About Us

Welcome to Plant and Grow: Holistic Healing. Plant and Grow’s owner Aleema Skerrett has an extreme passion for assisting people; especially children and adolescents with finding their ultimate sense of health and well-being. Aleema started out in the Criminal Justice field, interning as a Juvenile Probation officer and then at the Juvenile Justice Center. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree from Bloomsburg University in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Children, Family, and Youth, Aleema decided to further her education. A common theme that emerged from working in the criminal justice system was that a lot of the youth had no one to talk to. Aleema began to feel as though she could make more change in an earlier stage of the system if many of the adolescents were able to receive therapeutic services prior to ending up within the criminal system. Aleema went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Child and Adolescent Counseling from Kutztown University. Aleema Skerrett currently is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania and has been working as a Child Therapist in a school setting for the past seven years. In this time, Aleema had become very intrigued by the effects of nutrition on mental health and overall health. That led her to return to school once again in order to become certified as a Holistic Nutritionist. Aleema Skerrett remains highly passionate about combating childhood obesity and helping individuals and family dynamics develop healthier eating patterns. Aleema truly believes that no change happens in isolation. That thinking led to the development of her company.

Plant and Grow: Holistic Healing focuses on the WHOLE person. With a combination of therapeutic intervention, nutritional guidance, and physical activity you can reach your optimal health. In order to have long-term health and success, it is necessary to change behavior and explore possible mental roadblocks that may impede that success. Plant and Grow strives to assist with healing from the inside out. Services include: Nutritional consultation, Juicing/natural raw detox, Individual therapy sessions, Yoga classes, Meal planning, Joint grocery shopping and nutrition education.

Credentials:

Licensed Professional Counselor, L.P.C.

Child and Adolescent Counseling, M.A.

Criminal Justice, B.A.

Certified Holistic Nutritionist

500 Hour Certified Yoga Teacher

Certified Personal Trainer

Lucrecia’s daughter, who had previously been a client of Aleema’s referred her mother to Aleema after attending a community health event where they checked vitals and did blood work and Lucrecia was determined to be pre-diabetic. At that point, Aleema and Lucrecia’s daughter encouraged her to begin the educational phase (watching documentaries, reading literature) of the transition. Lucrecia’s mother died from Diabetes, so she knew how serious and fatal this condition could be. Lucrecia began her transition to a healthier lifestyle by eliminating meat, bread, and processed foods. Lucrecia truly began to understand what you put in your body truly exacerbates disease, or works towards eliminating it. Lucrecia’s daughter purchased her a Fitbit and she became active as well. Lucrecia spoke of a spike in energy she had as a result of the change in diet. Lucrecia was a complete non-believer that there was a strong correlation between nutrition and exercise, but quickly learned that it is all interconnected. Lucrecia struggled initially with the idea of completely changing her diet, because of her cultural background. Eliminating certain foods is not widely accepted within the Latino community, because of the traditional meals containing meat. Lucrecia today, is no longer pre-diabetic and in fact has become a fitness enthusiast who wins every Fitbit challenge she is in! Lucrecia and her daughter support one another and that strong sense of support keeps them both focused. Lucrecia is now in the best shape of her life and determined to be around to watch all of her grandchildren grow up!