Supporting Black Mental Health
This page is regularly updated with new resources and information.
According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black adults in the U.S. are more likely than white adults to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress, such as sadness, hopelessness, and feeling like everything is an effort. Black adults living below the poverty line are more than twice as likely to report serious psychological distress than those with more financial security. Additionally, members of the Black community face structural challenges in accessing the care and treatment they need. Only one in three Black adults who need mental health care receive it.
The list below contains a variety of mental health resources for the Black community. For more information on culturally competent care, visit NAMI’s page about the Black community and mental health care.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
Mental Health Support Services:
The Loveland Foundation
The Loveland Foundation’s goal is to bring opportunity and healing to communities of color, and especially to Black women and girls, through fellowships, residency programs, therapy vouchers, and more.
Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation provides support and brings awareness to mental health issues in the Black community.
BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health)
Aimed at removing the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing through education, training, advocacy, and the creative arts.
Black in Mental Health
Black in Mental Health highlights resources and media that focus on Black excellence in mental health fields throughout the world.
Sharing Hope
NAMI’s program to increase mental health awareness in Black communities. It’s an hour-long presentation people can put on that addresses topics like stigma, symptoms, etc.
Sista Afya
Sista Afya provides young adult Black women with mental wellness education, resource connection, and community support that empowers them to take charge of their mental well-being.
Racial Trauma and Suicide Prevention:
The Center for Healing Racial Trauma
The Center for Healing Racial Trauma offers services and trainings designed to heal racially/ethnically marginalized people from Racism.
National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide
NOPCAS serves as the only national organization of its kind addressing the issue of suicide prevention and intervention, specifically in communities of color.
Community:
The Confess Project
The Confess Project is a National Grassroots Movement committed to building a culture of mental health for boys, men of color, and their families.
The Okra Project
The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home-cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People.
Health and Wellness:
Black Girls Breathing
Black Girls Breathing™ is a safe space for Black womxn to actively manage their mental health through breathwork and community.
Black Women’s Health Imperative
The Black Women’s Health Imperative is the first nonprofit organization created by Black women to help protect and advance the health and wellness of Black women and girls.
LGBTQ2SIA+ Support:
G.L.I.T.S
G.L.I.T.S is a Black trans-led advocacy and direct services organization that is dedicated to fighting systemic discrimination against marginalized communities, in New York City and beyond.
Trans Women of Color Collective
Created to cultivate economic opportunities and affirming spaces for Trans people of color and their families, The Trans Women of Color Collective seeks to foster kinship, build community, and engage in healing and restorative justice through arts, culture, media, advocacy, and activism.
Directories:
Black Mental Health Alliance
The Black Mental Health Alliance provides information and resources and a “Find a Therapist” locator to connect with a culturally competent mental health professional.
Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
Open Path Psychotherapy Collective is a non-profit nationwide network of mental health professionals dedicated to providing middle and lower-income level individuals, couples, families, and children with access to affordable psychotherapy and mental health education services. (cost range from $30-$60 for individual sessions).
Therapy for Black Girls
Offers a 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.
Therapy for Black Men
Therapy for Black Men is a dedicated resource for Black men seeking and finding mental health support. They provide targeted resources and a database filled with professionals equipped to support men of color.
The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN)
The NQTTCN focuses on providing mental health resources and advocacy for queer and trans people of color, offering a directory of culturally competent practitioners who understand and respect their diverse identities and experiences.
Research and History:
ASALH
The Study of African American Life and History promotes Black History Month in honor of Dr. Carter G. Woodson who initiated the celebration of Negro History Week, which in 1976 expanded to include the entire month of February. This website celebrates the study of African American History.
African American Older Adults and Race-Related Stress
The American Psychological Association has gathered resources that detail what race-related stress is and how it affects African American older adults. Also shares what health providers can do to help, and additional resources.
28 Days of Black History
A virtual exhibition of 28 works that celebrate Black legacy in the United States throughout the month of February. This exhibition centers on the voices of Black LGBTQ2SIA+ leaders and Black leaders with disabilities. A new newsletter is delivered each evening via email.
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) focuses on understanding what racism is, where it comes from, how it functions, why it persists, and how it can be undone. “Our workshops utilize a systemic approach that emphasizes learning from history, developing leadership, maintaining accountability to communities, creating networks, undoing internalized racial oppression, and understanding the role of organizational gatekeeping as a mechanism for perpetuating racism.”
Civil Rights Support:
BLKHLTH
BLKHLTH critically engages and challenges racism and its impact on Black health through workshops and trainings, practice-based consulting, community health events, and digital media.
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