Summer 2023 Issue Black Mental Health Today

Black Mental Health Summer/Vol. 8/2023

TODAY

HEALING THROUGH RADICAL SELF-CARE START WITH YOURSELF SO YOU CAN FACILITATE CHANGE IN CLIENTS AND THE COMMUNITY

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY The merits and hazards of the enduring bond between Black men and their mothers

Teaching While Black Republican-led ‘anti-woke’ backlash imperils future of educators and students of color

RACE AND PSYCHOTROPICS How ethnicity impacts the effectiveness and outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy

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ANNUAL

BLACK MENTAL HEALTH S Y M P O S I U M

LEARN | LEAD | LIBERATE

SEPT. 28-29 9AM-5PM EST

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Invites your organization to participate in its 8th annual Black Mental Health Symposium (BMHS).

This event is the first of its kind and draws hundreds of attendees, including educators, practitioners, community leaders, and students.

Aligning with an event that aims to reduce stigma associated with mental illness, increase access to care, and improve the wellness of Black communities is an excellent opportunity for your organization to make a difference. Moreover, the Symposium connects you to key decision makers with the valuable resources your organization provides. You will find that the Black Mental Symposium is a perfect venue for your company to demonstrate its commitment to providing the education, products and services mental health professionals and future leaders need.

•

48 sessions

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1 dynamic keynote address

• •

State of Black Mental Health panel discussion opening acts

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For the Culture Cookout

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Up to 12 CE credits

BMHS

CONTENT

Black Mental Health Today 14 Summer / Vol. 8 / 2023 Black Mental Health Today

Black Mental Health Today is a print and digital publication produced four times a year.

Publisher

WHO’S WHO IN BLACK MENTAL HEALTH

LaTonya Summers

Senior Editor Constance Brossa

Creative Director

Notable professionals across the country employ their expertise and experience to help others

Marion Nathan Summers

Contributing Writers Chasity Fowlkes Shirley Moore Vanessa Infanzon Jenika McCrayer Rudri Patel LaTacia Ruff

Letters to the Editor: BMHT Black Mental Health Today 6999 Merrill Rd STE 2-141 Jacksonville, FL 32277 connect@ifbmw.org

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HOW TO BOOST YOUR DOLLARS AND CENTS

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SPEAK YOUR TRUTH, ELEVATE YOUR PROFILE

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘WE’RE NOT OK’

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WOUNDED AS KIDS, HEALING AS ADULTS

Follow these eight steps to Boost your income through develop a saving mindset media platforms, speaking and grow your cash reserves engagements

Tammy Lewis Wilborn is a Therapy addresses past retired licensed professional pains, strengthens current counselor, clinical supervisor relationships and counselor educator

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Black Mental Health Today

Summer / Vol. 8 / 2023

Black Mental Health Today 22 TEACHING AND LEARNING WHILE BLACK Republican-led ‘anti-woke’ backlash imperils future of educators and students of color

Photo Courtesy of Adobe Stock

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DISABLING ABLEISM

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

HEALING THROUGH RADICAL SELF-CARE

RACE AND PSYCHOTROPICS

How – and why – mental health practitioners can remove barriers to care, confront personal biases

Mental health professionals provide support to clients coping with a toxic work environment

Start with yourself so you can facilitate change in your clients and in your community

How ethnicity impacts the effectiveness and outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy

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Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

Letter From the Publisher

LaTonya Summers, Ph.D.

Summer is my favorite time of year. I thrive under the sun’s warmth and it emboldens me to take risks. I teach an addictions class where my students and I give up an addictive behavior during the 12-week course. I usually give up my daily dose of French fries or sweet desserts and beverages. But this year, I dug deep and realized that fries and sugar aren’t my problem, it’s self-sabotage. I have an uncanny ability to get close to a goal and mess it up. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a financial, fitness or family aspiration. I will get so close to success that I can touch it but then the reward I deserve wrecks the whole plan. I have lapsed several times this summer, but I am determined to get out of my own way. What about you?

What maladaptive behavior can you do without? What risks will you take to accomplish it? Follow @BlackMHToday and let me know.

issue. There is not an article or column that you do not think highly of. We are happy you strongly agree our work enhances the work you do within Black communities, and that you are moved to action after reading each issue. Your biggest complaint is that the magazine is too short. We are confident that with readers like you, BMHT will continue to grow. Thank you for your subscription and inviting others to subscribe.

I cannot wait for you to dig into this issue. In it, we examine the challenges and triumphs of teaching while Black, explore the dynamics between Black men and their mothers, illuminate radical self-care for wellness, define ethnopsychopharmacology, work to eradicate ableism and so much more. Enjoy this issue and your summer!

ARCHIVE PUBLICATIONS

FALL 2021

Black Mental Health Today

December 2021 · No. 2

Helper or Victim?

Domestic Violence at the hands of intimate partners is largely unrecognized.

Grit Over Glamour Self-care is about more than lounging

Thank you for taking the Reader Satisfaction Survey. There, you told us that you LOVE Black Mental Health Today magazine, and that you read most of every

Sisterly,

Dr. King Davis

Ensuring That History Doesn’t Repeat Itself The truth about imposter syndrome

...injustices against Black people are no secret.

LaTonya Summers

Who’s Who

Notable professionals across the country employ their expertise and experience to help others

WINTER 2021

Black Mental Health Winter /Vol. 6/2023

TODAY

Black Mental Health TODAY

Fall/Vol. 5/2022

Religion and therapy

Hard Lessons From The Pandemic

The intersection between the Black church and mental health

Its ultimate impact on children and educators of color is still unfolding

Aftermath of Dismantling Roe vs. Wade Advocates for Black women call for the creation of allies and partnerships to combat barriers to service

LEADING WHILE BLACK

How To Get Black People Into Therapy

Those hired to spearhead DEI changes often do so at their own professional peril

Behind Invisible Bars

Families – especially children – of the incarcerated suffer in silence when loved ones are imprisoned

WINTER 2023

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Experts offer prudent advice for overcoming entrenched aversion to treatment

Legacy Of The Slave Trade

Play Therapy And Black Children Why it’s important to modify counseling methods

EXAMINING A SYNDROME THAT SHAPES GENERATIONAL ACTIONS AND BELIEFS

FALL 2022

SUMMER 2022

SPRING 2022

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

Create a savings plan

Be realistic about what you can spare or set aside.

No matter how little or how much, create a saving plan and start today.

Are you saving for a vacation, new car, new phone, emergency fund or just because? Identify the amount it will take to achieve that goal.

Start small Be realistic about what you can spare or set aside. That may be $20 a paycheck or $50 a month. Whatever it is, just get started. At the beginning of the year, for example, save $1 the first week, $2 the second week and increase by a dollar every week. By the end of the year, you’ll have saved more than $1,000.

Get an accountability partner Regular check-ins with someone who will ensure you stay on track can be useful.

This should be someone capable of saying you don’t need to make a certain purchase, for example, because it doesn’t align with your current financial goals.

Mind & Money /

HOW TO BOOST YOUR DOLLARS AND CENTS ―Follow these 8 steps to develop a saving mindset and grow your cash reserves

Don’t dwell on past mistakes Grant yourself some grace and move forward with the current financial plans.

The decisions of today will determine the outcomes of tomorrow.

Never indulge in retail therapy Many feel relief when spending money, but that can lead to avoidable financial woes. Manage the feelings and navigate financially healthier ways to cope.

Hire a financial coach, if necessary

Article by Chasity Fowlkes Photo courtesy of Pexels.com

A

s a serial entrepreneur, I know of opportunities and ways to save and cut back on expenses. However, I am not a financial expert so I asked Jasmine Johnson, an accountant/ accredited financial counselor at Square 1 Accounting LLC, to shed some light on this topic.

To foster a saving mindset, Johnson recommends: • • • • • • •

Creating a savings plan Starting small Getting an accountability partner Refusing to dwell on past mistakes Never indulging in retail therapy Hiring a financial coach, if necessary Keeping your “why” handy

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Getting someone knowledgeable and qualified to assist us as you navigate finances can help you start things out right and encourage greater success.

Always keep your ‘why’ handy Ensure that your goals and the things you’re working to achieve stay at the forefront of your mind. This reminder may be enough to help you stay on track.

Regardless of our upbringing and current socioeconomic status, we can save. No matter how little or how much, create a plan and start today.

Chasity Fowlkes is CEO and owner of the Center for Sexual Health and Wellness in Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts. She is a relationshipand-sex therapist with more than 21 years of experience in the helping field.

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

Clinical Entrepreneurship /

SPEAK YOUR TRUTH, ELEVATE YOUR PROFILE ― Boost your income through guest appearances on media platforms, speaking engagements

Article by Jenika McCrayer Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock

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o you want to grow your business beyond the traditional method of seeing clients? Becoming a media therapist can help you diversify your income and use your talents as a therapist in new and exciting ways.

Your expertise as a clinician is valuable not only within your sessions but to audiences consuming TV, radio, newspaper and podcast content. As a clinical entrepreneur, you can use your expertise to inform the public by appearing on TV talk shows, radio, podcasts and newscasts.

Many of these speaking engagements are paid and may bring you more clientele and a wider audience.

Following are some tips to help you promote your skills as a public speaker and start booking paid speaking engagements.

Build your brand Creating a personal brand will help you find an audience that aligns with your entrepreneurial values and goals. You have to ask yourself what you can offer to clientele. Do you have a book to sell? Do you consider yourself an expert in a specific field? Promoting your work is an excellent opportunity to network and find opportunities.

To be successful, you will need to market yourself enthusiastically.

Build a social media following by being active and engaging.

A social media presence makes for an easy way for people to

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connect with you and request your services. You can also market yourself by offering services on a website, creating and distributing a press kit and having highquality videos of your speaking engagements.

Find your niche Play to your strengths and passions. Ask yourself what subject(s) you are well versed in, what type of client you look forward to working with and

what skills you look forward to teaching.

Form a network A network of other professionals can help you quickly find paid speaking opportunities. You can build relationships with reporters, potential clients and other industry professionals on social media, at conferences and within professional organizations.

Continued on page 8 Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today Continued from page 7

Practice your craft

Find opportunities to speak

Don’t be afraid to practice by initially doing free speaking engagements. You don’t have to accept every opportunity, but the feedback and confidence you will gain speaking in front of an audience or on camera will help you grow as a public speaker. You can practice at annual conferences, college graduations, and as a guest speaker at organizations that align with your expertise and mission.

You can also join organizations that can nurture your public speaking skills, such as Toastmasters International.

Some conferences may provide a speaker’s fee. Professional organizations like the Black Mental Health Alliance or The National Association of Black Counselors may have speaking opportunities.

You can also leverage your network and connections with reporters and other professionals on social media to find paid speaking engagements.

Be mindful of your value and what you’re worth. Consider how long it takes to prepare for and travel to and from engagements, and any other accommodations you may need when deciding on your speaker’s fee.

Becoming a clinical entrepreneur is a rewarding journey for clinicians seeking new clients or who want to reach a wider audience and provide the public with critical information. Building a network, promoting yourself as an expert in your field and perfecting your public speaking will no doubt land you deals at conferences or on TV, radio and podcasts.

Jenika McCrayer is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York.

Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock

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Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

FEATURE /

DISABLING ABLEISM

― How – and why – mental health practitioners can remove barriers to care, confront personal biases against disabled people Article by Vanessa Infanzon Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock

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ost likely, every mental health professional has served a client with a visible or invisible disability. But not every clinician is prepared to receive someone with a disability.

The physical barriers that may prevent a client from feeling comfortable and safe to pursue counseling need to be addressed in businesses and organizations.

Accessibility begins with the website a potential client visits to learn more about the practice. It continues with parking, access to public transportation, entrance ways,

seating arrangements and paperwork.

Ableism, a negative attitude toward people with disabilities, also blocks a person with disabilities from receiving services. Talila A. Lewis, an abolitionist community lawyer, uses this working definition for ableism: “(It is) a system of assigning value to people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normality, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence and fitness.”

Integrating inclusive practices within mental health services will attract more clients who seek help. “Disability is part of every community and identity,” says Ryan Easterly, executive director of WITH Foundation, a Californiabased nonprofit working to promote comprehensive health care for adults with developmental disabilities.

“Mental health professionals can help serve and support clients with disabilities by being mindful of any accessibility barriers their office and practice may have.

“In addition to considering if a client with disabilities can physically access the space, professionals should be mindful that disability is natural and may be part of a client’s identity.”

Putting a plan into action

Ryan Easterly Photo courtesy of Ryan Easterly

Alexis Duggan, a disability services professional, educator and licensed professional counselor associate in

Dallas, Texas, facilitates one- to threehour in-person and virtual training sessions for professionals who want to learn about disability barriers, etiquette and terminology.

Alexis Duggan Photo courtesy of Alexis Duggan

Labels such as “lazy” or “working the system” attached to people with disabilities create barriers to receiving services. Ableism could be the reason accommodations aren’t provided.

“Ableism is nondisabled people putting their expectations on disabled people,” Duggan says. “They don’t understand disability and they don’t want to.”

Continued on page 10

Black Mental Health Today Continued from page 9 Duggan suggests these guidelines when working with people with disabilities: • Include people with disabilities in decisions about programs, training and planning.

“When I’m making decisions with people with disabilities, not for people with disabilities,” Duggan explains. “I need to bring that person to the table. What questions do you have? What are you hoping?”

•

•

Be inclusive from the start.

Most accessibility issues are addressed after a complaint is made. “When we’re planning events, looking at spaces, looking at programs, it may sound good, but is it accessible?” Duggan says. “That question needs to be on the front end.”

Ask the person with disabilities what they need. Assuming what someone requires can lead to uncomfortable situations. “Folks with disabilities are the best judge of what they can and what they cannot do,” she says.

•

Avoid touching a person with disabilities’ personal items without permission. Canes, service animals and wheelchairs are extensions of their bodies.

•

Be familiar with the ADA guidelines about service animals. “According to ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act), you can only ask these two questions: Is this an animal for a person with a disability? And What task has this animal been trained to do?” says Duggan. “You may not ask about the disability

•

Vanessa Infanzon is a freelance writer in Charlotte, North Carolina, whose wideranging work has been published by regional and national media outlets.

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‘Proud wheelchair user’ In 2005, Charlotte, North Carolina, resident Melanie Dunston reinvented herself after she was diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri, or intercranial pressure in her brain. She retired from her administrative job at a nursing home and, by 2008, she was using a wheelchair to get around due to severe osteoporosis.

“I am a very proud wheelchair user,” Dunston says. “Without my wheelchair, I don’t know what I would do.”

Dunston serves in several volunteer capacities throughout Charlotte, advocating for people with disabilities through board positions in organizations and as a court mediator for the county. She’s attended academies through the local FBI, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, police department and the sheriff’s office and trained in Crisis Intervention Partners. Despite Dunston’s experience and credentials, she’s faced ableism.

“People assume I need help, that I need assistance, that I’m fragile,” she says. “When you’re in a wheelchair, they wonder what you can do.”

When Dunston is out in the community, she wants to be independent. She’s been successful in advocating for stores to purchase scooters with baskets to make the shopping experience more accessible.

“When I go someplace, I ask myself, ‘Am I comfortable? Do I think everyone is being treated the same way?’” Dunston says. “People don’t see wheelchair users or those who use mobility devices as an important thing when they have a business. If you invite me somewhere, keep me in my mind that I am a wheelchair user.”

Dunston started Charlotte Wellness Group on Facebook in 2015 to share free and inexpensive resources for programs about health and wellness, and the 2,000 members also get to know her, a strong and creative Black woman with disabilities. Her posts include information about topics ranging from financial well-being to where to find free counseling. “The more you get to see us (people with disabilities), the more you get to know us,” Dunston says.

“We’re not as scary,”

Resources Looking for other ways to deepen your understanding of people with disabilities?

Here are five resources, suggested by the sources in this article, for you to review: •

“Black Disability Politics” by Sami Schalk, “explores how issues of disability have been and continue to be central to Black activism from the 1970s to the present.”

•

“Disability Visibility” by Alice Wong, an anthology of first-person stories by activists, advocates, lawyers and others who share their experiences with disabilities.

•

Job Accommodation Network provides free guidance on job accommodations and disability employment issues. askjan.org

•

National Center for START Services, whose mission is to “improve the lives of persons with IDD and mental health needs and their families through fidelity to the START model.” centerforstartservices.org

•

National Disabilities Rights Network is a “legally based advocacy organization established by Congress to protect the rights of all individuals with disabilities.”

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

W

e saw the horrific, gutwrenching moments unfold on dramatic video and body-cam footage: three Black men – George Floyd, Daunte Wright and Tyre Nichols – crying out for their mothers before dying at the hands of police.

In the depths of despair while taking their final breaths, these men called on the people, who gave them life, to save their lives. They were natural responses to unnatural, unfathomable acts.

FEATURE /

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY ― The merits and hazards of the enduring bond between Black men and their mothers

by Shirley Moore

Photos courtesy of Unsplash.com

The men’s reactions to extreme trauma and stress tell the larger story of the stronger-than-steel bond between Black men and their mothers. The special connection has been the topic of books, articles and films and often plays out in pop culture.

Actor Anthony Anderson, for example, famously features his lively and vivacious mother, Doris, on his TV shows. Tupac Shakur, probably one of the toughest-talking rappers ever, penned a song for his, “Dear Mama.”

And who could forget the touching tunes “A Song for Mama” by Boyz II Men and “Sadie” by The Spinners?

So, what makes the bond between Black mothers and their sons so powerful? And are these bonds always healthy? Experts have layered, nuanced thoughts on the topic.

Leaning on the ‘rock’ LaTonya Summers, Ph.D., an awardwinning mental health counselor, author and an assistant professor in mental health counseling at Jacksonville University in Florida, said men in a study she recently conducted described their mothers as the “rock” in the family. When the world becomes a scary place, that’s the person they seek out first.

“Mom is the primary source of support, and she’s the first person they think about,” says Summers, publisher and founder of Black Mental Health Today. She interviewed Black men 20 to 30 years old for her research. “Mom is that first source of

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authority, and they’re emotional and nurturing. In times of crisis, you want that emotional support.”

Ann Shillingford, Ph.D., an associate professor of counselor education at the University of Central Florida, shares a special interest in Black men’s relationships with their mothers and agrees with Summers.

While men often see their fathers as the provider and source of strength in the family, the mother holds a special spot, she says.

“Black mothers want to do as much as they can to protect their young boys and men,” Shillingford added. “From birth, they believe, ‘I’ve got to keep him safe. I’ve got

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

to keep him breathing. I’ve got to ensure that his life matters – and that he knows that his life matters – despite everything else going on in society.’ ’’

members when he wasn’t ready to announce his sexual orientation. “It was just unforgivable, so they had to work to repair that relationship,” Summers says.

Avoiding pitfalls

She advises mothers and sons to maintain communication to prevent miscues, misunderstandings and overstepping.

While Summers and Shillingford see the bonds Black men enjoy with their mothers as largely positive, they warn of pitfalls.

Too strong of a bond has the potential to disrupt – and even destroy – other relationships, Summers says.

For example, if the mother interferes in her son’s marriage or relationship with another woman, that’s a sign of trouble. In some instances, a mother may use her son as a “surrogate husband” without even being aware of it.

Pulling in the men A conversation about motherson bonds would be incomplete without mentioning fathers.

Developing and nurturing the relationship between father and son is important for maintaining healthy bonds between mother and son, Shillingford says.

Traditionally, children see the father

“One man in the study said, ‘I call my mama every day,’ and one said, ‘I’m married, but my mom is still my emergency contact,’” Summers recalls. “I don’t know how healthy that is.” She urges men to set boundaries with their moms, and Black mothers should encourage their sons to develop healthy relationships with other women.

A mother breaking a son’s trust can also prove problematic, Summers cautions. For example, two men in her study spoke of the hurt and trauma they felt when their mothers kicked them out of the house at 18 years old. They didn’t understand then why their mothers did so. But the mothers, the men later discovered, said they were only trying to teach independence and self-reliance.

“It was traumatic for the men, and their interpretation was different from what the mothers had intended,” Summers says. “These are things that still impact them today, their relationships and how they choose relationships.”

In another research interview, Summers says, a gay man shared that his mother outed him to family

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But that can be a problem if the fathers aren’t in the picture, stresses Lenny Springs, founding president of 100 Black Men of Greater Charlotte, a nonprofit mentoring organization for young Black males.

“There are too many cases where the mother is the only parent in the home,” he says. “So, the mother is the backbone, the stability of the family.

The mother is the mother and father.”

That’s something he finds disappointing.

“Mom is doing the best she can, but it would be most beneficial to have both parents in the household. Mothers can’t do it all.”

Shillingford agrees and sees an opportunity for the larger community to assist. For her, it takes a village to raise up Black men.

“It often falls on the Black mother to ensure that our males are equipped with what they need to go out into society and feel some semblance of humanness,” she said.

as the provider and the mother as the nurturer, even when the mother is the breadwinner, she says. But that doesn’t mean fathers can’t create strong emotional ties with their sons by engaging and talking with them.

Shirley Moore is a former reporter who works in public relations in Charlotte, North Carolina.

She suggests mothers encourage fathers to take on some of the nurturing, despite it possibly feeling nontraditional.

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

WHO’S

WHO IN BLACK MENTAL HEALTH Notable professionals across the country employ their expertise and experience to help others

By Rudri Patel

Black Mental Health Today

NORMA L. DAY-VINES

CURTIS D. JASPER

AMEENA KEMAVOR

BRODERICK SAWYER

Most people will be surprised to learn Johns Hopkins Associate Dean for Diversity and Faculty and Development Norma L. Day-Vines is an introvert. “I’ve learned to be social,” Day-Vines says, but alone time allows people to “reflect on what and who matters to them.”

Curtis D. Jasper’s mother suggested he speak to a therapist about his emotions in his teenage years. This led to therapy with his mom, dad and siblings. “This brought us clarity and gave us tools to put things in place as a family,” he says.

Ameena Kemavor, who holds a doctorate in counselor education and supervision from Ohio State University, believes embracing the words “It’s OK not to be OK,” is one way to find healing.

Clinical psychologist and meditation teacher Broderick Sawyer thinks people of color “should not get fixated on Western methods of healing, psychotherapy or big pharma.”

“If you’re listening to someone who looks and sounds like you. . . and they are bold enough to speak about the challenges of their emotional health, this could be what unlocks the healing for another person that may be listening,” she says. In her current role as vice president of the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County in Columbus, Ohio, she works with Black youths and is encouraged to see many are open to articulating their emotions.

When introduced to meditation, it was presented as something new, but after doing research, he realized it was more than 4,000 years old. “I want people to explore healing methods of their own and not get gaslit by Western methods of healing.”

He’s explored teachings from Buddhism and Hinduism in his practice in Louisville, Kentucky, and online.

Despite her introversion, she’s focused on serving the community.

Day-Vines attributes her inclination to community service to her childhood. Her father was the executive director of the YMCA and her mother was a teacher.

With a teaching career that spans 26 years, Day-Vines, who’s based in Maryland, “focuses on strategies working with more culturally and linguistically diverse clients.” She believes we talk about depression, anxiety, career development, failed relationships, illness, “but we don’t know how to talk about race and representation. It has been my goal to teach people how to have meaningful and substantive conversations about race,” she says.

Jasper didn’t immediately enter the mental health field after college but started teaching in the Chicago public schools in his twenties.

The death of his parents, a failed marriage and a brief stint in jail pushed him to consider therapy again.

“I had quit life and a friend challenged me to seek therapy,” says, who lives in Atlanta. A middle-aged white therapist asked him – “Have you ever thought of becoming a mental health professional?” The therapist convinced Jasper that to heal himself he should “become a Black therapist and help other Black men out,” he says. He took that advice and has worked as a therapist for the last 15 years.

What she’s learned about access to care is that when someone feels overwhelmed, they can talk to a parent, friend or colleague, especially when a session with a therapist isn’t for several months.

As a practitioner, he encourages clients to conduct energy audits.

“I typically encourage my clients to ask, ‘What am I consuming?

And what kind of effect is this having on my mental health?’”

This daily practice can be a helpful tool for engaging in more informed discussionrs.

Rudri Patel is a former lawyer turned writer, editor and educator.

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Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

Book Review/ ‘WE’RE NOT OK: BLACK FACULTY EXPERIENCES AND HIGHER EDUCATION STRATEGIES’ Article by LaTacia Ruff

“We’re Not OK” offers strategies that support the hiring and retention of Black individuals in institutions of higher education. The book opens with statistics highlighting how few faculty members comprise Black, Indigenous and people of color.

Each chapter thereafter introduces a different dynamic to the Black experience in higher education as a faculty member and is categorized into three subgroups: •

Transitional experiences of Black students to faculty

•

Preservation and promotion of mental well-being for Black faculty

•

Strategies designed to aid in the retention of Black educators

attracted to higher education. The suggestions are less focused on enhancing the knowledge base and preparation of prospective Black faculty members.

Another missing component is Black faculty experiences at an HBCU, as the focus tended to be solely on PWIs (predominantly white institutions).

One feature of this book is its 19 contributing authors. Yet only brief biographies are offered for the two editors, Anjita M. Allen and Justin T. Stewart. Allen serves as CEO of an organization she founded that guides individuals seeking employment as faculty in higher education. Additionally, her resume details two decades of experience as a postsecondary educator.

Stewart works alongside Allen in the role of chief operating officer and a consultant offering coaching

strategies to those interested in becoming faculty in higher education or growing professionally in academia.

Interestingly, although some sections read as a journal entry or with a conversational tone, others use the template for most methodologybased scholarly writing. Yet, there is still a cohesiveness to what is shared.

This is likely a direct reflection of the fabric of familiarity that comes with the Black plight.

The information shared in this anthology is pertinent and could be helpful for those in positions as department heads, university presidents and other influential stakeholders. Those who are seeking teaching roles in postsecondary institutions may find relevancy primarily in the accrual of knowledge and the affirmation the statistical data provides.

Additionally, the authors suggest approaches that address the primary issue presented in their respective chapters. For instance, HR departments are encouraged to reconsider their hiring practices, with suggestions to allow Black faculty members to lead hiring committees as opposed to merely being invited to sit on them. Recommendations also include requiring departments on college campuses to hold white students, faculty and staff accountable for microaggressions.

The strategies are all practical and offer sufficient detail for replication.

Yet, some tactics are ambiguous, such as advocating for Black faculty members to have the right to say no.

Still, many more strategies are geared toward administration. As such, the contributor suggestions all require a systemic change to occur, not working to increase the skills of those

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LaTacia Ruff, Ph.D., considers herself a Chicago girl despite residing in North Carolina where she works as a licensed counselor. She’s on a mission to normalize mental health and debunk myths associated with mental health through her program Candid Conversations. Learn more at www. choose-ccc.com.

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

LOVE &

RELATIONSHIPS/

WOUNDED IN CHILDHOOD, HEALING AS ADULTS ― Couples-centric therapy addresses past pains, strengthens current relationships Article by Chasity Fowlkes Photo courtesy of Pexels.com

“

The wounds experienced during childhood cause us to develop habits, insecurities and hang-ups that can damage our relationships.

M

”

any believe we pick our partners based on our relationships with our parents during childhood. Some of the things experienced during these relationships caused harm and pain; others brought happiness and joy. How they play out in during adulthood vary, but they may impact romantic relationships the most.

The wounds experienced during childhood cause us to develop habits, insecurities and hang-ups that can damage our relationships.

Sometimes these traits are recognized as unhealthy and cause chaos and toxicity in relationships. Partners, friends and loved ones may even try to point this out, but if someone is not ready to address things, they won’t see it as a positive. This is why therapy may be useful.

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Developed by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt in 1980, Imago Relationship Therapy is a form of relationship and couples counseling that focuses on transforming conflict into healing and growth through relational connection.

I spoke with Linda Lewter, a certified Imago advanced clinical therapist at Linda Lewter & Associates Counseling, about her thoughts on relationships and how Imago therapy works.

According to Lewter, Imago therapy hinges upon the belief that people choose partners like their parents and that marriage is an opportunity to heal childhood wounds. One of the most important things to know about Imago is the individuals within the relationship must come to terms with who they are. Those individuals accomplish this via self-discovery.

There are other components of Imago Therapy for couples, but some of the main interventions, according to Lewter, are:

Mirroring. Repeating back what you have heard your partner say in order to gain clarification and understanding.

Validation: “Recognizing the otherness,” or agreeing that each individual has the right to their opinion.

Symbiosis: Attraction to people who are different than us.

Empathy: Involves partners putting themselves in each other’s shoes.

According to Lewter, this is an intervention that people often omit from the process.

The questions for couples are whether they are ready to conduct self-exploration, come to terms with who they are and do the necessary work to attain a healthy relationship.

Chasity Fowlkes is CEO and owner of the Center for Sexual Health and Wellness in Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts. She is a relationship-and-sex therapist with more than 21 years of experience in the helping field.

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

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FEATURE /

HEALING THROUGH RADICAL SELF-CARE ―

Legacy of discriminatory practices exacts a toll on Black home buyers and renters

Article by Vanessa Infanzon Photos courtesy by Adobe Stock

J

odi Jarrett, licensed professional counselor and national certified counselor with Finding Me PLLC in Aubrey, Texas, models radical self-care in her own life to create space for her clients to practice it.

“We preach self-care, we teach self-care, but the systems are not there to support it,” Jarrett says. “(Self-care) is radical advocacy and activism. I’ve had to make some difficult changes in my private practice because I try to do it all. It started with, ‘Who am I? What do I want? What do I need?

What do I need to affirm who I am?’”

Radical self-care isn’t new: Although the Black Lives Matter movement amplified the concept, the Black community led the idea of radical self-care during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. And Audre Lorde’s words in her 1988 book, “A Burst of Light,” furthered the idea of healing through radical self-care: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is selfpreservation, and that is an act Continued on page 20

Black Mental Health Today Continued from page 19 of political warfare.”

Radical self-care begins with radical self-acceptance and a healthy community, says Jarrett. It’s about knowing where you belong and that who you are is enough.

“Everyone can benefit (from radical self-care),” Jarrett says. “For those who hold multiple marginalized identities and have been systematically oppressed or forced to exist in the margins, there’s an even more profound need for that radical self-care because we’re told to put ourselves behind others.”

Healing power of radical self-care Joi Lewis, CEO and founder of Joi Unlimited Coaching & Consulting in Minnesota, calls radical selfcare a salve. It goes beyond selfawareness; it’s about healing the mind, body and soul, she says.

“There are two times to practice radical self-care: when you feel like it and when you don’t,” Lewis says.

“It’s an invitation into a process of healing those things that are happening in the present and the historical ways in which systems of oppression wreak havoc on our bodies and our minds, and not just individually but collectively.”

small practices, your body can get trained.”

When Lewis works with clients, she asks them to name the activities, songs and people that bring them joy. Time spent in these pleasurable endeavors yields a deposit in the client’s energy bank, a metaphor Lewis uses to describe how we can contribute to ourselves.

Any challenging or irritating interactions the client faces are withdrawals from the energy bank.

Self-care must be practiced every day because we can’t always predict a withdrawal, Lewis says.

“You need to do these practices to fill up your energy account,” she explains. “There’s nothing wrong with a withdrawal if we have enough deposits to cover it. There are macro, micro aggressions, things that attack our Black bodies and minds.”

Paving the way to radical self-care

“It’s the little-bitty things,” Lewis says. “If you can incorporate these

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“When we think about rest, specifically for African Americans and for persons who are part of the diaspora, rest is our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” Ellis says. “While it seems incredibly simplistic, it is difficult to sit in the stillness of rest.

Rest can be sleep. Rest can be taking a moment for yourself. Slowing down is an example of a radical act.”

Ellis assists clients in finding the rest and self-care they need by introducing them to scaffolding and the mandala circle. She asks clients to finish sentence stems to help them identify emotional and physical boundaries and begin radical self-care.

“Through the challenges are a really beautiful outcome,” Ellis says. “We become more healthier and whole individuals on the other side.”

Setting boundaries Boundary setting within families and friendships is a form of radical selfcare. As people question systematic racism, it’s up to the individual to decide how, or whether, to address the situation.

“Part of self-care is self-advocacy,” Ellis says.

Lewis presented the Orange Method of Radical Self-Care that she created in her 2018 book, “Healing: The Act of Radical SelfCare.” Lewis uses personal and community narratives to illustrate the four practices in OM: conscious movement, emotional liberation, meditation and mindfulness. “I want people to see themselves in these stories,” she says.

The radical self-care Lewis recommends is accessible to everyone and doesn’t require much time or money. One practice she encourages with clients is Hand Over Heart Meditation, or simply placing your hand over your heart for one minute each morning. The central nervous system calms and begins to rewire the brain and body to find peace even in stressful situations, she says.

recent years.

Letting a person know you’re not ready for a conversation is putting yourself first, Ellis says. At its extreme, boundary setting could also mean ending a relationship.

Michelle Ellis Photo courtesy of Michelle Ellis

Michelle Ellis, a licensed professional counselor and national certified counselor in Jacksonville and an assistant professor and clinical director at Jacksonville University in Florida, references Tricia Hersey’s 2022 book, “Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto,” when she thinks about the insurgence of radical self-care in

“We all have to assess what we are able to give, what we are capable of giving,” Ellis says. “Depending on where we are in our own development as a Black person, we may not be at a place where we are the ones educating friends or family members about how insensitive they are being.”

Vanessa Infanzon is a freelance writer in Charlotte, North Carolina, whose wideranging work has been published by regional and national media outlets.

Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

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TEACHING AND LEARNING WHILE BLACK

COVER /

― Republican-led ‘anti-woke’ backlash imperils future of educators and students of color Article by Jenika McCrayer Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock

D

uring the summer of 2020, cities in all 50 states erupted in protests over the death of George Floyd and police violence against Black people. Government officials, corporations and higher education leaders reacted quickly with promises to reckon with racist legacies and vowed to move forward in multiracial harmony. But three years later, an “anti-woke” backlash to this movement has reverberated throughout several conservative states, and clawing back whatever racial progress made has become paramount to conservative legislators.

Republican lawmakers have responded to the 2020 protests and Black Lives Matter movement with a slate of anti-CRT measures to, as Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, vowed to stop “woke education indoctrination in our schools.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial “Stop W.O.K.E. (Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees) Act” is among 563 anti-critical race theory measures introduced between Jan. 1, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2022. Florida joins Iowa, Missouri, Texas and other states in introducing and adopting legislation to remove African

American studies, critical race theory, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs from university campuses and workplaces. A federal judge struck down the “Stop W.O.K.E Act,” one of the 241 measures enacted by 2022. Legislation targeting higher education institutions accounted for 12% of enacted measures; they may have far-reaching consequences on states’ public college systems.

Infringing on free speech Critics of the “Stop W.O.K.E Act” and similar legislation say these bills unjustly target Black students’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech. “It prevents students from exercising their right to learn about the history and lived experiences of Black people and other marginalized people in our country. It tells Black and Brown communities that their histories and stories don’t matter,” according to a statement issued by ACLU Florida.

In response to the Floyd protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, The Steve Fund, a national organization focused on supporting the mental and emotional well-being of young people of color, formed a Crisis Response Task Force to study racism’s impact on the mental health of students of color. The 2020 study notes, “Dayto-day experiences of interpersonal racism are associated with increased anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and loneliness among college students.” The study also determines that college students of color are currently experiencing heightened stress from being “at the forefront of movements for racial justice.”

“Students face racism in schools every single day. And when we live in a state where the messaging is that they don’t matter, that their educational experience does not matter – whether it’s explicit like anti-CRT legislation … or whether it’s something more subtle, like the state of Texas working to defund public schools, those are messages that our students are receiving,” says Tiffanie Harrison, director of strategy and innovation at Round Rock Black Parents Association, a community engagement and empowerment network in Austin, Texas, seeking

to mobilize and uplift Black parents, students, educators and stakeholders.

Harrison, an educator with eight years of experience, also serves on the Round Rock school board and has witnessed the impact anti-woke legislation has had on educators and students. “It’s a witch hunt,” Harrison says, adding that the “fear-mongering” around CRT and DEI initiatives has made teaching even harder.

The Steve Fund’s 2020 study also recommended more diversity, equity and inclusion programs to combat racism and exclusion in higher education institutions. Still, the recent wave of “anti-woke” legislation may make achieving racial equity in schools challenging or impossible.

And the recommendation for more equity has done little to address the decline in Black student enrollment in postsecondary programs. Black college and university enrollment declined 22% between 2010 and 2020.

With the recent Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action and the proliferation of anti-critical race theory and DEI laws, the gap between white and Black students graduating with degrees is expected to increase.

A mental health crisis Black educators, students and advocators have warned the current backlash against diversity and social justice initiatives will harm students’

mental health. The dearth of mental health professionals of color further exacerbates mental health issues among Black students. Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, signed a bill to ban DEI initiatives in higher education institutions throughout the state. “We know that there was a lot of devastation from the pandemic,

and racialized violence. … Schools are starting to talk more about mental health. And even though we deprioritize racial and educational equity in states like Texas, you see increased conversations about mental health these days,” says Harrison.

“We’re seeing (a lot) of parents of Black children starting to tap into the needs of their children’s mental

health,” says Harrison. “I think that it’s high time that we stop looking at mental health through a raceneutral lens … there’s a very racialized component to this mental health crisis.”

An overwhelming majority of antiCRT measures target K-12 schools, and the 226 measures enacted impact 22 million public school students, or almost half of the United States’ 50.8 million public school children.

Asked how families and communities can support younger students during this time, Harrison emphasizes community care, the practice of creating spaces and building multigenerational relationships where students feel safe to explore their emotions.

Harrison also underscores the importance of Black educators, parents and others in a child’s “village” caring for their mental health even as they advocate for equality inside the classroom. “For people in a child’s village, it may be intimidating to advocate for mental health. I think that just pure conversation, asking (questions) and being open goes a long way. But I think also setting the example and caring for our own mental health as adults goes a long way.”

Jenika McCrayer is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York.

Black Mental Health Today

FEATURE/

RACE AND PSYCHOTROPICS ― How ethnicity impacts the effectiveness and outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy Article by Rudri Bhatt Patel Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock

A

n individual’s race is often overlooked when exploring the impact of psychotropic drugs on treating mental health disorders like anxiety and depression.

But Ohio State University Assistant Professor Macarius Donneyong stresses there is a dire need “to investigate and to find out the gaps with respect to different racial groups” when evaluating the effectiveness of psychotropic drugs to treat different mental health diagnoses.

Recent research in the Journal of Parapsychology references the controversy surrounding race and ethnicity in terms of psychotropics, but researchers also state there are “ethnic differences in the clinical presentation, treatment, clinical response and outcome of mental illnesses.”

As the field of ethnopsychopharmacology evolves, so does the importance of understanding its nuances and their impact on how to provide effective treatment for people of color with a mental health diagnosis.

Impact of medications The term “ethnopsychopharmacology,” on first glance, can appear to have multiple meanings and may even come across as intimidating.

However, Donneyong says, the concept is easy to explain. “It is just a term that we use to describe the research that investigates the racial and ethnic disparities in mental health, particularly with respect to access, utilization and adherence to medications that are used to treat certain conditions.” The field strives to understand how medications impact individuals given the umbrella of a host of interactions of ethnicity, genes, culture and environment.

Research in ethnopsychopharmacology is paramount, according to a 2021 research article: “The failure to include Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in psychedelic research trials neglects the ethnic, racial, and cultural factors that may impact individual responses to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and thereby prevents generalizability of findings.”

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Summer Edition / 2023 / Volume 8

Black Mental Health Today

the reason for the ineffectiveness of psychotropics involves social determinants that factor into a patient’s compliance with instructions from a health care provider.

“Culture is shared among a group of people. Evidence seems to be stronger among Asian populations where sometimes there’s a preference for nontraditional medicine. Some will use herbs or spiritual intervention instead of taking antidepressants.

Also, there’s some evidence of this same trend among Black communities,” Donneyong says.

Dr. Macarius Donneyong Photo courtesy of Dr. Macarius Donneyong

Gaps in treatment An important facet of ethnopsychopharmacology is understanding the gaps present when treating BIPOCs with psychotropic medications.

If a clinically depressed individual seeks help from a mental health provider, the expectation is that the professional should begin treatment by prescribing antidepressants.

“That’s a typical guideline. However, we have seen a disparity that Black and Latina populations are less likely to receive a first-line antidepressant compared to white people,” Donneyong says. Since Black and BIPOC individuals are given secondor third-line medications, they are not going to receive the full benefit of treatment, and often, Donneyong observes, these secondary therapies create worse side effects.

Overall, Donneyong notes, “There are gaps that are observed along the continuum. There are gaps in getting a diagnosis and then delays in the receipt of treatment,” he says.

And then even when a diagnosis of depression is made, there are again disparities because minorities are less likely to receive first-line antidepressants.

Inhibiting social determinants The use and effectiveness of psychotropics cannot be evaluated through a single lens. Part of 25 https://ifbmw.org/bmht

In addition, some of the challenges also arise from provider care and evaluating adherence. Donneyong points out, “Providers don’t often engage with patients to know if they’re taking medication or how well they are complying with instructions. It isn’t always possible to gauge true adherence, so it may cause unreliability in terms of the effectiveness of the psychotropic.”

Importance of empathy

Other structural barriers contribute to the problem. According to Donneyong, some areas lack pharmacies. And even when there is access, medications are not in stock.

There is a keen interest in looking at race in psychotropic medications, but there are challenges in creating the right parameters for further studies.

In the meantime, Vieux advises fellow physicians to treat patients with compassion.

“Pharmacies are closing and these are impacting low-income and Black populations,” he says. Other hindrances for patients are lack of transportation to pharmacies and whether they can afford medications.

“Empathy is especially required when working with the Black community.

Perceived bias can adversely affect the compliance that patients will have with treatment. It is vital to form a therapeutic alliance with your

Relying on inadequate research Part of the reason there is still ambiguity around ethnopsychopharmacology is the absence of studies.

“Historically, cohort studies have centered around non-Hispanic whites of European descent,” says Dr. Ulrick Vieux, a board-certified psychiatrist with Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey and member of the Black Psychiatrists of America. “In an increasingly diverse world this can be a disservice to non-whites.”

Donneyong agrees. “Our studies tend to try to include all races and ethnicities. By the nature of the demographics in the United States, sometimes we end up with low counts for Asian and Alaskan Natives and other minorities as compared to, say, Black and Hispanic. We lump the other racial groups into one because of the lack of sample sizes,” he says.

In other words, it’s difficult to get an accurate picture of the data being collected since the pool of who is being evaluated is not adequately represented.

Dr. Ulrick Vieux Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Jones

patients.”

Rudri Bhatt Patel is a writer, editor and educator whose works have been published by regional and national outlets.

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