Therapy for Black Girls

The first half of the year may be behind us, but the cosmos still has plenty in store. This week, Dr. Joy is joined by astrologer Camille Michelle Gray to explore the major astrological themes that will shape the rest of 2026. Together, they chat about the biggest transits, retrogrades, and discuss how these cosmic movements may influence everything from our relationships and careers to our personal growth and our shared experiences.
Whether you're someone who checks your birth chart regularly or you're simply curious about what astrology has to say, Camille breaks down the season ahead in a way that's insightful and accessible. She explains what these astrological shifts can teach us, how to navigate periods of uncertainty with intention, and why understanding the energy of the moment can help us make more empowered decisions. Plus, Camille shares sign-by-sign guidance for the remainder of the year, highlighting what each zodiac sign should prioritize, where opportunities for growth and transformation may emerge, and what lessons the stars may be inviting us to embrace as 2026 unfolds.

Resources & Announcements
Want to reflect on this conversation in community? Join us inside our Patreon community where we’re unpacking this episode together.
You can now catch episodes of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to get new episodes every week.
Did you know you can leave us a voice note with your questions for the podcast? If you have a question you'd like some feedback on, topics you'd like to hear covered, or want to suggest movies or books for us to review, drop us a message at memo.fm/therapyforblackgirls and let us know what’s on your mind. We just might share it on the podcast.
Grab your copy of Sisterhood Heals.

Where to Find Our Guest
Website
Instagram

Stay Connected​

Is there a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Submit it at therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox.
If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check out the directory at https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory.
Grab your copy of our guided affirmation and other TBG Merch at therapyforblackgirls.com/shop.
The hashtag for the podcast is #TBGinSession.

Make sure to follow us on social media:
Instagram: @therapyforblackgirls
Facebook: @therapyforblackgirls

Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Gabrielle Collins
Director of Podcast & Digital Content: Ellice Ellis
Producer: Ndeye Thioubou
Production Assistant: Bria Mosley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to our minisode series, "I Have Some Thoughts." These short episodes are designed to contextualize the pop culture moments we're currently paying attention to through a mental health lens. Pop culture isn't just fun to chat about, it can reveal important information about how we relate, cope, and understand ourselves. Join us each Friday to hear Dr. Joy share her thoughts about the happenings of the week.
This week, we're chatting about Nara Smith sharing about her daughter's cancer diagnosis, Kennedy Ryan's pen name, and controversy about Young Miami's Spend Dat.

Stay Connected​

Wanna chat more about the pop culture hot topics of the week? Join us inside our Patreon community.
Is there a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Submit it at therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox.
If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check out the directory at https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory.

Make sure to follow us on social media:
Instagram: @therapyforblackgirls
Threads: @therapyforblackgirls

Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Gabrielle Collins
Director of Podcast & Digital Content: Ellice Ellis
Producer: Ndeye Thioubou
Production Assistant: Bria Mosley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley first proposed a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer role at the State Department, the response from HR was polite and dismissive. Years later, she came back and got the job done — on her own terms, with her own budget, her own staff, and a seat on the committee that assigns ambassadors. What she found when she got inside was not what most people assume.
Dr. Joy sits down with Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley — thirty-year diplomat, former US Ambassador to Malta, and the State Department's first-ever CDIO — to talk about what DEI was designed to do, what it was never meant to be, and why so much of the backlash against it is built on a misreading. They get into the mechanics of how people really get hired and promoted in elite institutions — the secret handshakes, the drug deals, the posted job that was never really open — and what it looked like when the Ambassador's office forced those positions into open competition. She also talks about the psychological toll of watching allies flip overnight once the political climate shifted, what she believes is still happening inside organizations even now, and how she's thinking about the pendulum — not to minimize this moment, but to prepare for what comes next. The conversation closes with some of the most specific career advice the show has offered: how to run your elevator pitch until it flows, when to reach out to someone on LinkedIn and what to say, and why she tells the people she mentors to bring their best self to work, not just their authentic one.
Resources & Announcements
Want to reflect on this conversation in community? Join us inside our Patreon community where we’re unpacking this episode together.
You can now catch episodes of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to get new episodes every week.
Did you know you can leave us a voice note with your questions for the podcast? If you have a question you'd like some feedback on, topics you'd like to hear covered, or want to suggest movies or books for us to review, drop us a message at memo.fm/therapyforblackgirls and let us know what’s on your mind. We just might share it on the podcast.
Grab your copy of Sisterhood Heals.

Where to Find Our Guest
LinkedIn
Atlantic Council

Stay Connected​

Is there a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Submit it at therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox.
If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check out the directory at https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory.
Grab your copy of our guided affirmation and other TBG Merch at therapyforblackgirls.com/shop.
The hashtag for the podcast is #TBGinSession.

Make sure to follow us on social media:
Instagram: @therapyforblackgirls
Facebook: @therapyforblackgirls

Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Gabrielle Collins
Director of Podcast & Digital Content: Ellice Ellis
Producer: Ndeye Thioubou & Tyree Rush
Production Assistant: Bria Mosley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to our minisode series, "I Have Some Thoughts." These short episodes are designed to contextualize the pop culture moments we're currently paying attention to through a mental health lens. Pop culture isn't just fun to chat about, it can reveal important information about how we relate, cope, and understand ourselves. Join us each Friday to hear Dr. Joy share her thoughts about the happenings of the week.
This week, we're chatting about Lauryn Hill at the BET Awards, Muni Long's health concerns, and North West's appeals for individuality.

Stay Connected​

Wanna chat more about the pop culture hot topics of the week? Join us inside our Patreon community.
Is there a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Submit it at therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox.
If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check out the directory at https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory.

Make sure to follow us on social media:
Instagram: @therapyforblackgirls
Threads: @therapyforblackgirls

Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Gabrielle Collins
Director of Podcast & Digital Content: Ellice Ellis
Producer: Ndeye Thioubou
Production Assistant: Bria Mosley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do we actually get from following someone who will never know we exist? Dr. Maia Niguel Hoskin has spent her career studying that question, and on this episode she breaks down parasocial relationships: the one-sided bonds we form with influencers, celebrities, and increasingly, AI.
Dr. Joy and Dr. Hoskin trace how these relationships move differently for Black women, who are often expected to show up as the loyal supporter for a celebrity the same way they're expected to show up for everyone else in their lives. They use the backlash against the owner and founder of the global luxury fashion brand Hanifa, Anifa Mvuemba, as a case study in what happens when that loyalty curdles into an expectation that a small business owner can never have an off day, and they revisit the moment writers suggested Kanye West simply needed "a Black woman" instead of a therapist. Dr. Hoskin also shares her own boundary-setting story, stepping away from news and social media for nearly five months when her nervous system couldn't take any more, and explains why she's now teaching her counseling students about AI dependency in the same breath as social media addiction, including cases of people treating a chatbot like a romantic partner. The conversation closes on practical, no-platitude advice for knowing when a parasocial relationship has crossed the line from entertainment into something that's costing you.
Resources & Announcements
Want to reflect on this conversation in community? Join us inside our Patreon community where we’re unpacking this episode together.
You can now catch episodes of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to get new episodes every week.
Did you know you can leave us a voice note with your questions for the podcast? If you have a question you'd like some feedback on, topics you'd like to hear covered, or want to suggest movies or books for us to review, drop us a message at memo.fm/therapyforblackgirls and let us know what’s on your mind. We just might share it on the podcast.
Grab your copy of Sisterhood Heals.

Where to Find Our Guest
Forbes
Instagram
Loyola Marymount University

Stay Connected​

Is there a topic you'd like covered on the podcast? Submit it at therapyforblackgirls.com/mailbox.
If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check out the directory at https://www.therapyforblackgirls.com/directory.
Grab your copy of our guided affirmation and other TBG Merch at therapyforblackgirls.com/shop.
The hashtag for the podcast is #TBGinSession.

Make sure to follow us on social media:
Instagram: @therapyforblackgirls
Facebook: @therapyforblackgirls

Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Gabrielle Collins
Director of Podcast & Digital Content: Ellice Ellis
Producer: Ndeye Thioubou
Production Assistant: Bria Mosley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.