Black women are statistically more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression but are less likely to seek therapy.

Social worker and counsellor Camille Creary wants to fix this.

A few months ago she launched Cocoon Work, a therapy business targeting women of colour aged 25 to 55.

“Cocoon Work is a figurative expression for the journey we take to become our most ideal selves,” she said. “Many of us were taught that our most authentic and ideal selves are unobtainable and were forced to become the person we needed to be to survive.”

However, Ms Creary believes that with inner work and guidance, dreams can become reality.

The inspiration for the business came from challenges she had in her “metamorphosis” years.

“This is the time when you haven’t quite become who you are meant to be but you’re no longer who you used to be,” she said.

At first, her life seemed to follow a metaphorical checklist for success. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology, then a double master’s degree in social work and criminology.

“I came back to Bermuda and found a good paying government job,” she said.

She got a car and then her own apartment. Check. Check. Check.

There was only one problem, none of it made her happy. At 30, she had to re-evaluate her life.

Her relationship with her parents was part of the problem. With her father, she had to set boundaries and make clear how she expected to be treated in adulthood.

She was close to her mother but felt pressured by her to live life a certain way.

“My mother raised me,” Ms Creary said. “She had a lot of opinions. She said you need to be financially stable. She would say I’m not raising any more kids. It was that kind of narrative.”

Ms Creary was living her life more for her mother than for herself.

“I came to the understanding that I could not hold myself to anyone else’s standard and expect to feel fulfilled,” the 32-year-old said.

A wellness retreat in Costa Rica helped to address the issues with her mother. During the trip she asked her mother for permission to start living her life for herself.

“I was 30 at that point,” she said. “I told her I did all the things you asked of me but now I feel like I am dying.”

Her mother understood.

“She said, ‘I just want to make sure you are OK’,” Ms Creary remembered. “She said, ‘as long as you can take care of yourself, my job is done. Live your own life’.”

Through Ms Creary’s job as a social worker she noticed that many other people were also struggling.

“I saw that there was this need for guidance when trying to figure out this whole adulting thing, specifically for women of colour,” Ms Creary said.

She thought some Black women in Bermuda did not seek help because they worried about their privacy. She also saw a stigma to therapy.

“You don’t want to be seen as weaker,” she said. “Women of colour are often more burdened with the strong woman archetype. They feel like they have to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.”

As part of her programme, Ms Creary developed a workbook to help women deal with these challenges. It includes self-care checkpoints and journal prompts to gently guide someone on an introspective journey. It also has six different modules, such as one about dealing with parents as an adult.

“I see a lot of different tumultuous relationships where a child who has love for their parent can have difficulty navigating their parent’s flaws or shortcomings,” Ms Creary said. “Sometimes they may have difficulty separating who they want their parents to be, from the human who is in front of them.”

She said there are a lot of therapeutic resources out there but some people were not ready to commit to high levels of counselling.

“Cocoon bridges that gap and is a stepping stone,” she said.

She cautioned that the workbook was not meant to replace therapy.

She offers one-on-one counselling under the umbrella of counselling practice Mayvera Wellness, run by Jana Outerbridge. They are looking to offer a range of services that will include group experiences.

“We want to really do some of the self work that will help women have a sense of authenticity when prioritising happiness and peace in this chaotic world,” she said.

Potential clients can book a ten-minute consultation with her at Mayvera Wellness. She will also be rolling out two group programmes: a workshop for navigating parent and adult relationships, and another workshop helping woman in collectives or friend groups, to create enclaves that heal and support.

“I’m not teaching them how to do therapy but more how to be supportive in a way that does not include judgment or innate biases,” she said.

Her plan is to eventually branch out into assisting other groups such as teenagers and men.

“I have done extensive work with both,” she said. “I have worked with men in prisons, on probation, and through Child Protective Services. They have similar challenges to women but need their own lane of intervention. The societal pressures and expectations on them are different.”

In November, she took part in the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation’s Rocket Pitch Competition for emerging entrepreneurs. Cocoon Work won in the Pitch Town category for community-oriented services.

“Winning that was great validation,” she said. “It was a little nerve-racking taking part. Public speaking is something I can do, but that does not mean I enjoy it.”

• For more information, visitcocoonworkbda.com