Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly conversation about mental health,

personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions

of ourselves.

I'm your host, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information or to find a therapist in your area, visit our website at therapyforblackgirls.com.

While I hope you love listening to and learning from the podcast, it is not meant to be a substitute

for a relationship with a licensed mental health professional.

Hey y'all!

Thanks so much for joining me for a session 2-14 of the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast.

We'll get right into the episode after a word from our sponsors.

We've gotten a few questions in our mailbox recently from community members about finding

the right therapist to work with.

And this is really important because research has been consistent in telling us that the

number one factor that dictates growth in therapy is the relationship that we have

with our therapist.

If the relationship is shaky, little else will matter.

So it makes sense that we want to be as thoughtful as possible when deciding on who we're going

to work with.

I also think it speaks to why it's okay if you don't really click with the first therapist

you might work with because we know that we just don't gel with everybody.

Another question that has been asked a few times is, do I really need a black therapist?

And again, I just think that this is an excellent question and it really depends on so many

...