I've had Fat Joe's new memoir, The Book of Jose, on my Audible wishlist for a while and I finally got around to giving it a listen. As a hip hop fan growing up in the 90s and early 00s, I've kept up with Fat Joe's career. Prior to reading his story, I didn't know much about his personal life...[ read more ]

For today's book review, I selected Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams with my middle and high school therapy clients in mind. Though this book is written for that age group; as an adult, I found the novel to be very compelling, as it addresses the issue of colorism in a way I haven't seen before. So let's get...[ read more ]

I loved watching the docuseries, The Me You Can't See, produced by Oprah and Prince Harry. As a lover of stories, I especially appreciated the interviews with Lady Gaga and Prince Harry (post on him coming soon). What surprised me the most was how forthcoming Oprah was about her own mental health. Today, I'll be sharing some of what I...[ read more ]

Given the events of the past year, we should all know what racism is and that it is, unfortunately, alive and well. Today, I’m going to talk about a form of racism that happens to folx of color, often by folx of color.  It's called colorism.  Colorism is prejudice towards darker skin; more specifically, it’s the idea that lighter skin...[ read more ]

In 2018, I was nearing the end of my 2-year counseling residency and saving up to start what would eventually become my private practice for psychotherapy. I worked full time at a counseling agency at the time; however, I supplemented my income by driving for Lyft and Uber. I had been driving for those companies since I moved to Richmond,...[ read more ]

I finished Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah for the first time a few months ago; however, publishing my review felt ill-timed given that George Floyd had just been murdered that week. Having finished the book for the second time today, I've come to understand that Noah's story is very relevant to the times we are living in. So let's...[ read more ]

Hi there, I completely scrapped what I had planned for the weekly mental health blog post. I articulate best in the written word, so here goes my effort to scratch the surface on current events; after all, racism, bigotry, narcissistic leaders, and murder collectively influence mental health. As a therapist, I have the unique opportunity to address social issues as...[ read more ]

Today, I talk with Dr. Lakesha Roney, LPC about the impact of racism on mental health. https://youtu.be/vjw_zy3sg64 Here's the article I mentioned where Dr. Roney discussed being a parent of a child with autism https://panoramiccounseling.com/538-2/ Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this content, feel free to buy me a coffee to support the blog and podcast. Be sure to sign up for my...[ read more ]