Black Mental Health Also Matters. Here’s How You Can Help.
The horrible news of last week and the ongoing protests are not only hurting our mind but also make up a huge mental burden on our shoulders. We garnered together a list of resources for you.
Each community and each person has a different struggle. It’s only natural that you feel more understood when sharing certain feelings or experiences you have with others from the same community. Sharing can make you realize how much you have in common and make you realize most of it is, above all, comes from a systemic problem.
Here is a list of resources and safe spaces for people of color, transgender and queer communities.
Melanin and Mental Health
Melanin and Mental Health is a network which helps Black and Latinx people access mental health resources. They provide a database of culturally competent therapists, and produce the Between Sessions Podcast, which includes candid conversations on mental health, self-care, trauma, and joy from “two brown chicks changing the face of therapy on both sides of the couch.” Their social media feeds also feature inspiration, resources, and tips on self-care during trying times.
Therapy for Black Girls
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford founded Therapy for Black Girls as a blog in 2014, in order to start often-neglected conversations about Black girls’ and women’s mental health. Since then, the site has grown to include a database of culturally competent therapists, a podcast, and The Yellow Couch Collective, a membership-based virtual community that offers community connection and resources supporting mental thriving for Black women.
“It feels like we have this ongoing conversation,” Dr. Joy told Talkspace’s Ashley Laderer of the podcast and online community, during a May 2020 interview for National Mental Health Awareness Month. “It’s been a great way for our community to continue some of these conversations around mental health and how we can prioritize our mental health as Black women.”
Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective
The Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective is a group of “advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists, and activists” dedicated to, “a world where there are no barriers to Black healing.” They take a healing justice approach, meaning that they emphasize the structural and intersectional nature of trauma and harm, as well as joy and resilience, in Black communities.
The group includes a directory of Black therapists certified in providing telemental health services, a series of video discussions on Black healing, event series on men’s and trans wellness, and toolkits for self-care.
Rest for Resistance
In a culture that’s day and night pushing us to grind more and hustle harder, resting can truly be an act of resistance. Rest for Resistance is a web magazine and support group that centers mental health, healing, and self-care for marginalized people, and especially queer and trans people of color. Led by a collective of trans people of color, the zine also provides paid opportunities for marginalized people to express themselves in writing and art
Loveland Therapy Fund
The Loveland Therapy Fund is a nonprofit helping Black women access therapy. Academic, writer, and lecturer Rachel Cargle founded the Fund in 2018, after her birthday fundraiser raised over $250,000 to support therapy access for Black women.
Black women and girls can apply to be part of an upcoming therapy cohort here. Those selected can choose from a number of telehealth providers, including Talkspace.
