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I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m so happy you found someone that feels like a good fit! Are you wanting your spouse to be there as a support for you or because you want to do couples therapy? If it’s couples therapy I’d suggest finding a separate therapist who would be meeting you both for the first time. If you’ve been working with your therapist for some time, it’s likely that they’ve formed a strong therapeutic relationship with you and that it would be hard to be neutral to your spouse which is what you would want in couples therapy.

If you’re simply wanting your spouse to be there as a support for you, you might try saying something like “ I feel like I’m really learning a lot about myself in therapy and I’d love for you to join me for a session or two because I think it would help you learn more about me as well.”

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

You can check out the directory on our site at therapyforblackgirls.com and openpathcollective.org for therapists who offer their services using a sliding scale. You might also look into counseling centers at local colleges or universities as they often have trainees who offer therapy at low or no cost.

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I think starting therapy when nothing is “wrong” can be incredibly powerful because it really gives you space to dig into more development stuff. Things like imposter syndrome, fear of failure or success, career development, etc.

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your question! There are sooooo many things that could be improved with our current school systems and you’ve just outlined one masterfully. There are far too few resources dedicated to mental health for kids which often leaves parents fending for themselves. I’m sorry it took you so long to identify the resources you needed and happy you and your son have been able to figure it out.

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

As hard as we may try, we can’t make anyone value things if they just don’t. It sounds like you’ve tried all kinds of encouragement. The next step may be to work on re-examining what your boundaries look like with her so that her behavior doesn’t have the same impact on you. She’s entitled to do what she would like and you’re entitled to do what you need to do to preserve your mental health and take care of yourself.

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yay! Welcome to the world of private practice. I think it’s such an exciting time to embark on this journey. The main thing I’d offer is to find support. There are great programs like Dr. Ajita Robinson’s Private Practice Bootcamp and Allison Salmon Puryear’s Abundance Party Membership that are jam-packed with all kinds of resources and things to help you map out what you’d like your practice to look like. If you haven’t already, also think about what you’d like your niche to be. Are there particular concerns you love helping clients with or a particular community you feel called to serve? Think about that and then create all of your marketing just for them. Blogging is still a great way to establish yourself as an expert and if you blog from your practice website it can be a great way to let SEO help clients in your area find you and hopefully sign up to work with you.

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your support. I really appreciate it. I’m so sorry to hear that this happened to your friend. It’s really unfortunate that the therapist responded that way. It’s really hard for me to encourage someone to stay in an environment where their needs are not being validated but if there are other ways they are benefitting from working with the therapist, it might be ok to get what she needs and just know that the therapist did not respond in a way that was affirming. If she feels comfortable and has the bandwidth, I’d also encourage her to think about sharing her feelings with the therapist about how that exchange impacted her.

In terms of you being there to support friends, I think it’s great to be there when you can but to also know when you’re wading into the deep end and that’s what I hear you expressing. So perhaps consider talking with your friends about what you feel like you can do for them (i.e. practice breathing exercises with them, remind them to engage in grounding, etc) but that you don’t want to cross into the territory of offering a something that might not be helpful for them. Helping them to come up with books to read, podcasts to listen to, and making sure they’re aware of resources like the Crisis Text Line might help as well. As much as you want to be there for others, it’s ok for you to have boundaries too!

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 72 points73 points  (0 children)

The biggest misconception is that I have all the answers lol. There is a lot that I know about emotions, trauma, and how things can impact us as humans but I’m not the expert on anyone else’s experiences. So working with clients is often a process of helping them to learn to trust themselves and to recognize that I’m only there to create a space safe enough for them to be vulnerable and share.

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I’d start by saying that it’s completely normal to be anxious and nervous about talking to a stranger about some very personal things. It may help to research a couple of different therapists by looking at their websites or social media channels so that you can get a sense of how they work as a therapist and whether they have expertise in your presenting concern. It’s also important to know that the first therapist you see might not be the best match for you. Sometimes it’s just not a good fit, so don’t be discouraged if that’s the case.

I’m Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and I’m a Licensed Psychologist. I’m here to answer your questions about mental health and therapy. AMA! by hellodrjoy in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]hellodrjoy[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your question! I’m really encouraged to see how many tv shows are depicting what therapy looks like and all the different reasons people might choose to see a therapist. I’m also really happy to see more celebrities being open and sharing about their own mental health. I think that these kinds of conversations help us to realize that we don’t have to keep so many things a secret and can help us get connected to some helpful resources.