06/10/2026
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต, ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ MindBody Therapy Centre, SE23 and Therapy 4 Healing ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐. ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ง
Karen and Devon share Jamaican roots, but their individual journeys to where they are today have been very different.
Their stories encompass migration, family, identity, loss, resilience, career changes, entrepreneurship and ultimately a shared desire to create something with purpose.
Devon spent his early childhood in rural Jamaica, raised by his grandparents while his parents sought a better life in Britain. His childhood was not an easy one. Alongside school came demanding work on the family farm, from harvesting cassava and coconuts to making and selling bammy and coconut oil.
Massage was part of those early years too. Among his childhood chores was making massage oil and massaging his grandfather's neck, back and shoulders, never knowing it would one day become his career. Coming to England at 10 meant leaving behind the home and family he knew and adapting to a completely different life. Massage later became one of the ways he connected with his mum, years before he trained professionally and found his path into therapy and wellbeing.
Karen's Jamaican heritage is equally an important part of who she is. Her journey took her through motherhood, 25 years in corporate finance, profound personal loss and significant periods of having to rebuild her life. Eventually, she chose to leave the security of the corporate world and pursue a life that felt more aligned with who she had become.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐บ๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ.
Devon had long held a dream of opening a therapy centre, driven by a desire to make quality complementary healthcare accessible to people across the community. Karen's response was characteristically simple:
โ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ?โ
Together, they built MindBody Therapy from the ground up.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ.
Over the years, MindBody Therapy has become part of its South East London community, welcoming people from different backgrounds, cultures and walks of life. Through the thousands of clients who have come through the doors, the therapists who have worked alongside them and the relationships built within the wider community, what started as one dream has grown into something shared by many.
Their work within the community has extended beyond the walls of MindBody too. Through partnerships, community initiatives and their work as co-founders of Therapy for Healing, Karen and Devon have continued that commitment to making therapy, counselling, education and wellbeing support more accessible to the communities around them.
For Karen and Devon, community has always been about more than where you live. It's about connection and care, creating opportunities, supporting others and creating spaces where people can feel welcomed, seen and supported.
That's why this year's Black History Month theme, ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐, feels particularly meaningful.
Black history isn't only found in history books or in the stories of famous names. It lives within families and communities. In the countries people leave and return to. In the sacrifices made by previous generations. In the lives their children and grandchildren go on to create. In the knowledge and values passed down. In Black-owned businesses. And in what each generation builds for the next.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ.
To parents and grandparents, to the choices and sacrifices they made, and to the Jamaican roots, values and memories carried forward. Their journeys helped shape what Karen and Devon were able to build, just as what Karen and Devon build today helps shape what the next generation can carry forward.
For Karen and Devon, their Jamaican heritage is part of that history, and so is the life and community they've built together here in South East London.
But perhaps one of the most meaningful parts of building something is knowing that the story doesn't end with you.
Today, the next generation is already part of what Karen and Devon have created, both within MindBody Therapy and behind the scenes. Different roles, different paths, but a continuation of something that began with an idea and has grown into a family legacy.
Because legacy isn't only about what we leave behind. It's about what we pass on, our values, our knowledge, our opportunities, our sense of purpose, and something the next generation can take forward and make their own.
๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฐ๐.
This Black History Month, as we Honour Our Communities, we celebrate where we came from, what we're creating today, and what we carry forward for the generations to come. ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ง
