OUR FOUNDER

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OUR FOUNDER ·

I'm Julius Peterson—Licensed Clinical Social Worker, mediator, and someone who doesn't collapse when things get intense.

Based in metro Atlanta and serving throughout Georgia.

About Julius Peterson, LCSW

“I help people hold the hardest conversations of their lives.”


Credentials

Education: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Case Western Reserve University Master of Divinity (MDiv), Emory University Registered with court-approved mediation rosters in Georgia

Advanced Training: Internal Family Systems (IFS) Somatic Experiencing (SE) Transformative Mediation Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO)

Experience: 10+ years clinical crisis intervention Founder, Roots, Seeds, and Branches LLC (LGBTQ+ mental health practice). Specialized work with Black, queer, and marginalized communities in Atlanta.

What Makes Me Different

I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, not a lawyer.

Most mediators are attorneys. They know law and negotiation.

I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I know why you can't sleep, why the same fight keeps happening, and why your body tenses when they walk in the room.

That clinical training means I can help you regulate when emotions flood, work with the parts of you driving conflict, hold intense moments without collapsing, address trauma and historical patterns passed through lineages, and help multiple people calm down together.

This is why resolutions last—we address the root, not just symptoms.

I Don't Just See the Surface

Most mediators see "custody dispute." I see attachment wounds, legacy burdens, generations of family pain showing up in this moment.

This depth makes the difference.

My Philosophy

"Everyone is responsible for their own freedom and has the capacity inside themselves to work towards their own freedom."

I don't rescue or save. I create conditions where you can access your own strength and make your own choices.

Mediation That Makes Room for Everyone

My practice is grounded in traditions where all clients can exhale and racial dynamics aren't ignored.

I focus on honoring all sides to create a table outside broken systems where everyone—regardless of race, faith tradition, or how you make meaning—can address conflict without replicating harm. When the space is grounded this way, both those who've experienced oppression and those who've benefited from it can do the work of repair.

All clients engage with humility, accountability, and respect for the ground the work stands on.

What to Expect

Five Things That Set My Practice Apart:

I don't collapse when things get hard.I've held some of the most intense conflicts across race, identity, power, and historical harm. I can handle intensity without shutting it down.

I follow your lead—you control outcomes.I'm not here to tell you what to do. You make the decisions. I create conditions for clear thinking.

I work with what's underneath.We address the parts of you showing up in conflict, the old wounds driving behavior, and the patterns passed down through generations.

I create structure without rigidity.Mediation needs structure to feel safe, but flexibility to honor how conflict actually unfolds. I hold both.

I believe in your capacity for freedom.Even in deep conflict, you have the capacity to make choices that honor your dignity, your values, and the relationships that matter. My job is to help you access that capacity.

Beyond Mediation

I also run Roots, Seeds, and Branches LLC, a therapeutic practice serving marginalized communities in Atlanta. That work and mediation inform each other—both help people reclaim their lives from systems and histories that demanded too much.

Ready to Talk?

Free consultation. No pressure. Just clarity.

Serving metro Atlanta: Decatur, Atlanta, Marietta, Sandy Springs, Buckhead, and throughout Georgia, as well as families, and business Nationwide.

Why I do this?

I know what it's like to fight for your right to live your life the way you want to.

My grandmothers raised me to love myself and live freely, even when the world had other plans. I'm a Black man who knows what it means to navigate systems that weren't built for you and repair relationships that have demanded too much.

That lived experience—combined with clinical training—shapes how I hold space for others.This foundation is built upon generations of ancestral wisdom—the practices of community dialogue and collective problem-solving that thrived long before colonial legal systems were introduced. I am deeply informed by the tradition of restorative circles, where communities gather in connection with each other to resolve conflict through open dialogue rather than punitive measures.

Because conflict often has roots in our ancestral lineages and inherited patterns, my approach honors what has been passed down through generations. I am dedicated to creating a safe, inclusive space to hold the experiences of all bodies and all lineages.