Dr. Sharnell Myles, Psy. D. LPC, CPCS, CCTP is a licensed psychotherapist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional who specializes in the treatment of complex trauma. Her dedication to serving children, youth, and adults has spanned over 23-years with a focus on trauma responsive mental health treatment, program development, and social justice advocacy.
Dr. Myles is the Vice President of Embark Behavioral Health’s Georgia region where she leads strategic growth efforts and daily operations. Embark Behavioral Health operates an exceptional network of treatment programs across the United States, and specializes in preteens, teens, and young adults, struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health and substance use issues. Dr. Myles successfully led the opening of Embark at Atlanta North and Embark at Buckhead which offers a full continuum of care that includes Intensive Outpatient Treatment, Partial Hospitalization Treatment, Outpatient, Psychiatry, and Nursing. It’s Big Empathetic Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is to lower the all-time high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide to all-time lows by 2028.
Dr. Myles has successfully developed behavioral health companies and provided consultancy for systems of care in the development of trauma informed policies and therapeutic programming. In 2000, Dr. Myles founded the JoyUs Beginnings Child & Family Wellness Center and The Urban Trauma Positive Impact Center, Inc. which is an exclusive trauma-informed treatment and advocacy center located in Atlanta, Georgia. Services include trauma informed therapies, trauma assessments, group treatments, gender specific social justice initiatives for girls of color and PeriCare a 2-Gen maternal fetal behavioral health treatment and advocacy initiatives. JoyUs Beginnings also serves as a training hub for therapists to develop trauma informed therapy skills and clinical practice development. Dr. Myles was instrumental in developing the trauma informed protocol for a nonprofit organization serving vulnerable youth who experienced exploitation, abuse, and other victimizations within the Fulton County Juvenile Court (FCJC), the largest juvenile court in the southeast region.
Throughout her career, Dr. Myles has consulted with various states, systems of care, and urban school districts such as East Cleveland’s MyCom, Inc. and Minnesota’s Robbinsdale Area Schools, to provide training and develop trauma-informed programming. In addition, she is a sought-after consultant who transforms organizations in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Myles is also a subject matter expert in Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) and has worked on the front line of this issue for over twenty years. In December 2018, Dr. Myles coauthored the first DMST Protocol for schools in the state of Georgia and has trained hundreds of school social workers, nationally, to effectively identify, respond, and support students impacted by DMST. In addition, she has trained over ten thousand individuals which includes Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, corporations, law enforcement, mental health providers, educators, lawyers, governmental officials, and community members in the area of DMST and the impact of trauma on young children, youth, and families.
Dr. Myles has accepted many leadership positions throughout her career. She is the current Advisory Board Chair for the DeKalb County Juvenile Court Mental Health Court – Journey Program, a member of the Georgia Statewide Multi-Disciplinary
Team for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Board Chair for Breaking the Cycle, Inc
(Philadelphia), and was the Vice Chair of the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Taskforce Survivors Supported and Protected workgroup. Dr. Myles is a subject matter expert and provides expert testimony in legal cases involving child and adolescent trauma. She has presented at various conferences and has experience in vast settings such as clinical, juvenile justice, Department of Defense, and community-based settings.
Dr. Myles’ non-profit, The Social Justice Café for Girls, Inc., was founded in 2016 and is a prevention program dedicated to serving girls in the areas of social justice, wellness, international affairs, and girl empowerment. Since its inception in 2016, the program has touched the lives of over 500 girls through mentoring, social justice cafés, wellness and empowerment seminars, international travel and service, and advocacy services. (www.socialjusticecafeforgirls.org)
Dr. Myles has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and Master’s degree in Community and Clinical Psychology from Norfolk State University, and a Master’s degree and Doctor of Psychology degree from Georgia School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Myles has been named a 2019 Servant Leader for her work in Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and has received numerous awards: Atlanta Board of
Commissioners Proclamation, State Senate Resolution, The President Barack Obama Lifetime Service Award, Our Children’s Keeper Community Leadership Award, House of Hope Public Service Award, ACHI Magazine Mental Health Advocate Award, to name a few.