

Doing The Work Helped This Podcaster Surpass 2.5 Million Downloads
Plant the seeds and watch them grow. Licensed psychologist Dr. Joy Harden Bradford – host of the wildly popular and ever-necessary Therapy For Black Girls podcast, probably would have never imagined just how much her "seeds" would flourish.
However, after chatting with her about her career growth since launching the platform in April 2017, and getting to know her on a personal level, I will say this: Her desire to continue to find a way to get mental health information to Black women in a way they can relate – is always guiding her next steps.
The Louisiana native always knew she wanted to work in the psychology field – but was unsure of what her specialty would be. It wasn't until her doctorate studies in Counseling Psychology at The University of Georgia did Dr. Joy realize she had found her sweet spot. "My PhD program groomed me for what I'm doing now. All of my work was centered on Black women and Black graduate students."
She then went on to work at the Counseling center at Georgia Southern University and later transitioned into full-time private practice work. Her specialty became helping women recover from breakups with her passion for holding space for Black women to become the best possible version of themselves at the core of her work.
Podcasting was a growing interest, but wasn't a skill she had perfected. "I always listened to a ton of podcasts. It always felt like something I would likely do, but I didn't know how. I had already been blogging on the Therapy For Black Girls website but it felt like I could do something different with the podcast."
So, she put in the work: Conducted research, took courses on launching a podcast, and got her community excited. Note: Having a husband with a production background was an added bonus.
Now over 85 episodes, a 19,000+ member Facebook group, and 2.5 million downloads later with features on major outlets such as Forbes, Women's Health, The Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, and Essence – Therapy For Black Girls reaches women globally covering topics such as entrepreneurship, breakups, pregnancy and fertility, self-sabotage, social media, colorism, body image and more. "I never imagined that it would pick up steam so quickly. I figured I'd have to do a lot more marketing and figure out how to grow it."
The need for Therapy For Black Girls is real. Dr. Joy contributes most of her growth to word of mouth recommendations, having a solid college student listenership, and consistent community social media sharing. Viral retweets about the Therapy For Black Girls therapist directory by celebrity fans such as Solange also helped. (That one retweet crashed the Therapy For Black Girls website for a week!)
Behind the couch, Dr. Joy notes that her personal ability to "trust her intuition" served as a foundation for her practice's success and is something she brings to her show. She's in-tune with her audience and even incorporates popular culture into her show themes.
"When we talk about mental health, there's a tendency to only talk about depression and anxiety. There are a lot of other things that go into our mental health. I wanted to expand the conversation and help Black women get connected to resources that can help them if they felt like they needed help...the emails that I get from people who listen talk about how they learn something new and how an episode touched them… and how they are going to reach out to a therapist because of me [touch me]. I thought eventually it would get to that place, but to be what it has been now has been amazing."
The speed of growth was something to which Dr. Joy had to adjust. She added a virtual assistant and social media manager to her team. More opportunities came, such as guesting at popular podcast live shows (The Friend Zone and Gettin' Grown).
"Building the Therapy For Black Girls brand was my intention from the beginning. I've always been the face of the brand, but now there feels like a need to create a separate brand outside of Therapy For Black Girls because not all of my press opportunities have been solely about Black women in therapy. They have been about my expertise as a psychologist and how I can have conversations about pop culture and other things. The Dr. Joy brand is now an emerging brand."
The thing about nursing any seed though is that when you put in the work, you will have interested spectators. Then what?
"Put the work out there, and be consistent. It will take you a long way."
In December 2018, Dr. Joy was invited to be co-host alongside Angela Simmons on MTV's Teen Mom: Young + Pregnant reunion special – her first TV hosting gig. This came about after responding to a pitch from a MTV talent producer. Though she sent in her media clips and didn't hear back for six months, she gladly accepted the job and got to work (a common theme of her story) on prepping. She credits her legal team for helping to navigate the specifics during such a tight time crunch.
"Even though it can be exciting and the temptation may be to not pay attention to contracts, there were things that they thought about in the contract negotiation, such as my compensation and my rights, that I would have never thought about. It's always good to have conversations with people that do this on a more frequent basis than you do."
When you're building the dream and looking for more opportunities to broaden your impact, the most important thing you can do is continue to do the work. "You can have a publicist and look bright and shiny but if you're not credible and you can't talk to the kinds of things that they want you to talk about, it won't really matter," Dr. Joy reminds us. "Now I know that there are talent departments [whose sole job is] to look for people like me to do this kind of thing. Put the work out there, and be consistent. It will take you a long way."
However, growing both the Dr. Joy and Therapy For Black Girls brands isn't exempt from challenges. Managing schedules – all while being a wife and mother to two young boys, all while balancing her personal commitments and self-care routines can be tough.
"During the Teen Mom prep, there were also a lot of schedule changes. That was the weekend of my college homecoming and sorority reunion, so I completely rearranged my schedule. It's a lot, given that I also have two small children. Being able to be flexible with your schedule helps because I don't know that you always have a lot of time to prepare and get ready for these kinds of opportunities."
Setting clear boundaries (a topic often discussed on the show) with listeners has also been important as the platform's popularity rises. Hence, the ever-present disclaimer that opens each show: "And while I hope you love listening to and learning form the podcast, it is not meant to be a substitute for a licensed mental health professional."
Moral of the story? When there's a need, there's always room to find a way to fill it. Find the void. Identify your platform of choice and execute. The best part about creating your own path is the ability to define success for yourself. "Therapy For Black Girls is helping women take their mental health more seriously. That's all I ever set out to do."
Dr. Joy BTS with Angela Simmons for MTV's Teen Mom Reunion Special
"Therapy For Black Girls is helping women take their mental health more seriously. That's all I ever set out to do."
It's also inspiring the future generation of mental health professionals and culture changers.
"Someone in my Instagram comments commented how cool it was to see me [hosting Teen Mom] because she had grown up watching Dr. Drew do this and often thought, 'Could I be doing something that he's doing?' To see me doing it, opens up options for people who don't know or think that this is something you can do with the degree. [Me stepping into opportunities like this] also helps more therapists expand their ideas about what we can do with our degrees. Sometimes we only think we can see clients in our office or within an agency. Seeing Black female therapists on TV is very sparse. You typically don't see diversity in terms of who is represented on these shows. It's important that these companies are being more active in trying to find people from diverse backgrounds."
If you're trying to find the courage to take risks and pursue your own dreams, Dr. Joy suggests staying away from overconsumption of social media, scheduling, investing in coaching, and cultivating a strong support system.
The Therapy For Black Girls empire continues to grow. In late 2018, Dr. Joy launched the Yellow Couch Collective - a space for Black women "to gather, support, encourage, and learn from one another."
This is only the beginning – and Dr. Joy – calmly, but with a joyous excitement – knows it.
"It's always been my goal to have an advice column in a [major Black woman's publication]. A part of these expanding opportunities, I've always thought about, but not necessarily TV. I would absolutely do TV hosting again! It's still too new to me to go too far in imagining what this could be become. I'm open to what's next for sure."
We'll be here rooting for you.
Photos via Dr. Joy Harden Bradford.
To learn more about Dr. Joy & Therapy For Black Girls, visit www.therapyforblackgirls.com or follow @hellodrjoy & @therapyforblackgirls on Instagram.
Rana Campbell is a Princeton University graduate, storyteller, content marketing strategist, and the founder and host of Dreams In Drive - a weekly podcast that teaches you how to take your dreams from PARK to DRIVE. She loves teaching others how to use their life stories to inspire action within oneself and others. Connect with her on Instagram @rainshineluv or @dreamsindrive.
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Is Once Ever Enough To See Beyoncé's "Renaissance World Tour?"
Many have wondered if one time is ever enough to see Queen Bey. Some argue yes. However, many of us on the opposite end of the spectrum, including myself, would disagree. Beyoncé's "Renaissance World Tour" is a universal yet varying experience for everyone who attends. In the words of Oprah Winfrey, the concert is "transcendent." For millennials, we have over two decades of her catalog that has served as the soundtrack for many of our lives and painted a personal portrait of our most coveted thoughts. Her music provides mental clarity and self-expression by serving as a universal language that has united fans from all walks of life through community, fashion, self-acceptance, and healing.
With a multi-layered approach to her artistry, just as she did on that winter day in December 2013 with the infamous digital drop of her self-titled album, she changed the game again on February 1, 2023, when she announced her world tour in support of Renaissance, her seventh studio album. Her cultural impact set the internet ablaze, with everyone trying to gather their coins, barter for presale codes, and figure out which cities to attend. The group chats were lit, and the Beyhive was stressed trying to get their hands on tickets.
Photo courtesy of Dontaira Terrell
Unfortunately, I was in that number. As the concert dates passed by and the one in my city drawing near all roads led to disappointment. With time ticking on the day of the Miami show and less than two hours to spare, my wallet bit the bullet, and I purchased three last-minute tickets, costing roughly $700.00 a piece (including fees) for me, my 9-year-old and 16-year-old nieces in Section 121 at the Hard Rock Stadium. With 10 minutes before showtime, we eagerly awaited the Queen to take the stage. A sea of metallic fringes, cowboy hats, disco fans, and western boots were in full effect and filled the entire stadium.
As the lights dimmed, a flood of emotions instantly overtook my body. It continued with each note she belted, along with nearly 50,000 roaring fans. The reverberating sound of the music through the stadium transported me from one era of my life to the next. As a teen girl in her bedroom daydreaming about her first love to blossoming into an unapologetic Black woman who is still on a road of self-discovery while learning to lean into the power anthem of "You won't break my soul." For over two hours, and with each set, I felt joy, love, peace, and a commanderie with fellow concertgoers. It was therapeutic as I danced like no one was watching and sang as if I were alone in my bathroom mirror.
There were no bars held, and I realized at that moment, "Nobody can judge me but me." The "Renaissance World Tour" proved to be so vast, and my Black girl joy was re-invigorated. It was magnetic and liberating, and I had to attend again, but this time, I needed to be up close and personal; I needed to be on the floor. In the days that passed, I watched more social media clips in different cities and asked myself if I would really splurge again to attend another Renaissance show.
Photo courtesy of Dontaira Terrell
After all, this would be my thirteenth time (maybe more because I lost count) seeing Beyoncé live, whether she was on tour with Destiny's Child, as a solo artist, or doing a live appearance. I contemplated for a while, but it worked itself out on its own. I was gifted two tickets and the next thing I knew, I was off to LA to attend another Renaissance show with floor seats at SoFi Stadium during Beyonce's 42nd birthday weekend! This time, things were different: no kids were allowed. It was adults only this go round.
Although the energy at the Miami and Los Angeles shows was empowering, infectious, and a celebration of life, happiness, and identity, they each provided their own unique experience. However, both concerts were what I needed for my well-being, leaving me with sore feet from dancing the night away, on vocal rest for the next few days from screaming at the top of my lungs, and on an indefinite high on life.
My introduction and love for Beyoncé began in 1996, while my older sister lived in Houston, TX, right before Bey hit the scene in 1998 with "No, No, No" as a budding R&B member. Her evolution twenty-seven years later as an international superstar and into womanhood has been an incredible journey to witness. As Mrs. Carter reminds each of us in the audience every night before the curtain closes, "I want you to remember this moment, where you're standing, who you came with, and take it with you. I hope you feel inspired."
I truly felt inspired, so thank you, Queen Bey. You awakened my inner child, and I will definitely remember these moments and take them with me.
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Feature image by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood