Taraji P. Henson using Peace of Mind series to normalise mental health discussions

Taraji P. Henson wants to use her new Facebook Watch series about mental health to show people what therapy is all about.

The Hidden Figures star is launching Peace of Mind With Taraji on Monday, when she and her best friend, Tracie Jade Jenkins, will welcome a series of guests to discuss issues prevalent in the black community - and how to process them.

"I just want people to see themselves in this whole mental health discussion," she explained on The View.

"What I really want to do is normalise this conversation, take the stigma out of mental illness, or mental health, because we really don't talk about it in the black community," Taraji went on.

"We've always been told to pray your problems away, talk to your pastor, be strong, push through, and that's just not healthy," she shared.

Explaining: "On the show, I want people to see that just because we're celebrities doesn't mean we don't have problems; money doesn't make your problems go away," Taraji detailed that the show will demonstrate how therapy works.

"So we have celebrities come on who identify with different mental issues, and then we have civilians, regular people, come on who are dealing with the same thing, and then you have a therapist... to give us tools, tools to deal with whatever the topic is of the show," she explicated.

And Taraji and Tracie won't just be serving as co-hosts - they are also hoping to pick up a few tips for themselves.
"I have my issues as well," the actress said: "so we're there, just like the audience members, to learn."