Building Better Connections: A Conversation With Marriage & Family Therapist, Janae Tipton
By Dayana Preval
If you’ve been following me, you know I love uplifting people and the culture in their work, creativity, and everyday lives. This week, I got to sit down with someone very special: my friend, Janae Tipton, a marriage and family therapist whose approach is grounded in empathy, collaboration, and understanding.
And listen… if you know Janae, you know she’s all about jokes. So when I first learned she’d become a therapist, I had a moment like… “Wait, Janae? Therapy?!” But once you sit with her, talk to her, and hear how deeply she cares about relationships and personal growth, it all makes perfect sense.
This conversation felt like two grown women reconnecting because, fun fact, Janae and I went to Georgia Southern together. Seeing her thrive now is everything.
Here’s a recap of our conversation.
How Janae Found Her Way to Therapy
Janae’s journey started in high school, where she originally wanted to be a teacher like her mom. But the way her dad shut that down with, “They don’t make no money,” took me out. She pivoted to psychology… only for her dad to say the same thing.
But she stuck with it anyway because she genuinely loved it.
After earning her psychology degree at Georgia Southern (shoutout to GSU!), she learned quickly that a bachelor’s alone wasn’t going to give her the career she wanted. That’s how she discovered marriage and family therapy — a field where she could work with individuals, couples, and entire families.
What pulled her in the most?
Knowing she could support people at any stage, from a single person starting their healing journey to a family of eight trying to rebuild connection.
What Empathy & Collaboration Look Like in Practice
I asked Janae what it really means when she says her approach is rooted in empathy and collaboration.
Her answer was powerful:
She creates a non-judgmental space, period.
She’s seen enough, lived enough, and studied enough to know that every behavior has a root. Even things we might not personally agree with. Her job isn’t to tell clients who to be, it’s to walk with them toward who they want to become.
By the third session, she’s already talking goals:
What do you want to work toward?
What direction feels right?
Are the goals healthy and safe?
And then she collaborates. She helps process, guides the path, and gives people the tools to get there.
Honestly, listening to her talk, I was like… if she wasn’t my friend, she would 100% be my therapist.
The Biggest Misconception About Therapy
A lot of people think therapy is only for when life is falling apart.
Janae said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
You can and should come to therapy when you're doing well.
Because that’s when you have the mental space to actually practice and strengthen the tools you’ll need when life gets rocky.
And she made another point I loved:
Interview your therapist.
Just like you interview for a job.
If you don’t feel comfortable, seen, or safe?
You are allowed, encouraged, actually to find someone else.
My Own Therapy Story
I shared this part during our conversation, but I'll share it again here.
I’ve always had Black women therapists, no surprises there. One of my old therapists actually fired me (in the kindest way). She said she felt she wasn’t doing enough for me and wanted me to explore EMDR. She helped me find a new therapist who aligned with my criteria, a Black woman in her 30s.
And that shift changed my entire life.
I’m still a thug (obviously), but now I’m a thug with emotional regulation. Growth!
Therapists Have to Check Their Ego, Too
One thing Janae said that stuck with me:
In therapy, the therapist’s ego has to die.
It’s not about them, it’s always about the client.
She’s constantly checking in with herself:
Am I doing enough?
Are we using the right tools?
Am I helping or accidentally holding this person back?
That level of self-awareness is why she’s so good at what she does.
Final Thoughts
Talking to Janae reminded me how important it is to normalize therapy, not just when life feels heavy, but as a regular part of growing into our best selves.
She brings humor, compassion, and real-life perspective into her sessions, which is exactly what so many people need.
And honestly? Getting to sit down with someone I’ve known since our college days, and seeing her thrive as the woman she is now… it meant a lot.
Can’t wait to share more conversations like this.
Watch the full interview here.