Black Men and Mental Health - Part 2

Last week we discussed how distrust of the medical establishment and stigma around psychological concerns being a sign of weakness have tended to keep Black men from seeking mental health care. In a 2016 study of Black men who were experiencing mental health challenges, research found that ideas about Black masculinity worsened psychological and emotional challenges like depression, anxiety, and PTSD experienced by the men in the study and decreased the likelihood of those men seeking help. Thankfully, despite the continued disparities, there is a growing cultural shift in awareness of the importance of mental healthcare for Black men as well as increased emphasis on culturally competent and trauma-informed care that address the unique mental health concerns of Black men.

For Black men who are still struggling with how or whether to seek help with their mental health, Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and the director of the Program for Research on Anxiety Disorders Among African Americans at Kent State University in Ohio and Barbara Shabazz, PsyD, a psychologist in Virginia Beach, Virginia, offer these 5 tips:

1. You have nothing to prove. Mental health care, like all other aspects of health care, is necessary self care and it’s personal. You don’t have to worry about proving anything to anyone when it comes to taking care of your mental and physical wellbeing. Taking time to ensure that you are at your best allows you to better meet other obligations in your life.

2. Treatment, in all its forms, is entirely confidential. It is difficult to share deep emotional parts of ourselves. However, it is important to remember that all mental health professionals are ethically and legally bound to maintain the confidentiality of their clients and can lose their licensure if they fail to do so.

3. You can pick your mental health professional. Therapy requires trust between you and your therapist. You need to feel comfortable in order to allow yourself to be vulnerable. Like dating or finding new friends, choosing a therapist can involve some trial and error but, ultimately, you get to decide what feels and works best for you. This guide can help with finding the right therapist for you.

4. There is no shame in seeking treatment. Asking for help is one of the bravest things anyone can do.

5. Counseling, therapy, and psychiatric treatment are not for “crazy” people. Therapy is for everyone. You do not have to have a big reason. The only prerequisite for seeking therapy is that you want therapy. Please don't think that you need to wait until you are in crisis before seeking therapy. In fact, therapy is a good way to build your coping skills and address concerns before they become debilitating.