Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls podcasts, where we
Speaker 1: focus on all things mental health, personal development, and all
Speaker 1: the small decisions we can make to become the best
Speaker 1: possible versions of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr Joy Harden Bradford,
Speaker 1: a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. To find more information
Speaker 1: and to get resources, visit the website at Therapy for
Speaker 1: Black Girls dot com. And while I hope you love
Speaker 1: listening to and learning from the podcast, it is not
Speaker 1: meant to be a substitute for a relationship with a
Speaker 1: licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, welcome to the very
Speaker 1: first episode of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. I
Speaker 1: am delighted and thrilled the you've decided to spend a
Speaker 1: little bit of time with me and share space with
Speaker 1: me today. I wanted to do this intro episode to
Speaker 1: give you more information about what you could expect from
Speaker 1: the podcast each week and how you can help. For
Speaker 1: those of you who are brand new to Therapy for
Speaker 1: Black Girls, I also want to give you some information
Speaker 1: about the history and why I created it. So. I
Speaker 1: created Therapy for Black Girls in September, shortly after watching
Speaker 1: the Black Girls Rock Award show on b ET So
Speaker 1: the Black Girls Rock Award Show is always one of
Speaker 1: my favorite things to watch on TV, and the very
Speaker 1: first year I watched it, I just remember feeling so
Speaker 1: inspired and excited about all the amazing things that black
Speaker 1: women were doing, and I wanted to figure out how
Speaker 1: can I take the same energy and excitement that I
Speaker 1: feel and translated to the mental health field. And so
Speaker 1: then I developed therapy for Black girls. So my goal
Speaker 1: then and now was to help for sent mental health
Speaker 1: topics in a way that felt more relevant and accessible
Speaker 1: to black women. I want sisters to realize that mental
Speaker 1: health is not just developing strategies to manage panic attacks.
Speaker 1: It's also about how we can be more assertive, how
Speaker 1: we can set firmer boundaries, and how we can learn
Speaker 1: to listen to that little voice inside of us that
Speaker 1: tells us when something is wrong. So two years and
Speaker 1: some change later, and my newest idea about how to
Speaker 1: get this information out to everyone is through this podcast.
Speaker 1: And so my goal for the podcast is to provide
Speaker 1: you with some practical strategies and tips that you can
Speaker 1: use to improve or maintain your mental health. I also
Speaker 1: want to pull back the curtain on therapy and help
Speaker 1: you to understand better what happens behind those closed doors.
Speaker 1: And I also wanted to give you an opportunity to
Speaker 1: ask any questions you have about mental health, therapy, personal development,
Speaker 1: anything you can think of. One of the segment you
Speaker 1: can expect to hear will be called no co pay Needed.
Speaker 1: In these segments, you won't need your insurance card or
Speaker 1: your debit card to get very practical tips and strategies
Speaker 1: about how you can improve and maintain your mental health.
Speaker 1: Another segment will be called on the Porch with Dr Joy.
Speaker 1: So I'm not sure if you've been able to tell
Speaker 1: by my accent, but I'm originally from Louisiana, and in Louisiana,
Speaker 1: porches are a really big deal. My grandmother's porch was
Speaker 1: and still is a very safe space for me. It
Speaker 1: was where all of my earliest black girl magic was cultivated.
Speaker 1: So in this segment, I'll be inviting you into this
Speaker 1: space with me to sip on a little sweet tea
Speaker 1: and have some very honest conversation. I'll be answering any
Speaker 1: questions you have about mental health, therapy, personal development, and
Speaker 1: anything else you'd like some feedback about. If you have questions,
Speaker 1: you can send those over to me at podcasts at
Speaker 1: Therapy for Black Girls dot com. And finally, some of
Speaker 1: our episodes will be on the couch episodes. In these episodes,
Speaker 1: I'll be talking with some very special guest therapists who
Speaker 1: will talk to us about what therapy looks like with
Speaker 1: black women struggling with a variety of different concerns to
Speaker 1: help you get a little bit more information about what
Speaker 1: happens behind the closed doors of a therapy session. So
Speaker 1: that's it. That's what I'm thinking. If you have ideas
Speaker 1: or thoughts about things that you like to see featured
Speaker 1: on the podcast, I definitely welcome your input. You can
Speaker 1: send me an email to podcasts at Therapy for Black
Speaker 1: Girls dot com. And let's also keep the conversation going
Speaker 1: between episodes over on social media. So the official hashtag
Speaker 1: for the podcast is t b G in Session and
Speaker 1: you can find us on Twitter at Therapy for the
Speaker 1: Number four be Girls, and you can find us on
Speaker 1: Instagram and Facebook at Therapy for Black Girls. Please make
Speaker 1: sure to go over to iTunes or Stitcher or Google
Speaker 1: Play wherever you listen to your podcasts and subscribe so
Speaker 1: that you don't miss our episodes each week. I'm looking
Speaker 1: forward to continuing this conversation with you all very soon.
Speaker 1: Take good care,