Today we’d like to introduce you to Olabanji Adeniranye.
Hi Olabanji, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Lagos, Nigeria after my parents graduated college and returned back home with my siblings to lay down roots and raise a family. In hindsight, that experience gave me a layered perspective influenced by different cultures and a deep curiosity about identity, purpose, and how we’re shaped by our environment, our relationships, and the world around us.
When I returned to the U.S. as a teenager, I followed the path my parents hoped I would take, especially my mother, who wanted me to become a medical doctor. But during my first semester of college, I felt drawn in a different direction. The idea of becoming a U.S. Marine challenged me in a way I couldn’t ignore. After some reflection and prayer, I made the decision. I was seventeen at the time, so my mom had to sign the enlistment papers, begrudgingly and with tears in her eyes. Not long after, I was off to bootcamp.
While serving in the Marines, I took college classes and explored different paths. Everything shifted when I enrolled in a psychology course. Something clicked. For the first time, I felt clear about what I was meant to do: to give back and to help those in need.
After completing my service, I earned a degree in psychology from the University of San Diego. With encouragement from a mentor, I went on to pursue a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, and later a doctorate in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. My work initially focused on working with families and couples and supervising therapist trainees. Eventually, I transitioned to working exclusively with individuals as a psychologist.
Over the years, I have worked in a range of clinical settings including forensic hospitals, outpatient programs, and dialectical behavior therapy teams treating teen and adult individuals with borderline personality disorder, PTSD, and complex trauma. I later founded Encomium Psychology, a private practice that supports high-performing individuals who want to go deeper. The work is about more than symptom relief. It is about seeing with unfiltered eyes and living with vision and intention, helping people break free from burnout, self-doubt, and inherited belief systems that no longer serve them.
Along the way, and through personal upheaval, I wrote Unself, a book rooted in both clinical and philosophical insight and lived experience. It is about letting go of the false identities and narratives we cling to and returning to who we truly are. I also created three frameworks called HEART, TRACE, and GRACE that support people in navigating healing, purpose, and meaningful change.
I do not see my work as a destination. It is a living, ongoing practice anchored in curiosity, service, connection, and a commitment to wholeness.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been challenges all through the way, however they have prepared me for the path that I have taken. It was quite an adjustment growing up in two different cultures, however it has deepened my understanding of the stories and beliefs that shape our identity. The US Marines taught me resilience and anti fragility and it taught me about the importance of discipline, grit and having someone to reach out to when things get tough. The challenges have taught me that change is inevitable, control is akin to an illusion and that we must stay grounded and focused on your vision and connected to those who have your best interest at heart.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I’m the founder of Encomium Psychology, a private practice committed to depth, clarity, and transformation in pursuit of a life worth living. I work primarily with high-achieving individuals—creatives, professionals—who may be successful yet internally feel caught in cycles of burnout, self-doubt, perfectionism, or emotional disconnection. Many of them have done therapy before, sometimes for years, but find themselves repeating familiar patterns they can’t quite name or shift.
What I offer isn’t quick-fix coaching or symptom-level treatment. It’s a psychologically sophisticated and reality grounded process that explores the unconscious architecture of how we become who we are; often shaped by trauma, culture, early attachment, and deeply embedded beliefs about self, others and the world in general. My clinical background spans family work, trauma treatment, and intensive therapeutic work with complex presentations like borderline personality disorder and PTSD, and I bring that depth into my private practice work.
What sets Encomium apart is the invitation to go beyond coping. The work is not just about managing symptoms but about reclaiming the parts of self that have been exiled in the name of fear, survival and belonging. My clients don’t come to me to be fixed; they come to find the signal that calls to them and to remember who they are beneath the noise.
In that spirit, I wrote Unself, a book that bridges clinical insight with philosophical reflection. It’s both a practical guide and an invitation to let go of false identities and recalibrate toward what is primal, divine, sacred and true. I also developed three frameworks—HEART, TRACE, and GRACE—which now form the foundation of my work, whether in therapy, consultation, or teaching.
I’m most proud that the brand is congruent with the work—it doesn’t posture. It doesn’t overpromise. It acknowledges the role of determination, dedication and discipline as catalysts for making miracles. It respects the complexity of human experience and meets people where they are, with honesty, precision, good intention and care. If there’s one thing I’d want readers to know, it’s this: Real change is possible, but it requires a different kind of conversation—one rooted in radical awareness.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is living with vibrance and authenticity and helping others do the same. That means being attuned to yourself and others, letting go of what no longer fits, and creating space for joy, creativity, and connection along the way.
Life isn’t just about healing or achievement. It’s about having fun, taking risks, and experiencing moments that feel deeply meaningful and rewarding. I care about helping people build lives that are meaningful, expressive, and truly their own.
That’s why I wrote Unself, and why I developed the HEART, TRACE, and GRACE frameworks—to support people in moving through life with clarity, courage, depth, and purpose. At its core, the book is about remembering who you are beneath the programming, expectations, roles, and survival strategies.
I believe we all deserve lives that feel good, honest, expressive, and deeply our own. That’s what matters to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drolaspeaks.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ola-adeniranye-0820011b/
- Other: https://www.encomiumpsychology.com
