I have faith in therapy. There’s something special about working through your life with someone who doesn’t want anything from you. A few years ago, Huffington Post described a few of the benefits of therapy, with emotional assistance and accountability being among them.
Sadly, there is the belief that Black people and therapy don’t mix. Some families/communities still operate under the “don’t tell your business to strangers/be strong” system, even though it’s not effective. Jay-Z spoke about the aversion to therapy with Van Jones for CNN earlier this year, saying, “it’s a stigma,…as you grow, you realize the ridiculousness of the stigma attached to it.”
Black women in particular need therapy more than ever. From dealing with microaggressions and pay gaps in the workplace, to combating the hateful attitudes of the administration, we have situations and conversations to navigate and we can’t be scared to ask for help.
The misconception that we have it all under control is the result of decades of stereotyping – Black women have been crushed by the weight of the strong black woman trope. Tamara Winfrey Harris penned a piece for Bitch Media that dissects and