Meet Nydia E Guity: Psychotherapist, Author & Podcaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nydia E Guity and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nydia, we’d love to hear about a book that’s had an impact on you.
Most recently I have been reading “You are your best thing: Vulnerability, shame resilience and the black experience” an anthology by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown. My mentor Deran Young is a co-author and what I can appreciate about the book overall is giving voice to the power of vulnerability. As I have been reading the stories it brings me back to moments in my life when I held back from either saying and/or doing something, as my present self I can give language to the memory and truly understand the behavior for what it was at the time and how it shows up in my present life. In the chapter contribution by Deran there is a part where she says, “As a black woman, it feels like an act of resistance to have an intentional life”. That line resonated with me when I initially read it, so I paused and read it again. What came up for me felt like a warm hug of validation, in the times I allow myself to notice the impact that my presence as a black woman has in spaces, I am in. I get curious about what activates discomfort in people that do not look like me when all I am doing is living, what I feel in those moments is not off.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have a podcast called ‘Naturally Ever After’ available on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/msguitylcsw) and Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-inside/id1460334766?i=1000486675859), it’s where behavioral health and natural hair meet. I share tips for black women on how to build confidence as they transition and maintain their natural hair via sharing my own story of lessons I learned in my own journey that are also useful in other areas of life. As a therapist I have met with so many clients who come to see me for one thing and natural hair will often become part of the conversation. Naturally Ever After is a space to have open dialogue about how natural hair is more than just hair, there are emotions that come up and as a result influence behavior that are not always in alignment with what we actually want. When I started the Naturally Ever After podcast, I had no prior experience with audio recording/ editing and it shows in the first few episodes lol. The gem in having this experience is actively modeling that done is better than perfect, my skills will get better with time as long as I don’t stop producing. It’s okay to be a beginner in something and remain teachable/ coachable.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have a layered response to this question haha, it really depends who is actually coming to visit. I have a few good friends and they are all so different. I am a go with the flow kind of vibe on my personal time. One place where I will take all of my guest for the experience is Slutty Vegan. Overall I enjoy sharing space/ time where there is some kind of movement (pole fitness, yoga, walking/ light jog etc). The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Mentorship isn’t always a formal arrangement of “hey, can you be my mentor?” When I think of who I want to dedicate this shout out to who came to mind was Deran Young, founder of Black Therapist Rock (BTR). I have been a member of BTR since 2017 and since then my love for the field of behavioral health and education expanded beyond comprehension! I was introduced to a therapeutic model (IFS: Internal Family Systems) that shifted how I practice psychotherapy and most importantly how I process and cope with my own emotions in my personal/ professional relationships. Deran is the epitome of actively modeling what she is teaching, when our paths initially crossed I had no idea how much I would grow emotionally. I will forever love people who not only walk the walk but also teach along the way for others to save time in their own journey.

Website: www.MsGuity.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/msguitylcsw

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/msguity

Twitter: www.twitter.com/msguity

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MsGuityLCSW

Other: Naturally Ever After Podcast SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/msguitylcsw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naturally-ever-after/id1508778915

Image Credits
Photographer: Lo Garcia (www.instagram.com/lo_garciaphoto) Styling/ Makeup: Jaylynn Wallace www.instagram.com/RatedPrettyGirl www.ratedprettygirl.com linktr.ee/ratedprettygirl Hair: Fawnne Morris Harrell www.instagram.com/salonnoa) linktr.ee/salonnoa