We All Have the Same Therapist
Six degrees of separation doesn’t always exist for women of color searching for a mental health professional
After the death of her grandmother, Stacy Jordan considered therapy. Then, when her partner died in 2012, Jordan became convinced she needed to find someone to talk to. Her preference and her hope was to gel with a counselor who was also a Black woman. But the road to the right fit wasn’t easy. It took three years, moves to two major cities, and a few false starts.
It also meant that Jordan had to coach herself into being comfortable with the inevitability of knowing someone else who was sitting in that waiting room, even in a big city like Atlanta. So she planned ahead. When she finally found a therapist she liked, a random social media search gave her pause.
“My requirement is several degrees of separation between the therapist and people I know well.”
“I would see [a potential therapist] on vacation with someone that I know personally, and eh... ” she says. “My requirement is several degrees of separation between the therapist and their personal relationships [with people I know well].”
