Earlier this year, The Root reported on a new Facebook Watch series focusing on mental health and wellness, Peace of Mind With Taraji. Hosted by Taraji P. Henson and Tracie Jade, Henson’s longtime best friend and executive director of Henson’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, the pair will highlight various mental health issues, specifically as they relate to the Black community. Through personal interviews with both celebrities, experts and everyday people, the series will show how to provide support, bring awareness and help eliminate mental health stigma.
Now, ahead of its December 14 premiere, we’ve got a first look at what we can expect to see from the series. Via a sneak peek sent in a press release to The Root, episode one takes a look at Henson’s personal experience with PTSD, revealing a particularly traumatic incident during her childhood and how her mother’s strength at that moment shaped her. “Watching her go through that and because she didn’t crumble, what she didn’t realize is that she was putting fight in me,” Henson shared. “It made me a fighter.”
Peace of Mind With Taraji will air twice a week at 12 pm ET, starting next Monday. Peep more details below:
On Mondays, Taraji and Tracie will sit down for powerful and revealing discussions with celebrity guests and everyday people about the mental health issues that have impacted their lives. On Wednesdays, Taraji and Tracie will delve deeper into the experiences of Monday’s guests with licensed therapists, and reveal their own stories related to the topics in an effort to provide the community with useful tools and techniques to help manage the specific mental health issues. Guests this season will include actress and best-selling author Gabrielle Union on her experience with PTSD, singer and television personality Tamar Braxton on the damaging pressure of being a strong Black woman and not seeking help, Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter Mary J. Blige on holiday despair and isolation, stand-up comedian and actor Jay Pharoah on police brutality and cultural competency, in addition to topics such bipolar disorder, grief after death without warning and more.
Peace of Mind with Taraji is executive produced by Taraji P. Henson, Tracie Jade, SallyAnn Salsano and Jennifer Ryan, along with Ebony McClain as co-executive producer and 495 Productions in tandem with Facebook Watch.