Mental health in the Black community has become less taboo than ever before, but we still have a long way to go. In this month’s episode, we discuss the personal—our individual experiences with therapy and mental health—along with the public—the visibility of mental health struggles in public figures like Simone Biles. Later, mental health therapist Dr. Lawrence Jackson joins us to discuss the wide range of topics and emotions that show up in therapy for Black people. Finally, we wrap things up by comparing the depictions of therapy sessions in TV shows Girlfriends and Insecure to see if mental health depictions shifted generationally or stayed the same.

Notes:

Black And African American Communities And Mental Health
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health

How diverse is the psychology workforce?
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint

National Alliance on Mental Illness - Black/African American
https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/Black-African-American

The Extra Stigma of Mental Illness for African-Americans
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/well/mind/black-mental-health.html

Young Black athletes are launching a mental health revolution
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/young-black-athletes-are-launching-mental-health-revolution-rcna1490

Exclusive poll: Americans care about Olympians' mental health
https://www.axios.com/olympics-mental-health-simone-biles-axios-momentive-poll-748bc171-e342-4dd0-a192-e568e6893f19.html

An Appreciation of Molly’s Therapist’s Office on Insecure
https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/insecure-molly-therapist-office.html

Where to find Dr. Lawrence Jackson (The Black Male Therapist)
https://theblackmaletherapist.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theblackmaletherapist/
https://twitter.com/blacktherapyfri

Girlfriends Episodes (Available on Netflix)
Season 2, Episode 1: "The Fallout"
Season 2, Episode 2: "Just Say No"
Season 4, Episode 14: "Leggo My Ego"
Season 4, Episode 16: "On The Couch"
Season 4, Episode 21: "Just the Three of Us"

Insecure Episodes (Available on HBO)
Season 1, Episode 7: "Real as Fuck"
Season 2, Episode 1: "Hella Great"
Season 2, Episode 2: "Hella Questions"
Season 4, Episode 9: "Lowkey Trying"