Not only has Alishia McCullough built an impressive career in counseling since graduating from Beaufort County Early College High School in 2014, she is now expanding cultural understanding around the connections between race and body image through her new book, Reclaiming the Black Body, published on January 14, 2025. She has forged a career that blends mental health advocacy with social justice. A licensed clinical mental health therapist and the founder of Black and Embodied Counseling and Consulting, PLLC, McCullough is committed to empowering individuals and addressing systemic issues affecting marginalized communities.
McCullough earned both her high school diploma and an Associate of Arts from Beaufort County Community College (BCCC) by the time she graduated from the early college.
“Prior to my enrollment at BCCC, I was familiar and motivated to attend the college because my grandfather John T. House was the Director of [TRIO] Student Support Services for many years before he retired,” says McCullough.
Her time at BCCC proved pivotal. She attributes much of her success to the mentorship of faculty such as Dr. Keith Lyon, Dr. Judith Meyer, and counselor Kimberly Jackson. That support inspired her to continue her education, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in clinical mental health counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
As a therapist, McCullough focuses on the intersection of racial trauma and eating disorders, especially within Black and other marginalized communities. “One of the conversations I’ve had with my clients and students in my classes is that our relationship to food is also impacted by our history, access to resources, systemic factors, and social identities, those being class, race, gender and others,” she explains. “Eating disorders are disruptions to a healthy, harmonious, and satiating experience with our ability to nourish ourselves. In the Black community [these are] red lining, food deserts, food apartheid, a history of forced starvation, disconnection from indigenous food culture, degradation of cultural foods being labeled as having ‘bad’ and ‘unhealthy’ foods.”
Her book explores how racial trauma has disrupted Black women’s relationship with their bodies and food. She emphasizes that eating disorders are not only individual struggles but are deeply tied to systemic issues, including how Black bodies have historically been vilified. “I invite readers of Reclaiming the Black Body to explore and understand the roots of eating disorders in Black communities, while also empowering the community with the tools and resources necessary to heal this trauma.”
McCullough provides both education and healing through her work. In her self-paced course Reimagining Eating Disorders 101, she offers insights into the root causes of eating disorders, particularly in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities, and equips individuals with tools to heal. Drawing on both professional expertise and lived experience, she presents a holistic and culturally competent approach to mental health care.
In 2020, she co-founded the Amplify Melanated Voices Movement, a global initiative that uplifts BIPOC voices both online and in person. For McCullough, this work continues her commitment to social justice and healing.
“My work takes a comprehensive approach to healthcare by being inclusive of systemic conditions, historical context, ancestry, spirituality, activism, social justice, somatic embodiment, biology, psychology, and sociology to weave together the story of how we heal through our everyday lived experiences,” says McCullough.
Her advocacy also extends to writing, including her poetry collection Blossoming, and features in Essence, Forbes, BlackGirlNerds, and Bustle. Her influence expanded further when she was named one of Meta’s Mental Health Influencers in the 2022 Well-Being Collective.
Often seen as a fast track to the workforce, community college can also launch students who shape cultural understanding and drive social change. McCullough’s path from Beaufort CCC to national leadership in mental health and justice shows what’s possible when students are empowered to ask hard questions and find their voice. To learn more about Alishia McCullough and her work, visit Black and Embodied Consulting.