Ep. 48: Mental health matters with Stephanie Westbrook.

Dec 3

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Mental health is one of the biggest and long-standing issues that challenges our community. So today, we’re happy to highlight Stephanie Westbrook, a licensed psychotherapist, Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and a mompreneur. Stephanie shares to us the true power of therapy if done right, and if done with the right intentions.

This episode will serve as a reminder that your mental health is just as important as your physical health!

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:

What is the state of our community’s mental well-being? [05:21]

There’s a lot of stigma in the Black community
Prayer ≠ therapy!
When do you determine that you need the help of a mental health expert?
There are important differences among what a pastor, a licensed professional counselor, a licensed social worker, and a licensed marriage and family therapist can do

Focusing on how you feel and how you want to feel vs. the “label” [14:34]

Do you not want to experience joy in your life anymore?
Do you want to continue to feel non motivated?
Do you still come home from work and you can't get off the couch until it's time to go to bed?
Are you being your best self?

The root cause of our communities’ mental health issues [16:18]

The root cause: enduring slavery
Post traumatic syndrome
Epigenetics - trauma that’s been passed to generations after generations
What we’ve been conditioned to do

WE CAN disrupt the pattern [19:25]

Making a different choice
You’re not supposed to always suffer, despite how you’ve been conditioned to feel
Deconstructing and unlearning all those long-suffering beliefs

Finding a therapist who CAN actually help you [22:37]

Having access to a space where you find comfort in sharing
Getting out of your own way to accomplish being ‘your best self’

If you ever tried therapy, and it didn’t work, this episode may be for you. Everything about what therapy is and is not, you’ll learn in this episode. Make sure to tune in with an open mind!

EPISODE QUOTES:

Healthy boundaries, create healthy relationships. Healthy boundaries help to mitigate resentment and both get to have more authentic relationships.
- Stephanie Westbrook

When you are able to heal some of those things that hurt you, you're also able to be vulnerable in these relationships and be able to cope with the vulnerability whether it's with you or not. And so, even though the relationships may change, it doesn't necessarily mean it's “changing.”
- Stephanie Westbrook

I feel like a lot of times , specifically mental health, there's a lot of stigma in the black community. Some of you saying that you're depressed, you're anxious or you're struggling, the first thing that someone will tell you is, ‘would you pray about it when you go to church? ‘
- Shaté Hayes