Featured in Photo Maudray Hogan
Motherhood is a journey, and for Black moms, it can be even more challenging. Which is why we’re excited to introduce you to Maudray, our new mental health professional who’s dedicated to supporting Black women on their new motherhood journey. She brings a wealth of experience, a warm heart, and a whole lot of California sunshine to her work! In this Q&A, she shares her story, her passion, and her vision for supporting you at BIH’s brand new Oceanside location.
Tell us about yourself and your background/experience.
I am originally from Cincinnati, OH, but fell in love with California on a visit right after I graduated from high school. Since then, I have made Cali my home from as far north as Los Angeles, to Riverside County to as far south as Rancho San Diego (El Cajon). Married and divorced in L.A., raised my daughter here in Rancho San Diego, received my undergrad and both of my graduate degrees here, and now currently reside in Escondido. Although I moved back and forth to Cincinnati several times and lived in Atlanta for 5 years, I have returned yet again here, and now consider myself a California girl.
Why did you decide to join BIH as our Mental Health Professional?
I like what this program is about and what it is addressing. Mental health, therapy and giving back/helping others is my passion. Most jobs I’ve had promised me that I would be able to provide therapy/counseling, but ended up being mostly admin, minimal counseling; my hands were almost completely tied. I couldn’t dedicate much of my time working directly with the client to assist with their mental health issues, however, B.I.H. has provided me the opportunity to do exactly that, with a population that looks like me. I feel blessed to have this opportunity. BIH seems to respect the opinions of and value their employees and have provided me an opportunity to engage with the Black community here, providing mental health therapy/counseling.
What does it mean to you to be able to provide mental health support to Black moms?
I too was a Black pregnant woman with little to no resources outside of my OBGYN’s office. Although I was married, I had no family support here in California. And because I know what I went through being pregnant with little to no support from the community or family, I know how alone one can feel. and suffered from severe postpartum depression. However, I was blessed with a Black OBGYN who took really good care of me and my unborn child, even though I had a plethora of issues during my pregnancy from preeclampsia to postpartum depression. Having heard about low birth survival of black infants/moms, I was saddened and appalled about how this was happening to Black mothers/babies. I feel that I am blessed to be a part of an organization that targets these issues and provides support. I can apply my own experience(s) as well as my training to assist other Black pregnant women with the support needed.
What are you most looking forward to for our BIH location?
Making a difference amongst young Black mothers/first time mothers to recruit and provide a safety net and support system, to help them to more efficiently care for themselves as well as themselves during their prenatal and postnatal stages. As a Mental Health Specialist, I will assist in starting a domino effect of generational goodness by giving them the necessary tools needed to be successful to outreach and working throughout this community and providing a much-needed resource for Black women that are not currently in abundance in this community, until now.