhood & Seasons Workbook: Reflections and Practices for the Seasons of Black Women’s Friendships, is now also available online through Bookshop!

Bookshop is special. Their mission is to uplift independent bookstores across the country. More than 80% of their profit goes right back into local bookshops in our communities.

Here’s how it works:
1.) From your mobile device click the three lines for the menu. From your desktop or laptop, click “Choose Bookstore” in the top right corner.
2.) Select the bookstore you want to support by entering your city or state (or any city/state)
3.) Search “Sisterhood and Seasons by Stephanie Burton” in the search bar.
4.) Check out knowing you supported my book AND a bookstore. 🫶🏽

Purchasing through Bookshop means you’re supporting me, supporting indie booksellers, and supporting the environment—Bookshop is a climate-neutral company. 🌱

I personally chose ALKEBU-LAN IMAGES BOOKSTORE in Nashville, TN—just down the street from my alma mater, Fisk University. It’s a Black-owned bookstore that has poured so much culture, history, and pride into generations of Fiskites (and Tennessee State University Tigers!). I want to help make sure that space continues to thrive. $7.50 of my purchase went to ensuring that happens.

🖤📚 Join me in grabbing a copy today and giving back to the spaces that matter so much.

12/10/2025

What’s a Friendship Manifesto? I’m glad you asked!

It’s a personal declaration of how you commit to showing up and being present in your friendships.

It can be as long or as short as you’d like it to be (mine is a lil long lol), but the point is to clearly set our intentions to set ourselves up for success and hold ourselves accountable within our sisterhoods, no matter the seasons!

This is just one of the many exercises in my new book, Sisterhood & Seasons Workbook: Reflections and Practices for the Seasons of Black Women’s Friendships,” available now! 🫶🏾✨💜

Stephanie Burton, LMHC

Check comments for links! 👇🏾

12/08/2025

I LOVE music—anything soulful is my jam. 🎶✨

So of course I had to curate a playlist to go along with my new book, “Sisterhood & Seasons Workbook: Reflections and Practices for the Seasons of Black Women’s Friendships!”

Every chapter closes with a track from my personal Soul Sista Soundtrack—a blend of new school, old school, hip hop, disco, and R&B. These are the songs that help me reflect, feel, and dance through the many seasons of sisterhood.

And because I love you guys, I’m sharing a little glimpse of what to expect when you purchase the workbook. Here’s a breakdown of the playlist by chapter so you can vibe your way through the reflections right along with me.

Grab your copy. Put on your headphones and let this soundtrack guide you deeper into the heartwork of friendship.

Check it out! 🎧

12/06/2025

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12/05/2025

The friendships we have as Black women hold our soft spots, our mirrors, and our growth edges. The tv show, ‘Insecure’ gives us such a layered, nuanced and beautiful creative look into into how complex our friendships can be.

Attachment patterns can help us identify how we show up in our friendships. While attachment patterns aren’t fixed — they evolve through honest conversations, repair after rupture, and spaces where we can be fully seen. With the launch of my new book, ‘Sisterhood & Seasons,’ I thought it’d be fun to examine friendship attachment through the characters of ‘Insecure.’

Which character’s friendship attachment style feels most familiar to you?

Stephanie Burton, LMHC

12/05/2025

I’m so elated to FINALLY share the latest expression of my heart’s work!

“Sisterhood & Seasons Workbook: Reflections and Practices for the Seasons of Black Women’s Friendship” is available to purchase online! Place your order by scanning the QR Code, or clicking the link in the comments!

I hope that this workbook is a conduit of healing our friendships, and if the friendships cant be recovered, healing for our own hearts. 💕

12/02/2025

I’ve been revisiting Rugrats. My therapist brain has been buzzing as I watch my favorite childhood cartoon with a new lens. ☺️

Even our favorite childhood characters were shaped by their homes, their caregivers, and the environments they grew up in.

Swipe through to see how parenting, birth order, and emotional climate show up in the tiniest places.

Stephanie Burton, LMHC

12/17/2025

12/16/2025

12/15/2025

12/13/2025

12/10/2025

12/10/2025

12/08/2025

12/06/2025

12/05/2025

12/05/2025

12/02/2025

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