*She plays zany Helen Wilson, the outspoken receptionist who works for a psychotherapist (played by Tracee Ellis Ross) in BET’s “Reed Between the Lines,” but Anna Maria Horsford recently told Sister to Sister magazine that the show is doing the Black community a huge public service–by addressing the issue of psychotherapy.
The actress said that it takes a little more than sitting in church on Sunday to help some of our brothers and sisters relax, relate and release.
Sometimes it takes a good couch session to cope with your problem. Talking it out with a professional, however, is largely frowned upon by many African Americans, and it’s a trend that Anna Maria is only too happy to address.
“The thing that excites me about this show is dealing—and hopefully we will be effective—dealing with the idea of therapy as an alternative for health problems. A lot of times in our culture, we think therapy is a bad word.”
Horsford said she is enjoying her role on the hit BET series, which also stars Malcolm Jamal Warner and Melissa De Sousa. She said the role of the outspoken receptionist allows her to explore her more eccentric side.
“It’s almost like a woman who has no control over what goes on in her mind and what comes out of her mouth,” the actress said. “Kind of like me in a way. She says the first thing that comes (to mind).”
That is so true. I sought therapy to deal with issues regarding my father and why he just refused to have anything to do with me and it was the best thing I ever could have done! The lady, a sistah named Franchesca, was incredible and I was able to get closure and understand I was not the issue. We as black people tend to turn the other way when it comes to the mental illness that plagues our community. Its not just white people, but blacks are suffering from a hidden higher rate of mental issues and most refuse to deal with it which makes it so much worse. So sad…we’re willing to accept drug addiction but not mental illness! It DOES affect us too.