Melanated Women’s Health

Stephanie Garvin is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania. As a cognitive behavioral therapist in Philadelphia, she has both passion and years of experience providing BIPOC therapy to both teenagers and adults, to help them navigate unique life transitions, their identity, and challenges in this phase of life. Stephanie has a personal understanding of the difficulty of asking for help and the stigma connected to mental health and therapy. She strives to bridge the gap in access to quality service. For that reason, Stephanie constantly pursues knowledge that allows her to provide culturally affirming therapy.

If you want to reduce the impact of intergenerational trauma, childhood trauma, or recent traumatic events you have witnessed or been a part of, Stephanie will be a good fit for your trauma therapy needs. If you are the parent to a teenager or college student who is struggling with depression, anxiety, self-esteem concerns, academic or social struggles, or adjustment to life transition, Stephanie could also be a good fit for your teen or young adult.

She provides a safe therapeutic space that will allow you to process your emotions, spiraling thoughts, and find new perspectives to find healing alongside a licensed cognitive behavioral therapist in Philadelphia. Stephanie is here to help those who are feeling “stuck”, struggling with grief and/or having issues setting healthy boundaries at work and in their personal life.

Not only is Stephanie’s approach trauma informed therapy, she also has expertise in trauma therapy approaches such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Stephanie completed her undergraduate work at Howard University in Washington, DC and her graduate work at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Her ultimate goal is to help others find value in themselves and learn to live their lives unapologetically.

Stephanie has appointments available on weekdays and Saturdays.

Brooke is a trauma therapist in Philadelphia who believes therapy is a space where clients can show up fully as themselves without masks, judgment, or pressure to explain their existence. She is passionate about creating safe, affirming environments where people feel seen, heard, and deeply supported in their healing journey.

She specializes in supporting women of color and LGBTQ+ individuals who are struggling with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, identity-related stress. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, disconnected from your body, Brooke is a good fit for you.

She is passionate about helping clients with:

• Overcoming the lingering impact of trauma (including racial, generational, and religious abuse).
• Coping with stress, grief and loss
• Navigating burnout, complex family dynamics and codependent patterns
• Sexual or gender identity concerns in the face of cultural, religious, or family pressures.

Nicola Pierre-Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania , New Jersey, and Delaware who provides culturally affirming therapy and trauma informed workshops to Employee Resource Groups. As an immigrant and Black mental health expert, Pierre-Smith knows how hard it can be to overcome stigma and shame to ask for help with your mental health in the community and workplace settings.

Pierre-Smith is aware that it is especially hard for people from the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community to go to therapy because of cultural norms and the preference to talk to friends, family, or religious leaders. With this in mind, Pierre-Smith created Melanated Womens Health, LLC in 2019 to provide a culturally affirming therapy space that is both inclusive and accessible for melanated individuals and Therapists with intersecting identities.

Pierre-Smith understands that the intersections of a person’s identities (for example race, gender, immigration status, sexual orientation, etc) influence how they engage with the world. She offers Individual Therapy for trauma using Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

She also provides Individual Therapy to people struggling in an interracial or multicultural relationship, experiencing symptoms for anxiety or depression due to workplace micro-aggressions, and reproductive justice concerns.

Significantly, Pierre-Smith provides mental health workshops and makes guest appearances in the media as a Black mental health expert. Individual and corporate clients who work with Pierre-Smith report increased awareness for the impact of Racism Based Stress on wellness, and increased confidence to promote employee mental health practices that are trauma informed in the workplace.

Pierre-Smith has a wide range of leadership, clinical, and workshop facilitation skills. She has contributed to mental health workshop and events for many brands, was the Director of a Children and Youth behavioral health agency, and a Clinical Coordinator providing therapy to boys and men who were in the criminal justice system.

In terms of her background, Pierre-Smith attended universities in Jamaica and America. She also completed trainings in Clinical Supervision and Transgender Education at Temple University. Outside of clinical practice, Pierre-Smith offers clinical supervision for the PA State Board licensing, and enjoys helping licensed social workers or those with ambition to become a Licensed Professional Counselor over overcome Imposter Syndrome.