Black Mental Health

As we remember Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy, I find myself thinking about Black mental health. Black Mental Health Matters. The impact of slavery and systemic racism has such an impact on Black mental health - from intergenerational trauma, continued systemic oppression, microaggressions, and threat of bodily harm. Additionally, mental health practice tends to be a White-dominated field, per the Black Mental Health Alliance, “Only 6.2 percent of psychologists, 5.6 percent of advanced-practice psychiatric nurses, 12.6 percent of social workers, and 21.3 percent of psychiatrists are members of minority groups.” This not only limits access to mental health with someone who has an understanding of Black lived experience, but also has potential to (and frequently does) perpetuate harm. You can read more about barriers to mental health support/substance use support through this blog post by Bicycle Health. If you’re Black and reading this, you already know this too well. And if you’re not Black and reading this, I want to encourage you to continue considering the ways you are actively and continually working to create safety for the Black people in your life, as I will keep working to do.

Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP (author of My Grandmother’s Hands), has may resources on the somatic impact of racial trauma in the United States, including this 5-minute audio of Black Affirmations.

Resources Supporting Black Mental Health:

• BIPOC-centered Therapist Directories

  • Therapy for Black Girls

  • Therapy for Black Men

  • Melanin and Mental Health

  • National Queer & Trans Therapist of Color Network

  • Inclusive Therapists

• Organizations

  • Black Mamas Matter

  • Black Mental Health Alliance

  • Black Men Heal

  • The Loveland Foundation

• Instagram Accounts

  • Saddie Baddies

  • Transparent Black Girl

  • Black Female Therapists

  • Nedra Glover Tawwab

  • Decolonizing Therapy

  • Black and Embodied

  • Brown Girl Self Care

  • The Nap Ministry

  • Black Girl Lost Keys

• Books

  • List of 12 books on behavioral health recommended by Black Mental Health Alliance

  • Rest As Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

  • Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab (check out her other books, too!)

As always, take what is helpful and leave the rest. I hope you have the week you need.