Session 453: What Speech-Language Pathologists Actually Do?
Therapy for Black Girls
iHeartPodcasts and Joy Harden Bradford, Ph.D.
4.8 • 5.8K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The ability to express ourselves through speech remains one of the most important ways we communicate. It’s at the root of how we connect, understand each other, and even how we explore our own identities. From childhood, we learn that what we say and how we’re able to say it can impact how we move through the world. Speech pathologists help those of us who experience challenges in expressing our thoughts and processing language. And as important as this work is, there are still disparities in who receives care.
This week we're excited to welcome Dr. Dawn Ellis, a Speech-Language Pathologist, advocate, and educator whose journey led her to a career helping children, families, and communities communicate with confidence. In this conversation, we explore language development, identity, and how communication intersects with mental health, particularly for Black women and families.
About the Podcast
The Therapy for Black Girls Podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed Psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | 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. |
| 0:23.7 | I'm your host, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 0:30.0 | For more information or to find a therapist in your area, visit our website at Therapy for Blackgirls.com. While I hope you love listening to |
| 0:40.4 | and learning from the podcast, it is not meant to be a substitute for a relationship with a licensed |
| 0:47.1 | mental health professional. Hey, y'all. Thanks so much for joining me for session 453 of the Therapy for Black |
| 1:00.0 | Girls podcast. We'll get right into our conversation after word from our sponsors. |
| 1:18.1 | The ability to express ourselves through speech remains one of the most important ways we communicate. |
| 1:23.4 | It's at the root of how we connect, understand each other, and even how we explore our own identities. |
| 1:29.7 | From childhood, we learned that what we say and how we're able to say it can impact how we move through the world. |
| 1:35.8 | Speech pathologists help those of us who experience challenges in expressing our thoughts in processing language. |
| 1:40.6 | And as important as this work is, there are still disparities in who receives care. |
| 1:46.3 | A recent study from 2024 found that black patients are about 13% less likely to receive speech language pathology services than white patients, even after accounting for differences |
| 1:51.7 | in health and demographic factors. That's why I'm excited to welcome Dr. Dawn Ellis. She's a speech |
| 1:57.9 | language pathologist, advocate, and educator who journey led her to a career helping children, families, and communities communicate with confidence. |
| 2:06.5 | In this conversation, we explore language development, identity, and how communication intersects with mental health, particularly for black women and families. |
| 2:15.4 | If something resonates with you while enjoying our conversation, |
| 2:18.7 | please share with us on social media using the hashtag TBG in session or join us over in our |
| 2:24.0 | Patreon to talk more about the episode. You can join us at community.therapyfor blackgirls.com. |
| 2:29.9 | Here's our conversation. |
| 2:35.7 | Hi, Dr. Ellis. |
| 2:36.9 | Thank you so much for joining us today. |
| 2:38.9 | Hi. |
... |
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