Stereotypically, black women are seen as the strongest humans on the planet and have to remain strong at all times in order take care of their family members, friends, and partners. But black women need a place where they can release their stress and worries and heal from the hurt they’ve experienced in life and that is where “Therapy for Black Girls” steps in and provides much-needed assistance. Dr. Joy Harden Bradford is a licensed psychologist located in Atlanta, Georgia and developed
Therapy for Black Girls.
She began her journey to remove the stigma surrounding mental health care by encouraging the mental wellness of black women and to present mental health topics in a way that feels more accessible and relevant. Therapy for Black Girls includes Dr. Bradford’s private practice, an online national directory of mental health professionals licensed to provide services to black women and girls and a widely popular weekly podcast.
Dr. Bradford’s area of expertise includes break up and divorce recovery, depression, work-life balance, relationship skills, and self-esteem improvement all catered to help black women become the best versions of themselves.
In 2014, Dr. Bradford says she was so inspired by the BET premiere of “Black Girls Rock” that she wanted to recreate that same empowerment for black girls and women in the mental health space. She began with blog posts and her national directory but her obsession
with podcasts led to the launch of The Therapy for Black Girls Podcast in April 2017 which now has an average of 10,600 listeners per episode.
The weekly episodes feature conversations with Dr. Bradford about all things mental health and personal development. She also offers practical tips and strategies to improve one’s mental health, she discusses the latest trends in mental health, and she also pulls back the curtain on what happens in therapy sessions and answers listeners questions.
Dr. Bradford makes it very clear that her podcast sessions are not meant to replace seeking professional help from a licensed psychologist or therapist. Offering a national online directory of therapists makes finding help much easier.
Since its inception in 2016, the directory has been shared more than 28,000 times across social media platforms and has been featured in Buzzfeed’s Another Round Newsletter, The Friend Zone Podcast and in the September 2017 issue of The Oprah Magazine.
Dr. Bradford shares that word of mouth referrals led to the success of Therapy for Black Girls as she never imagined her vision would take off as it has.
This platform provides black women with healing and wellness advice and resources in a personal, non-judgmental, way and it allows black women to receive the help that is specifically catered to their needs.
Therapy for Black Girls is gaining fast popularity and has been endorsed all across social media. Dr. Bradford hopes that this opportunity leads to the larger development of her own practice so that she can continue helping black women become the best versions of themselves.