Award-Winning Mental Health Game Changer: Dr. Joy Harden Bradfordon the Power of Sisterhood
Exploring the Transformative Impact of Sisterhood within Community.
In an exclusive interview, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, the award-winning mental health advocate and founder of Therapy for Black Girls, talks to Miami Living and shares her insights on the transformative power of sisterhood and community.
With a profound impact on mental health through her platform, Dr. Joy discusses the inspiration behind Therapy for Black Girls, her exploration of friendships and sisterhood in her book Sisterhood Heals: The Transformative Power of Healing Community, and the critical role of community healing for Black women. She also offers practical advice on cultivating supportive spaces, recognizing toxic dynamics, and making mental health topics more accessible. As she looks ahead, Dr. Joy envisions a future rich with opportunities for in-person gatherings and continued growth in the mental health field.
ML: Dr. Joy, your work with Therapy for Black Girls has had a tremendous impact on the mental health community. Can you share what inspired you to start this platform?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: I started Therapy for Black Girls in 2014 after watching the Black Girls Rock Award show on BET. It was inspiring to see Black women celebrating one another across a variety of industries and I thought it would be cool to capture some of that same energy for Black women as it relates to mental health. I jumped on GoDaddy that night and purchased the domain. I began by blogging on the site sharing information about things like questions to ask potential therapists and how to lean into your support system. I then added the directory and podcast to the site in 2017 as additional ways to offer resources and continue our mission of making mental health more relevant and accessible for Black women and girls.
ML: In your book “Sisterhood Heals: The Transformative Power of Healing Community,” you explore the power of friendships and sisterhood. What key elements make these relationships so vital for mental well-being?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: Sisterhood and friendship are vital for our well-being because it is in these relationships that we’re able to be our most authentic selves. This may be best captured in what I call “The 4 S’s of Sisterhood.” Sisterhood allows us to be seen. It allows us to support and be supported. It allows us to soften, and it allows us to have greater knowledge of self.
ML: You have previously spoken about the transformative power of community healing. Can you explain how collective healing differs from individual healing and why it’s so crucial for Black women?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: Healing in community happens in large part because of the reduction in shame. Often it’s the case that we are struggling with something and we carry a great deal of shame because we believe we’re the only ones who could be feeling something or struggling in a particular way and it is in community that we realize that we are not alone with any thing we may be feeling or experiencing.
As the shame dissipates, we are more able to confront our experiences and receive support from others to deal with it. I think this is particularly important for Black women because there are so many experiences where we question why something may be happening to us and through checking in with others we learn that things may not be occurring through any fault of our own but instead due to systems of oppression and discrimination.
ML: What advice would you give to someone looking to cultivate a safe and supportive space within their community?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: I’d encourage them to first look around in their background to see whether there is anyone in the background of their lives that with a little bit of effort could move to the foreground. For example, maybe there’s someone you exchange pleasantries with during a yoga class you frequent or a fellow mom you run into in the carpool line. What might it be like to ask if they’d like to grab breakfast with you after yoga or after drop-off. We may be surprised by the kinds of relationships that may develop just from a simple invitation. I also think it’s important to remember that if there is a thing in the world we’d like to see that doesn’t exist, it may be because we’re the ones meant to create it. If you’re looking for community and connections in your area, there’s a good chance that others are as well so perhaps you might consider putting out an open call on social media or through your network inviting people who are also looking for community to a game night or some other low-stakes gathering.
ML: Can you talk about the importance of showing up for people in our community, especially during challenging times?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: Showing up during challenging times is when community becomes most evident and is what we tend to remember most. I am sure we can all remember a small or large gesture someone offered to us during a difficult time that made things just a little easier. The key to showing up during challenging times is in anticipating needs for those in our community. For example, when someone is grieving we often will say things like “let me know if you need anything,” but people who are grieving often don’t know what they need because they’re often using all of their energy just to get through the next moment. So doing something like having their favorite food dishes delivered so they don’t have to think about what to eat or going over to do a few loads of laundry or dishes can help to take tasks off their plate so that they can just focus on grieving.
ML: As a licensed psychologist, what do you see as the biggest challenges Black women face in accessing mental health care, and how can we work towards overcoming these barriers?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: I think that some of the largest challenges include a lack of culturally responsive providers, lower rates of reimbursement for mental health providers making it more challenging for providers to accept insurance, and though it has been lessened, there is still significant stigma associated with mental health services.
ML: In your experience, what are some effective ways to foster and maintain healthy friendships and sisterhoods?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: The most effective ways to foster and maintain healthy friendships include being intentional about spending time with one another, being willing to navigate difficult conversations with one another, and being intentional about showing up for one another both during challenging times and in times of celebration.
ML: How can individuals recognize and address toxic dynamics in their friendships and communities?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: Our bodies tend to be our first indicators that a dynamic is toxic. We may have headaches or stomaches after spending time with someone or immediately before interacting with them. We may find ourselves avoiding contact with certain people or feeling annoyed or anxious with the idea of potential contact. These are all indicators that the dynamic with this person may not be one that is healthy or fulfilling for us. I also think that when you find yourself trying to tally how much you’ve done or how often you’ve shown up for someone else vs how often this has been reciprocated, this is also an indicator of a relationship where our needs may not be being prioritized.
ML: Your work focuses on making mental health topics more accessible. What are some strategies you’ve found effective in engaging and educating your audience about these issues?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: I have found tying mental health concepts to notable moments in pop culture largely effective in making the information more relevant and accessible. For example, the friendship breakup between Molly and Issa in Season 4 of “Insecure” provided an excellent opportunity to talk about friendship dynamics and sisterhood in a way that felt very accessible to many of those who watched. These kinds of moments can bring concepts to life in ways that allow us to be very engaged and less threatened because we’re discussing fictional characters.
ML: Looking ahead, what are your hopes and plans for the future of Therapy for Black Girls and your work in the mental health field?
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford: I am most excited about continuing to create opportunities for our community to gather with one another in person. We recently held our Inaugural Therapist Summit in Atlanta and it solidified for me the importance of spaces where mental health professionals can be vulnerable with one another but also have opportunities to play with one another. We cannot wait to get started on planning the next one.
For further information, please visit: www.hellodrjoy.com.
To follow her along socially, visit @hellodrjoy on Instagram.