Hot Mama Chronicles Recap: Dr. Victoria M. Baptiste, Licensed Psychologist

I had the honor of speaking with Dr. Victoria M. Baptiste, Licensed Psychologist. You can listen to her here.

Show notes

1-5 – She talks about her life growing up in Vermont and how her mom exposed her to diversity in the world.

5- 7 - She spoke about her passion for therapy and what motivated her to pursue it as a career. She talked about her anxiety as a child and how it presented in her. She saw how important it was for her mom and really wanted to reduce the suffering in the world. Her mom exposed her to books about black leaders and revolutionaries.

7-10:30 - She spoke about mentorship and the role it has played in her life. She remembers having so many in her family as well as through the Vermont Student Association Corporation. She was exposed to college tours, businesses and other opportunities through this program. She also had amazing relationships with peers, supervisors and advisors and tries to reciprocate

10:31 – 16:30 - Dr. Baptiste, Ph.D., talks about the power of mental health and therapy during the pandemic. She spoke to the importance of access to therapy and how there are still barriers. She also talked about the impact of experiencing trauma and what has done to us over time.

16:31- 20 - She spoke about some simple practices to do for your personal self care. She mentioned breathing as a step. Just breathing slow deep breaths helps to slow us down so we can feel more calm and restful and puts us with the present moment. Another step is to identify your values not your goals. A value is an ideal and helps you to get closer to your goals.

20:05 –23- Dr. Baptiste, Ph.D., talks about her tribe and how she practices self care. She talks about how her friends anticipate her needs like offering bake goods. She talked about the importance of accepting help, kindness and caring. She also has a lovely cat, a wonderful new niece and making sure she is taking care of her spirit.

23:15 –25:30 - Dr. Baptiste, Ph.D., spoke about what she is hoping to disrupt in this space. She talked about hoping to disrupt from within, being a voice for the voiceless in spite of how she feels. She serves on committees, attends the trainings and continues to show up.

25:30 – 27:50 - Dr. Baptiste, Ph.D., spoke about hot mamas and how she appreciated being a guest on the show. She believes hot mamas are born and made.

28:00 –30 - Dr. Baptiste, Ph.D., talks about this next season of her life and this new chapter of her life in Oakland, California. She spoke about how inspired she is by this next generation of young people who are activists and advocates.

31:30 – Dr. Baptiste, Ph.D., has a practice Mosaic Psychotherapy Center, on social media presence on Instagram at @mosaicpsychotherapycenter. She encouraged the audience to vote for people and legislation that give additional funding for mental health providers and services. She mentioned that we should write to your legislators about these emerging issues around student loan forgiveness. Talk about mental health and break down the stigma. She also talked about the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and lifted the hotline number, which is 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).

35- 36:10 Dr. Baptiste, Ph.D., talked about her favorite Maya Angelou quote. It encourages her to not just to survive but build a life where you thrive and encouraged the audience to do the same. She shared that she follows the Nap Ministry via Instagram, which is @napministry.

The show notes were written by Amelia Aubourg.