
About this episode
In Episode 140, Ben chats with clinical psychologist, Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka, who has combined her passion for hairstyling with psychology to create a new global mental health movement called PsychoHairapy using hair as an entry point into mental health care.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs): https://cbiconsultants.com/shop
- 1.5 CEUs
- BCBA: Ethics
- IBAO: Cultural
- QABA: Ethics
- CBA:: Cultural Diversity
Contact:
https://www.psychohairapy.org/
https://www.instagram.com/psychohairapy/
https://www.instagram.com/dr_afiya/
Links:
The Story of Wrestler, Andrew Johnson's Dreadlocks
https://andscape.com/features/the-untold-story-of-wrestler-andrew-johnsons-dreadlocks/
The Crown Act
Podcast on Toxic Black Hair Products
https://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=20-P13-00036&segmentID=3
Kamala Harris and Keke Palmer Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXrLtzsedf4&t=10s
Brandee Younger on NPR Tiny Desk
Piff Marti
https://www.instagram.com/piffmarti/?hl=en
David Walker’s Appeal
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2931.html
David Walker and Nat Turner
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/david-walker-nat-turner-and-black-immediat
African Meeting House
https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-Meeting-House
BABA
Behaviour Speak Podcast Episodes Referenced
Cammie Williams Episode
Dr Evan Auguste Episode
Articles Referenced
Mbilishaka, A. M., & Hudlin, M. (2023). “I Remember My First Relaxer”: Black Women Voicing Psychologically Engrained Practices of Chemical Hair Straightening. Journal of Black Psychology, 49(5), 716-741. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984231191849
Smith, A. M., Humphries, M. L., Mbilishaka, A. M., & Auguste, E. E. (2023). Hair Messages: A Context for Exploring Racial Socialization Among African American Males. Journal of Black Psychology, 49(5), 684-715. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984231191847
Mbilishaka, A.M. (2021). PsychoHairapy Through Beauticians and Barbershops: The Healing Relational Triad of Black Hair Care Professionals, Mothers, and Daughters. In: Lewis, M.L., Weatherston, D.J. (eds) Therapeutic Cultural Routines to Build Family Relationships. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83726-6_13
Mbilishaka, A. M., Mbande, A., Gulley, C., & Mbande, T. (2021). Faded fresh tapers and line-ups: Centering barbershop hair stories in understanding gendered racial socialization for black men. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 22(1), 166–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000317
Afiya M. Mbilishaka & Danielle Apugo (2020) Brushed aside: African American women’s narratives of hair bias in school, Race Ethnicity and Education, 23:5, 634-653, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2020.1718075
Afiya Mbilishaka; PsychoHairapy: Using Hair as an Entry Point into Black Women’s Spiritual and Mental Health. Meridians 1 March 2018; 16 (2): 382–392. doi: https://doi.org/10.2979/meridians.16.2.19
Mbilishaka, A. M., Clemons, K., Hudlin, M., Warner, C., & Jones, D. (2020). Don’t get it twisted: Untangling the psychology of hair discrimination within Black communities. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(5), 590–599. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000468
Helm, J.S., M.N. Nishioka, J.G. Brody, R.A. Rudel, R.E. Dodson. 2018. “Measurements of Endocrine Disrupting and Asthma-Associated Chemicals in Hair Products Used by Black Women.” Environmental Research. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2018.03.030
Wise, L. A., Wang, T. R., Ncube, C. N., Lovett, S. M., Abrams, J., Boynton-Jarrett, R., Koenig, M. R., Geller, R. J., Wesselink, A. K., Coleman, C. M., Hatch, E. E., & James-Todd, T. (2023). Use of Chemical Hair Straighteners and Fecundability in a North American Preconception Cohort. American journal of epidemiology, 192(7), 1066–1080. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwad079
Get every episode summarized
Each time Behaviour Speak with Ben Reiman publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Behaviour Speak with Ben Reiman

Compassion Before Compliance: Training Behaviour Analysts in Cultural Responsive...
Behaviour Speak with Ben Reiman

Relationship-Centered ABA, Clinical Humility, and Building Better Systems with D...
Behaviour Speak with Ben Reiman

Building ABA in Nepal: From Parent Advocacy to National Capacity Building
Behaviour Speak with Ben Reiman

Bridging ABA, Speech Pathology, and Cultural Humility with Dr. Mei-Hua Li
Behaviour Speak with Ben Reiman