Find a Therapist Who Gets It
Find compassionate therapy for women of color at Melanated Women’s Health.
Offering In-Person & Virtual Services. Serving Philadelphia & New Jersey.
Therapy for Women of Color
A Space Just for You
At Melanated Women’s Health, we believe healing is even more powerful when you’re supported by someone who truly understands you. Someone who shares your cultural background, honors your full lived experience, and knows firsthand what it’s like to move through the world as a woman of color.
When you find a therapist who gets it — and who accepts your insurance — you’re not just accessing mental health care; you’re stepping into a space where you are fully seen, heard, and supported, without the added stress of financial barriers.
If you’ve been searching for therapy for women of color, you’ve found a place where you can show up exactly as you are. Our team of therapists is waiting for you. Your healing journey can start here — and you don’t have to do it alone.
What Makes Therapy for Women of Color Different?
Therapy That Understands the Full Picture
Therapy for women of color isn’t a completely different kind of therapy. The difference is that your culture, identity, and lived experiences are part of the conversation, not something you have to explain around. A culturally responsive therapist understands that anxiety, burnout, relationships, self-esteem, and even the pressure to succeed can be shaped by experiences with racism, discrimination, family expectations, beauty standards, code-switching, and being expected to be “the strong one.”
It also means you get to be a whole person in the therapy room. Not every conversation has to be about race, and not every struggle has to be traced back to your identity. Sometimes you need to talk about your job, your mom, your relationship, or why you’re exhausted all the time. The goal is simply to have a therapist who understands that culture is part of the context, even when it isn’t the whole story.
You may benefit from therapy if you’re:
Feeling tired of always being "the strong one"
Therapy for women of color can give you a space where you don’t have to hold everything together for everyone else.
Navigating racism, discrimination, or workplace stress
Process experiences that leave you feeling overlooked, questioned, isolated, or exhausted without having to explain why they matter.
Setting boundaries without the guilt
Learn how to protect your time, energy, and needs without feeling like you’re letting everyone down.
Balancing cultural or family expectations with your own needs
Explore what you want while still honoring the relationships and cultural values that matter to you.
Working through anxiety, burnout, relationships, or self-worth
You don’t need an identity-specific reason to seek therapy; sometimes you simply need support with what life is putting on your plate.
What Does the Research Say About Therapy for Women of Color?
Research shows that culture matters in the therapy room. Culturally adapted mental health treatments have been associated with greater symptom improvement among racial and ethnic minority clients, while clients report lower satisfaction when cultural concerns important to them aren’t addressed in treatment.
For women of color, cultural responsiveness may also make it easier to stay engaged in care. One review of psychological interventions for pregnant Latina and Black women found that studies using culturally adapted treatments had an average 10% dropout rate, compared with 19.9% for treatments without cultural adaptations.
SOURCES:
- Arundell et al. (2021), Clinical Psychology Review. (Read more.)
- Meyer & Zane (2013), Journal of Community Psychology. (Read more.)
- Ponting et al. (2020), Clinical Psychology Review. (Read more.)
Meet Our Therapists
Nicola Pierre-Smith, LPC
Stephanie Garvin, LPC
Florence Mungo, LPC
Catriana Pineiro, LAPC
Amy Huang, LAPC
Brooke Scott, LSW
Florence Kyomuhendo, LAPC
Jisu Pyo, LAPC
Jaimee Sheppard, LPC
You Deserve a Space that Sees All of You
We Accept Some Insurance:
The practice is in-network with some plans from Aetna, Meritain, Highmark, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Anthem, and Federal Employee Program.
If you are unsure if we are an in-network provider for your plan, feel free to contact us for more information. We offer the courtesy of assisting all potential clients with mental health benefits verification for insurances that we accept. This is because we understand how difficult it is to find a therapist who accepts insurance, and figure out the cost of therapy using insurance benefits on your specific plan.
We also recommend that you check with your health insurance provider to confirm if we are in-network with your insurance and to verify the mental health benefits on your specific insurance plan.
For insurance plans that we are not in network with, we can offer you a Superbill at the end of an appointment for you to submit for any out of network benefits you may have.
Fill Out The Contact Form Below To Get Started
Frequently Asked Questions:
Does Melanated Women's Health only offer therapy for women's issues?
Though the practice was founded to address melanated women’s concerns including reproductive justice, perinatal health issues, racism based stress, refugee and immigrant challenges as well as trauma, our Therapists are committed to providing therapy to people with other identities. We believe that every person regardless of their demographic background, can benefit from receiving therapy from a melanated therapist. For this reason, we provide individual therapy to adults of all gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and culture.
You are not in-network with my insurance. Can I still use my out of network benefits with one of your Therapists?
Absolutely! If requested, we can provide you with a Superbill at the end of the appointment for you to submit to your insurance provider for reimbursements of any out of network benefits you have on the plan.
If you are unsure about your exact out of network benefits, you can contact the Member Services, Customer Service, or Behavioral/Mental Health number on the back of your insurance card, and ask the following questions:
- Does my health insurance plan include out of network benefits for mental health – office visit?
- Do I have a deductible? If so, what is it, and how much has been accumulated so far?
- Does the deductible apply to mental health- office visits?
- Does my plan limit how many sessions per calendar year I can have? If so, what is the limit?
- Do I need written approval from my primary care physician in order for services to be covered?
- What would be covered if I worked with an out-of-network provider?
- What is the process for me to be reimbursed for out of network benefits?
If you do not have insurance or have financial hardship, Openpath Psychotherapy Collective offers an option for therapy at a sliding scale fee. You can also contact the Loveland Foundation and the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network for mental health funding opportunities.
Do you offer in-person therapy appointments?
We offer in-person therapy appointments, weekdays and weekends, at our conveniently located office in Center City Philadelphia. Our office is accessible by SEPTA, and close to several parking garages.
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Improve Your Mental Wellbeing and Find Peace in Everyday Life With Help From Qualified Black Therapists & Therapists of Color
