Ep. 191: How PsychoHairapy Uses Hair As An Entry Point For Mental Health Services

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On this episode of the Friends in Beauty podcast I welcome Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka to the Friends in Beauty guest chair. Dr. Afiya is a therapist, educator, research-scientist, hair historian, and hairstylist. She is the owner of Ma'at Psychological Services, a private practice in Washington, DC focused on promoting balance and restoring order to the lives of her clients.

She focuses on understanding and using traditional African cultural rituals for contemporary

wholistic mental health practices. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. She

studied the psychological significance of race within lives and earned a Ph.D. in Clinical

Psychology from Howard University at the age of 26. She is the former Association of Black

Psychologist DC chapter president.

Dr. Afiya innovated the practice and research of, "PsychoHairapy," where she uses hair

as an entry point for mental health services in beauty salons and barbershops, as well as

through social media. She is the principal investigator of the PsychoHairapy Research Lab.

Dr. Afiya has published over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, 10 book chapters, and 2

books. She has presented at over 40 universities and conferences.

Dr. Afiya has been identified as a subject matter expert by the Senate and House of Representatives, testifying nationally on the behalf of the CROWN Act, an anti-discrimination law to protect Black hair. She has now gone international, leading cultural and mental health focused trips to Cuba and to various African countries. Dr. Afiya is a natural hairstylist at N Natural Hair Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland where she loves creating art with locs, twists, and afros.

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