Today’s guest is the lovely Denise Hooks, and I’m so grateful to Stacy Mulvey, my guest on episode 14, for connecting us! Denise is an incredible therapist based in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she offers individual therapy, group therapy, and co-owns a consulting agency with her husband.
We spent like 3 hours on the phone, not even kidding!! I immediately felt comfortable with her, like I know her; she’s so easy to talk to and so smart and articulate. She’s doing such incredible work with womxn of color and survivors of trauma, two of her main areas of focus.
As a disclaimer, parts of this episode may be triggering for people as we discuss topics (although not in a very detailed way) like interpersonal violence, suicide, and abortions.
Also, we had some sound issues, I hope it’s not too distracting for you! Apologies in advance.
*Skip to 6:08min mark to bypass the intro and get to the interview
In this episode we hear:
- How Denise decided to become a therapist and how she decided to work with the population she serves
- How her cultural background and being a black womxn shapes her practice as a therapist
- How she uses Existentialism and Gestalt therapies with clients, and how her theater background helps her help clients more efficiently
- What Narrative therapy is and how she finds it especially useful working with people of color
- How to find your theoretical approach as a therapist
- The importance of boundaries and ethics in therapy
- How to be a competent and inclusive provider
- How to navigate challenging conversations within therapy, specifically when “racial undertones” or racism occurs
- Using Existentialism in working with survivors of trauma
- How memories and emotions are strongly tied together
- How trauma can become trapped in the body, and ways to use different techniques in therapy to release it
- About the stigma that exists for seeking therapy, specifically within communities of color
- About her therapy group for womxn of color “Consciousness Raising”
- About Denise and her husband’s consulting business Elevated Consulting and how they offer Organizational Psychology to businesses
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