We're so glad you asked...

We created Therapy for Black Women to address the unique challenges experienced solely by Black women.  For we are all too familiar with the "Angry Black Woman" and equally as toxic, "Strong Black Woman" tropes.  These archetypes are incessantly perpetuated in the media and impact our relationship with vulnerability; thus, the capacity to be fully realized humans.

Furthermore, Therapy for Black Women helps to mitigate the continued exploitation of Black women in search of licensed clinicians who have practical knowledge surrounding what it is to be - the plight of merely being - a Black woman.

To elaborate, when the phrase "Black Therapist" is typed into a search engine oftentimes exploitative companies are the first to populate. These companies are typically owned and/or operated by boards and officers who are old white men and/or women that hire a handful of Black clinicians in an effort to lure Black clientele. The same is true of many agencies across the nation.

With this in mind, Therapy for Black Women serves as a place where we can come, share our experiences and have them both validated and understood on a phenomenological level, by a licensed professional who can help navigate the healing process.

Hello, by way of introduction I'm Jerisha Rutlin. I am a psychotherapist who was educated at the CACREP accredited community counseling program housed at the University of Missouri. I am both a Licensed Professional Counselor and an approved clinical supervisor in the state of Missouri. I am also a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in the state of California, and hold a board-certification from the National Board for Certified Counselors. I earned a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's degree in community counseling. I have a wealth of credentials, however I most value my lived experiences for they allow me to relate to people from the very environments from which I came. I serve as an example of what can be accomplished despite the limited expectations of society, which aids in connecting with clients on an authentic level.

                                                               Jerisha Rutlin, M.Ed., LPC, LPCC, NCC