July is National Black Mental Health Awareness Month. And as is the case with almost every issue, topic and challenge in America, African Americans are impacted by mental illness in disparate ways.
In this episode we will explore what happens at the intersection of mental health and one’s experience as a member of the Black community? While the experience of being Black in America varies tremendously, there are shared cultural factors that play a role in helping define mental health and supporting well-being, resiliency and healing.
Mental illness, which is generally characterized by dysregulation of mood, thought, and/or behavior, as recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV), affects one of every five adult Americans—some 40 million people. And mood disorders are among the most pervasive of all mental disorders. This includes major depression, in which the individual commonly reports feeling, for two weeks or more, sad, uninterested in things previously of interest, hindered or delayed body or muscle movement or agitation, or increased or decreased appetite since the depressive episode ensued.
Black Mental Health Resources
Sista Afya Organization that provides mental wellness education, resource connection and community support for Black women.
Therapy for Black Girls Online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls. Offers listing of mental health professionals across the country who provide high quality, culturally competent services to Black women and girls, an informational podcast and an online support community.
Psychology Today Directory of African American Therapists
Therapy for Black Men
Educational Resources On Racism And Inequality
Understanding the context of racism and recent events Video on understanding racism and the reactions to the death of George Floyd and many others Video on understanding the perspectives of your colleagues of color
Article on “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”
APA Best Practices on working with Black patients
APA Mental Health Facts for Black Americans (2017)
Understanding and addressing the social determinants of health that impact mental health
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Page on Achieving Health Equity — Information about why health equity matters and what you can do to help give everyone a fair shot at being as healthy as they can be.
Books to Read
The Color of HOPE: African American Mental Health in the Church, By Dr. Pamela Robinson https://www.emerginghopefsp.org/shop
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
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