Once again, one of my favorite months of the year is upon us - Black History Month! I take pride being a Black man and I love learning about the rich history of Black inventors, doctors, activists, and leaders that have come before me. Reflecting on those who have paved the way for me to be the professional that I am today always brings me joy. This time of year also causes me to reflect on the struggles myself and my fellow Black and/or African Americans have experienced in the past, as well as the current and daily stressors we must navigate.

As a Black mental health professional, seeing the unaddressed mental hurdles that Black people unavoidably struggle with often leads to feelings of disappointment, and in all transparency, frustration. Many barriers have been created systemically to prevent Black Americans from seeking out and/or being provided quality mental health treatment. Barriers of low socioeconomic status and limited healthcare present difficulties that many Black Americans do not have the resources to resolve or troubleshoot. This can often lead to mental health struggles of the Black community to be placed on the back burner as the day-to-day stressors of “just surviving” continue to build, negatively impacting our mental health.

However, even with those barriers we can still create opportunities if we can focus on what options are within our control. Some examples of this may be ones’ lack of knowledge about mental health, avoiding the stigma of mental health, and the lack of trust with professionals due to lack of exposure. Today I want to address these specific barriers that are within our control so that we are not limited by the things we cannot change.

1. Build your knowledge and awareness

Where to start? That is often the first question anyone has when it comes to learning more about mental health. A simple place to start is just a Google search on the topic. Oftentimes if you just type in “black mental health” or “black mental health statistics” you can find articles and studies done by universities or health organizations. You may also find blogs from Black psychologists or therapists (just like the one you are reading now!). Now, of course, you want to be careful and verify any source as a valid or credible source before taking in any information you find.

An example of a credible site would be the Mental Health America website (https://mhanational.org) which has references to scholarly articles and the census to support their findings. Some of the statistics they present are very thought provoking and enlightening. Mental Health America reports that Black and/or African Americans living below poverty are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress than those living over two times the poverty level. Also, that adult Blacks and/or African Americans are more likely to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than adult whites. We are less likely than whites to die from suicide at all ages, but Black teenagers (9.8%) are more likely to attempt suicide than White teenagers (6.1%). The most glaring stat presented is that 16% (4.8 million) of Black and/or African American people reported having a mental illness, and 1.1 million people reported a serious mental illness in the year the study was completed. These numbers let you know just how prevalent mental health struggles are in our communities and just in case you feel you need more statistics here are direct quotes form the Mental health America web page:

· “Despite rates being less than the overall U.S. population, major depressive episodes increased from 9 percent-10.3 percent in Black and African American youth ages 12-17, 6.1 percent to 9.4 percent in young adults 18-25, and 5.7 percent to 6.3 percent in the 26-49 age range between 2015 and 2018.”

· “Suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts are also rising among Black and African American young adults. While still lower than the overall U.S. population aged 18-25, 9.5 percent (439,000) of Black and African American 18-25-year-olds had serious thoughts of suicide in 2018, compared to 6 percent (277,000) in 2008. 3.6 percent (166,000) made a plan in 2018, compared to 2.1 percent (96,000) in 2008, and 2.4 percent (111,000) made an attempt in 2018, compared to 1.5 percent (70,000) in 2008.”

These numbers show the increase in our mental health struggles just over 3 years’ time, so we can only imagine how the traumatic events involving injustices such as George Floyd, being quarantined, and Covid-19 have affected these numbers over the past two years. The need to care for ourselves is at an all-time high so we must build our awareness of mental health in our community to begin normalizing and accepting our own mental health struggles.

2. Beat the Stigma, Don’t let it beat you

So, we identified that mental health is a real thing in the community, now we have to be honest about our beliefs in regards to our own mental health. It can be a tough thing to accept, but “not being ok” is normal and “ok.” At times, the message that you are “weak” or there is something “wrong with you” if you need help prevents us from seeking out the help we need. Being a Black therapist myself, I would be lying if I did not admit there was once a time where I was unsure if therapy “worked”. I believed because I was different and that processing certain shortcomings or limitations I had made me less than. In time I continued to grow and learn that therapy only works if you are committed and want to change to happen. It had little to do with limits of therapy and had more to do with how I limited my perspective. It is hard to bring about change with the social messages that you need to “suck it up” and “move on” which only causes more internal conflict. Understand that you are not paying someone to fix you, but you are paying for someone to help you heal yourself.

3. Counselors DO look like you!

In my experience the number one complaint I hear from my Black brothers and sisters is that they do not want to meet with White counselors and there are no Black or minority counselors in their area. I agree that we can be hard to find, but we are out there! Often searching with no results leads to discouragement or and easy out to avoid our mental health struggles. Finding a counselor to fit your needs both clinically and culturally can be tough, especially if you do not know where to look. I want to encourage you to continue looking for counselors in your city or state. Receiving counseling can help you to correct unhealthy generational patterns so that you can become the best version of yourself for you, your friends, and your family. Not only am I encouraging you, but I also want to make this easier for you, because I know Black counselors like myself want to be discovered just as much as you want to find them. So attached at the end of this blog are resources to help you find counseling services provided by black professionals. And, there are also websites where you can find Black therapist in your area who will meet with you for reduced fees and in some cases at no cost at all. Black mental health is important to me and if you have read this far, I also know this is important to you! So, check out the resources provided or give them to your Black or African American friends who may not know about these resources. Thank you for taking the time out to read this and thank you for all of your support. Have a great Black History month!

The mental health therapists at our office offer counseling for a variety of issues including trauma using EMDR, depression, anxiety, grief, and couples counseling. We work with teens, adults, and couples. We also offer online counseling services which can be great for people with busy schedules or for people who live in parts of Pennsylvania with limited counseling options. You can check out our website to see the full list of counseling services that we offer. Or, Request An Appointment here.