Session 121: Healing Comes In Many Forms

Published Aug 28, 2019, 7:00 AM

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.

Dr. Shena Young joins us again this week and this time we're discussing healing holistically. Dr. Young and I chatted about what it means to approach our healing holistically, how this vantage point is a part of our history, what it means to decolonize our healing, different pathways to healing, and questions to ask when working with someone in a healing practice. 

 

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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 hard and Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or to find a therapist in your area, visit our website at Therapy for Black Girls dot com. While I hope you love listening to and learning from the podcast, it is not meant to be a substitute for relationship with a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so much for joining me for Session once twenty one of the Therapy for Black Girl's podcast. For today's conversation, I'm joined again by Dr Sheena Young, who was our guest on session eighteen of the podcast regarding healing after a sexual assault. Dr Young is back with us this week to talk more about her passion for helping us to heal using a holistic perspective. Doctor Young is a holistic and body inclusive psychologist, trauma informed yoga teacher, and healer. She owns a private practice, Embodied Truth Healing and Psychological Services in the Los Angeles area, holding space for women of color. She is most powerful in listening to the body, co healing intergenerational trauma and ancestral wounds, facilitating holistic healing experiences mind, body, heart and spirit, and in the spirit of decolonizing healing. She has cultivated a new space, Healing Color and online directory of healers of color for the people. Dr Young and I chatted about what it means to approach our healing holistically, how this vantage point is a part of our history, what it means to decolonize our healing, different pathways to healing, and questions to ask when working with someone in a healing practice. If you hear something that resonates with you while listening, please be sure to share it with us on social media using the hashtag tb G in session. Here's our conversation. Thank you so much for being back with us today, Dr Young, I appreciate you. Thank you. It's great to be back. Yeah. So you know, I know that you have just started this new endeavor, Healing Color, and so it's you know, you're the platform is all about a holistic approach to healing and looking at all of the different ways that we can heal. In addition to therapy to get me a little bit about what it means to have a holistic approach to healing. Right, yes, thank you so much for that question. So last time we talked, we don't a little bit into holistic healing, but we focused on the impact of sexual trauma and shout out to session eighteen. Absolutely we will link that in the show note so you guys can catch it if you missed her first time one of the o G sessions. And so we talked a lot about how a sexual trauma affects mind, body, heart, and spirit, and how we can be mindful in our healing that that allows us to see to each of those parts of our experience. And so when I talk about holistic healing, I'm thinking about how powerful therapy is. But we aren't just the minds or brains. Were not simple, compartmentalized beings. Now we we might use the tool of sectioning off our spror adances to make them more tolerable, but that's a whole another conversation for another time. We're complex, were whole, We're dynamic beings, and all of our aspects and parts are interconnected. So that means that our healing can't just be um merely a mental exercise. And so when we consider our mind, body, heart, and spirit, our minds, the ways we think about the world, our body, how lived experience is manifest in the body. The heart pieces about our relationship to self and others. Themes of trust and abandonment can come up there. And then spirit is about our connection to a higher power, creator, God's or its higher self, whatever that might mean for a person. So I invite healing that brings in all of this. For example, we might be in therapy and also start to feel like our creativity is blocked or a b we're having some some spiritual things that go on, and so can we be curious to think about other medicines that exist, like plant and herbal medicine which can help treat the root of a disease or an illness as either a counter option or a complementary option to pharmaceuticals, which usually focus on symptom reduction. We can explore how our diet impacts our mood. There are research studies that say how gluten and dairy, for example, and sugar. We all know that one thing that we love, including myself, can impact our mood, or how body work can support release the built up tension in the muscles and even trauma. So I like to say, healing is in process. It is a process. It's something to own. It's infinite, it's above and beyond, it's mine and yours and ours. It's time, and it's really important that we start to zoom out and think about all of the ways that we can heal in all of our aspects and complexities. I have much more I can say about that, you know. I mean, I'm sure we will get into it, because I really like this idea dr young of you know, in some ways, it feels kind of like a going back to our roots kind of thing, right, I mean, because as much as therapy looks like what it looks like today, we have been doing this kind of healing work before there was a name for therapy, right, And so you know, what I'm excited about it in terms of the work that you're doing is that it does kind of feel like a going back to kind of where we started and things that have been successful and helpful in healing for us for years and years before we even maybe had language for it, decades and decades. Listen, you you just summed it up. You know, I I appreciate that. What's real is that many of us have just being a person in this world and in this society, we've adapted westernized beliefs and values that have guided and shaped our lives, and our healing is no exception to that. So I use the word adapted loosely. I'd say, the real of it is that we've been conditioned. And even that's not the most honest word. We've been colonized. You know, our minds, our bodies are healing through enslavement and its contemporary descendants, I would say, and the manifestation of that, and so that process, many of us have done what we had to do to survive, which is to forget. It is to have forgotten some of the things that we knew in in our lineage and through our ancestors and our and our cultures and our heritage. Colonization is wasn't intrusive. Was is an intrusive and abrasive and abusive process, and that continues how to impact how we move in the world, how we understand it. And as I was saying, sometimes it means that we we shrink in our power. And sometimes I think the survival aspects or that we we become complacent or small to survive the oppression where we're disempowered, and many of us are trying to find our way back to our personal truth. And so I think part of that means remembering and kind of examining those fears around why what barriers there are to returning remembering and exploring things that maybe we've been told are evil or bad so that we can return to using our intuition and our healing as opposed to trusting external sources more than ourselves and our journeys. So I love the sound of all of this, and I think what what I begin to think as you were talking, was how do you create a space for this while you still live in this world old? Right? You know? So I means so the colonization and all the stuff that you talked about is very real, but I mean this is kind of where we are. So I think I'm wondering, like about the balance of that are, Like, how do you move more into that and embracing more you know, intuition and kind of you know, ancestral kinds of things, but also exists in this space you know that we're currently in. Yeah, it is a tight rope walk. I've been really excited seeing, you know, the sort of resurgence of people practicing and exploring some of our African traditions through medicine, through movement and dance and drum, and access to sacred indigenous plants and herbs, and even through farming. And so it's out there. There are spaces that are being held. And that's one of the reasons why I created Healing Color is to make this more accessible, to make the exploration and being in community and with community more accessible. So, you know, one of the things I was thinking about, just in an anticipation of our talk, like what are some of the daily practices we could have in this journey of decolonizing our healing Giving that we still have to exist within the symptoms, but what are the small ways that we can begin to explore and on one of the big ones is and this this might ruffle some feathers, but I am a person who really believes in this and and in standing in my truth. I tell people, you know, question everything, are the values you practice also tools that have been used to oppress you and your community, our community. It's urgent and a prerequisite for decolonizing our healing as communities of color, and so many of us are doing this work, and some of us are afraid to ask questions because we're afraid the answers will challenge everything we've come to believe have been taught. And it might, but there's no shame in that the practice of fear is oppression working, and so we really work on that, asking ourselves where did it come from? The belief, the value, the way, the energy, the judgment. Where did I learn this? Where did the fear comes in mind? Is it someone else's? Is it? What is it protecting me from? What is it keeping me? How is it keeping me from expanding? And then the intuition piece is one of my favorite things to talk about. I feel like one of the biggest ruptures that can happen in you know, as in our lived experiences, is too between the person and their intuition, particularly women. So I say to people, search for where it lives in your body and place your hands there. Often ask it to guide you and repair your relationship with intuition, like your life depends on it, because it does. And then another you know, really big pieces about reclaiming the body and also our relationship with our ancestors. So what I see in my work is that people are really curious about these things, but they come to me and like you're saying, Dr Joy, where do I find out I'm curious about African spiritual tradition or I really I am curious about energy healing, and I don't know where to find someone that looks like me, or I don't know the spaces, and so we do our best to locate these resources. Social media helps out a lot, but you know it is it's hard that this is the gap, This is the gap in the In the therapy space, for example, what I might see is, you know, women working on mother wounds. We know that story and identifying unhealthy relationship patterns that have been passed down through generations and intergenerational trauma, for example, caring for others at self expense. We might see this manifest in the body. So we work with a nervous system and the intuition in session. But also it might mean that I'm referring them or connecting them with their curiosity and of course with their consent to other resources and spaces that are going to support that work of of healing some of the mother wounds. I think about grief a lot in this in this space, and so I'm happy to share some examples two of the ways on which this is integrated as a therapist, and how I'm bringing in some of these traditions within the therapy space while also facilitating connection to other spaces that support the work that's happening in therapy. If that's helpful, Yeah, I would love to hear examples. Okay, great, So grief, Um, this is a big one. I feel like I'm often holding space for people moving through loss and also longing. The longing pieces interesting because, as we talked about the impact of colonization and religious rhetoric has many of us being fearful of continuing or building relationship with our ancestors. For example, I hear things like let the dead rest, or you know, communing or worshiping ancestors its evil or it's it's it's bad. And so I asked things like, have you ever had a dream of a loved one that has transitioned and you wake up surprised that you were asleep because it felt so real. It felt like you and this person were together again, and they looked good, and they looked healthy, and you really thought you were there, and so many of us are afraid of this or afraid to engage, afraid to talk about it. But that's that's part of who we are. You know, we're the we're the original healers, and we have some of these really special these special things and gifts that have supported us and connected us and are very much a part of our resilience as a community. So again, you know, this is a direct result of being separated from our spiritual armor or weapons and our relationship with our ancestors. So in my practice, I follow the lead of my clients. I'm listening closely. I'm inviting curiosity as to what it would mean to be in relationship with loved ones who are transitioned as sources of support, protection, wisdom, and more deeply, to continue healing that they weren't able the ancestor wasn't able to get when they were in this realm, because we know intergenerational trauma is is real. And I think you know what I noticed the most lately is that people are interested in um like, really practical ways to start to foster and nurture this relationship. So we might begin by talking about creating an altar or a sacred space and their home for their ancestors. And that can be a huge and big step for for someone who who is feeling conflicted or has been brought up to believe that this isn't okay m m. Yeah. And you mentioned the whole idea of a dream and this is something that I think I've seen come up quite often in conversations with our community, just um, this vivid dreaming and you know, and people feeling really uncomfortable with dreams and you know, and like the premonitions in some of them, um, and like what do you do with that information? And so you know, I'm wondering if you can kind of speak to that about like how you can become less afraid of these things that I think are very kind of they're they're in tune right, like it is coming from you. So you know, how can you kind of become more comfortable with these things and then figure out how to make this a part of your life? Yeah? Thank you? Yeah. I it always goes back to for me asking the question of why am I afraid of this? And where it is that? Where does that fear come from? Did you know did someone give that to me? And and at like really sitting with that reflection in those questions. I think that dreams can be really powerful and in communicating with ancestors. And they happen because either there's a message that we need to receive or there's it says something about our openness and our connection to those that have that have transitioned. And so, you know, if we can just even begin to be curious. I use that word a lot in my practice. Can you be curious about what the dream is coming to teach you or what it can offer you, just you know, just being curious. Maybe that means writing it down in a journal, because when you wake up from the dream, it's just it's just too much to deal with, right and coming back to it when the energy shifts or when it feels like you might be able to sit with it a little bit a little bit more peacefully. And so many of us, I think have probably had this experience. I think some of it too, dr joy is that we're not talking with each other about these experiences, and so we think that we're being haunted or something's wrong with us, and no, this is a tool, this is our This is some sort of communication from my ancestors. Letting letting us know oftentimes that they're okay, that they're there for us. All we have to do is call out their name and say I need support or I'm struggling here, can you stand with me in this? We We saw the example when Nipsey Hustle died. I remembered that there was a lot of buzz around how his mom um, you know, offered libations to our ancestors by pouring water into a plant, and people were like, what is that? What's going on? That's how we That's one way we honor our ancestors and we call them in. We call in their energy, we call in their in their wisdom. Many people, I think, in this space where there's curiosity, they might need a little bit more guidance and are looking for some practical ways. But again the intuition piece comes up for me. I think what feels right? What like? Is it lighting a candle? Is it being in nature? Is it having a plant that you water regularly? I mean this this can be its own process. You know. Sometimes I make food that I'm know my people loved when they were here, and I set it aside for them so that they can, you know, have it that's one practice that I have, and so there's there are so many different possibilities. And I think when we open ourselves up to being guided and even connecting with people who who do do this work, for example, someone who does spiritual work in the community, we can learn more and and integrate those things in our practices as it makes sense for us. Got you and so what are dr young some other types of practitioners that one might even look too for some of this more traditional medicine or other kinds of healing works, Like what are the examples or possibilities of people somebody might be able to work with? Yes, So when we think about how life impacts us mind, body, heart, and spirit, I keep talking about that and how we can integrate different modes or modalities ways of healing that address and nurture and hold each of those parts. The possibilities are our endless. I like to remind people when I'm talking about this piece that trauma and story and lived experience can be encoded in our DNA. This is how the intergenerational pieces are passed down. So I recently learned that and this really fascinated me that as female babies in utero, we carry all of our eggs. So this means that when our great grandmother was pregnant with our grandmother, our grandmother was housing the egg of what would become our mother and so on, which, like I will let that sink in. So our connections to our ancestors existed when we were just eggs in our mother's wounds, before she was even born. And I just think that that's so powerful. So doesn't it make sense that we carry them with us, We carry their stories, we carry our mom's stories, and then we have our own. So we gotta get creative and how we do the healing creative arts for example. Creative arts uses different mediums like um, the use of paint and drawing music. I recently came across the sister who who sings songs to people in hospice care, and I I've seen people use visual art. Also. Movement therapies. This one's really important because a lot of the ways in which, because of how life can impact the body and the nervous system and the physiology, that we get stuck in fight or flight mode. So movement therapies trauma informed Yogo, which we talked a lot about last time, dance and movement can really help us to find a sense of safety and our bodies in time nutrition services. How is what you're eating impacting your mood, your energy? How is that supporting or hurting you in our relationship with food? Semantic and body work therapies against somatic helps us with the nervous system aspects and body work, and there is a technique. I have a colleague here in l A who does myofascial release and the fashia of the body is basically like the the layer of skin, right um, the layer of muscle like a under the skin that holds a lot of our our nervous energy and story. And so myofascial release helps to move some of that energy and release it so we're not holding it as aches and pains in the body women's health things right like a lot of us have story or fears around birth, our own birth, perhaps being mothers, and also our real relationships with our bodies as women, and so working with practitioners that can hold space for reconnecting with our wounds. There have a colleague who does mayan womb massage and this is about repairing the connection between self and the womb. I have had hurt stories of people who, for example, their families all the women and their family have fibroids, and so they're just anticipating that this is inevitable. But we know thoughts and words have energy, and what we say and what we think oftentimes manifests. And so how can we change the relationship with our wounds through different healing practice, express work, the use of color and guided imagery, and to create a womb that is able to hold joy instead of pain. Energy healing I've talked a lot about too, how we use the universal energy um and the divine intelligence of our bodies to create peace and harmony in the body. And then spiritual and intuitive this can be as specific as finding spiritual community where you feel safe and where it allows you to explore and unpack and put down and pick up new beliefs and to put down old ones or to clarify them for yourself in spiritual I'm posting this this week on the Healing Color page about spiritual baths. You know that feeling where you are just feeling way down and heavy, like you don't have much to give, or perhaps you've picked up some negative energy from spaces that you've been in and you just need a refresh or a restart button. And so how can you use essential oils, plants and ARBs to support you by creating a spiritual bath and washing yourself in that to to cleanse your energy. And so all of this is out there. People I find are also really interested in tarot in astrology and all of these things exist, but people don't know where to locate them. And also, I would be remiss if I didn't say this is every healer or every person that's claiming to be a healer and putting advertising certain skill sets are not necessarily um going to be the best match for for you. And it also may not mean that they have the skills that they need to hold space for people. And so this is also a part of the work. How do we empower people to explore these modalities and also ask the questions so that they know that this is a good fit. We see this with within the therapy space as well. Right, And that was gonna be my next question, right because you know, of course, and I mean you know, bad therapists exists. It doesn't matter whether you have come through the licensing board or not. But there is a board, you know, So there is like this kind of protocol that most people go through to kind of be able to call themselves therapists. And so I don't know that that exists, you know, in like other modalities. So what kinds of questions or what kinds of things should people be looking for us to make sure you know that they are kind of aligning themselves with people who have good intentions and have done the right kinds of training to be able to do the work that they're saying they can do. Yes, I love that question. I think that what happens a lot of the time, especially in the space where in as people look at followers and we assume this person must be you know um. And so I am always going to go back to intuition, and I am going to ask and encourage people to check in with yourself when you when you do a consultation with this person, when you look at their feed, when you look at their website, how does your nervous system feel? Not what is your mind thinking? Like, what is it feel like in your body? That I will always emphasize as a priority. And then there's the other piece of doing your research. For some of the healers, for example, that all that are listed on Healing Color. They have a governing body much like we do, where you have to have a license. So for some creative arts therapists they'll be licensed by their state or before a someone doing spiritual work maybe not, but we can still ask questions around training and lineage and it's so on and so forth. So that's been one of the challenges with establishing this directory for healers of colors. There's not a consent or like a betting process because there's so many different healers and so many different backgrounds and so on the website it's www dot Healing color dot com and I'm I'll share it with you too so that we can have it in the show notes. But there is um a page that's for the healers and a page for the people, and under the for the people page and the f A queues there is a question that says, how do I know what healer or more or modality is best for me? And so in addition to research, I've added a list of questions that people are encouraged to ask. Can you tell me about your approach to healing? Do you have any areas of specialty, what's your experience working with issues or needs similar to mine. Are there any negative side effects to your healing approach? Do you have any trauma informed practices? Would you consider yourself or your healing space l g B, t q I A plus inclusive. So just for example, that's just to get people started. And people can't answer these questions for you, and or there's some resistance to answering those questions and it might mean that they're not the right healer, right, it's not the right space for you. So when healers come to their directory, they're also provided this information and they're told, um, where we want people to feel empowered to ask questions and feel like they have have agency and influence and how their healing happens. Because they are the experts of their own experiences. We're just supporting them. And so they're they're given the same list of questions and if they can't answer it, that's something that you know, we want to be cautious about. Now that's only for healers and their directory, but these questions are available to everyone. Yeah, yeah, And it sounds like you, like you said, you know some of the same kinds of questions where you would be looking for a therapist, right, Like you want them to be able to give you information about how they work, and you know, what kinds of special seas they have, and those kinds of things to make sure it is going to be a good fit for you, or at least the best you know, try at a good fit for you, right. Yeah, And we know sometimes, just like looking for a therapist or a doctor, the first try, you might get lucky and it's the best thing ever, but sometimes, you know, it takes a little bit of a journey and patience and research before we find that that fit that we need. So something that you have brought up, doctor Young, several times that I really want to go back to because it's really important to me, is the idea of intuition. Um. And you know, I know I've said on other podcast episodes and even when I've been interviewed, I really feel like my intuition is really what makes me a good clinician or part of it, um. But I also know that there are so many different things that can happen in our lives that disconnects us from our intuition, right. And so it's not that something is kind of permanently broken, but as you've talked about, like, there may be a process that needs to happen for you to reconnect to it. Can you talk a little bit about what that looks like like for somebody who maybe his handsome trauma or things have happened that has caused them to question their intuition, how can they reconnect to that? Yeah, I I think this is a journey that many of us are on. You know, when you spend so much time being told who you are, um having other people in the world define your experience and and to determine your values and beliefs, and there you know, a lot of us are kind of entering this space where we're like, that's not working for me anymore, that's not what I believe, that's not my truth, even if it just starts off on the inside as a little bit of discomfort, right like that pain in your stomach you get um when something doesn't quite feel right. And we're starting to see I think a lot of us, with the help of therapy, that you're kind of moving in in a way that that supports moving closer to truth. And so I like to invite people to become curious about where their intuition lives in their body. Um. This is tricky though, because one of the things that I say to people is um around intuition, is be clear when you're between the difference of your trauma misleading you and your intuition guiding you, because they can feel very similar in your body. Right, Like, if let's go back to the story of a mother Loan and some of the ways that our patterns and relationships with women and our family are passed down, UM, well, what can happen is then we go out into the world and we're trying we're being adults, trying to establish friendships with other adults women, and we feel nervous or anxious. We um, we're thinking that everybody is judging us, or that they're being critical of us, that they're going to reject us. And what does that feel like in the nervous system where it feels like potentially the same way it feels when we have some sort of um, uncomfortable or painful experience with other women in our family. Suddenly we think that we're back there. The body thinks that it's back there when that's not necessarily what's happening in the present, and that feeling of dis ease in the belly. Also, sometimes it is how an intuition communicates, right, So I think, you know that's a really big one. Is is opening yourself up to explore that difference and what that means for you? What is it? What is the trauma feel like in my body or the pain? And what does the intuition feel like? Is this what's happening right now? Or this some of the old stuff speaking? And then you know I had UM. A woman approached me. I had a workshop recently, UM where we explored movement, music and storytelling in the with the intention of creating empathy for UM for others, and so UM we talked about intuition in that space and she said, you know what am I looking for? Like? How how do I know what what intuition feels like in my body? And certainly I can't tell people what it feels like in their bodies, but what I can describe is what other people have shared with me and my own UM. Oftentimes people say that their intuition lives in their belly, some say in their hearts, some say in the space between their eyebrows. UM. Some people might describe a feeling of warmth UM. Some people might say that they feel really soft and um and they feel um, they feel really connected or grounded. Some people might say if something is happening in their intuition is not feeling good about it, they might experience a little flutter in the heart space or tingling. Right. Sometimes it literally comes up as a voice in our minds that says no or that says yes. And so I invite people when they are looking for intuition to pause and just check in with their bodies and what's happening in their minds, um and and and to ask the question, what is my intuition telling me? That is an invitation to that voice to speak up in whatever way it is gonna resonate and be heard by you in the moment um. But this is ongoing, ongoing work for sure. Mm hmmm. Yeah. And I think it kind of goes back to the message that you have kind of shared throughout this episode around curiosity. It's just kind of asking the questions and giving your space, giving yourself the time and space for the answers, right, like, not thinking that the answer has to come up right now, right right yeah. And the patients um and that um, we can't expect that after a lifetime of being disconnected from trauma or years, or I'm sorry, a lifetime of being disconnected from our intuition because of trauma, or because of negative experiences that we've had or hurtful things that have happened, and or just being a black woman in this world, that all of a sudden, our intuition is it's gonna pop right or it's gonna flex. I say um to people all the time that when we when we're not connected with intuition, it's kind of like a muscle that's at trophy. If you don't use it, Um, it might be a little bit weaker and quiet. But the more that we um look for that, and the more that we nurture that relationship, it gets stronger and it gets louder, and it gets more vibrant, and soon, um, we won't have to look for it. We'll just we'll just know where it is and what it's saying to us. Mm hmmm, I love that, Young, Thank you for that. So what are your some what are some of your favorite resources for people who may be interested in kind of learning more about what you've talked about, Like, are there any books or things that you find yourself frequently recommending The Body Keeps The Score by Vessel vander culkis one that I will continue to recommend. Also, My Grandmother's Hands is a book that talks about the ways in which being a black person in the world of racism and discrimination impacts us holistically, and that's one of my my favorites. And then I you know, our really encourage people. We're exploring on UM the Healing Color Instagram UM each of the eleven categories that are in the directory, and so right now we're in planting herbal medicine and we're just kind of reviewing each of those just as a taste or an introduction for many of us into what our options are. And so that may also be a good starting place. Okay, perfect, So what is the website? Is it Healing Color dot com? Yes, okay, Healing Color dot com. And then it sounds like you're on i G any other social media platforms, just i G for now okay, yeah, got you all right, So of course all of that will be in the show notes so that people can find it and connect with you there UM and get some more information about the directory. Yes, thank you well, thank you for joining us. Again, Dr Young, Like I said, if you missed her episode such an eighteen about you know, dealing with sexual trauma and how you can kind of reconnect with yourself after that, we will include that in the show notes as well so that you can listen to that one. Thank you and Dr Joy. I wanted to share with you. I I would love to be able to share this with you and the recording just because it's something that I think it's important to be witnessed I mentioned to you. But of course, if if not, I understand. I mentioned to you a few months ago that I had a dream about you and yes for good and given given. You know that that was one of the things that we talked about today and how that connects often us with them, with our ancestors and our spirit guides and and even our intuition. I just wanted to share that with you. Is that okay? Yes? Please? Okay? So I had a dream that and where I saw you standing and and just behind you was this large gathering community of people behind you, mostly women. I knew that it was your ancestors. I knew that it was your spiritual squad, and they went on and on and on as far as I could see, and so I sat with that dream because it was so vivid and so touching, and even as I'm sharing it with you right now, I can I can remember. And when I sat with it, I'm like, what does this mean? Dr Joy and I have never even met. Why might I be dreaming up about about her in this way? And what came through was your ancestors have been really busy and they are deeply proud with you. I don't know what you've been through to arrive and become, but because you're standing in your truth and power, black women are feeling moved to heal themselves. And certainly I can imagine that when you were in the infancy of the Therapy for Black Girls movement, he said, I want to help black women Hill, but did you know that in doing so, you at birth and movement that heals our mama's and our grandmama's and our ancestors and our lineages for generations? Thank you? And did you know that thousands of black women would be able to financially sustain themselves and families off of earnings that come from holding space for other Black women. I just want you to know that I see you and I have these deep, deep respects for you and yours and I and I'm so grateful for you. Wow, thank you. Thank you for sharing that, China. I really appreciate that. And you know, I'm clearly tearful right now. And you shared that because when you shared like what this squad was, the first thing I thought about was all of you, um and and how therapy for black girls has become so much of like being able to connect with so many incredible women who are holding space for other black women. You know, So I I thought before you said it was the ancestors of just the community of women I feel like who have supported me and carried me in this work and you know, chicken on me. And I always want to make sure that I'm doing okay so that I can continue to do this work. So I really appreciate you shared that. Yeah, thank you for being open to it. Yeah, yeah, wow, I appreciate that. I definitely will keep that in the recording because I think that is important to share. Yeah, thank you, And and you know, like some of the real is that every time you connect with me or someone else and you're you're helping them, their squad becomes a part of your squad, you know, in that realm, and so you know, that's just that's just really beautiful. And so I know I speak for a lot of people with gratitude and pride. Well, thank you. I appreciate and I appreciate all of you who have shown up with me in this work and it feels very special in that way. Mm hmm, well, thank you, thank you. I'm so grateful. Dr Young was able to join us again to share more about her expertise. To get more information about her and her practice and the resources that she shared, be sure to visit the show notes at Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash Session one one, and please make sure to share this episode in your circles and share your takeaways with us either on Twitter or in your I G stories using the hashtag tb G in session. If you're searching for a therapist in your area, be sure to check out our therapist directory at Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash directory. If you'd like to continue digging into this topic and meet some mother sisters in your area, come on over and join us in the Yellow Couch Collective, where we take a deeper dive into the topics from the podcast, and just about everything else. You can join us at Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash y c C and don't forget to check out our online store, where you can grab a copy of our guidance Affirmation Track, break up Journal, or your favorite Therapy for Black Girls T shirt, sweatshirt or mug. Grab your goodies at Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash shop. Thank y'all so much for joining me again this week. I look forward to continuing this conversation with you all real soon. Take good care,

Therapy for Black Girls

The Therapy for Black Girls podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a license 
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