Black Mental Health Matters

By To Write Love on Her ArmsJune 2, 2020

Black lives matter. And that means Black mental health has to matter too. We have learned from the Black Emotional And Mental Health Collective that “Black people are 7 times more likely to live in areas with limited access to mental health care. There is a shortage of black mental health providers, and only a third of Black people who need mental health services receive treatment.”

We’ve talked about the mental health effects of systemic racism and discrimination. We have to keep talking about it. Today we’re sharing mental health resources created by and for Black people.

We know this list represents some but not all of the resources available. If you have one you’d like to recommend, we’d love to know about it. Please email information and links to us at [email protected].


Black Mental Health Resources

TWLOHA’s Treatment & Recovery Scholarships

These funds represent a collective belief that all people should have access to professional mental health care. This application is open to anyone regardless of race or ethnicity, but if you are a person of color facing financial barriers we encourage you to apply here. We can also help you connect with a therapist in your community.

Black Therapists + Resources

Therapy For Black Girls
Therapy for Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls. They also offer a referral tool to find a therapist in your local community.

Inclusive Therapists
Inclusive Therapists offers a safer, simpler way to find a culturally responsive, social justice-oriented therapist. We center the needs of marginalized populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, the LGBTQ+ community, neurodivergent folx, and people with disabilities.

Black Emotional and Mental Health (BEAM) Virtual Therapist Network
BEAM is now offering an online directory of licensed Black therapists who are certified to provide telemental health services.

Therapy for Black Men
Therapy For Black Men is a directory to help men of color in their search for a therapist. Using the directory, men can search by therapist location and specialization. Searching by location, the results will include the therapists near you and will display their credentials, location, and the issues they treat.

Black Female Therapists
Black Female Therapists (BFT) is a lifestyle and empowerment platform for women of color. This platform was created to promote, inspire, and elevate other black female therapists and create a safe space for black mental health. Not only is it a place to connect but also a safe place for black women to discuss their mental health and wellness journey and learn new strategies to live a better life.

Association of Black Psychologists
This listing comprises Psychologists who are members of The Association of Black Psychologists who own and operate their own private practice business or are employed as therapists, and have elected to participate in this directory.

Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
Open Path Psychotherapy Collective is a non-profit nationwide network of mental health professionals dedicated to providing in-office mental health care—at a steeply reduced rate—to individuals, couples, children, and families in need. When using the Find a Therapist tool, you can find Black therapists by updating the Ethnic Speciality filter. Open Path therapists provide affordable, in-office and online psychotherapy sessions between $30 and $60.

Ayana Therapy
The Ayana Therapy app strives to address the strong lack of engagement between minorities and the mental health care industry which arises as a result of cost, stigma, and lack of cultural competency. We help match users with licensed professionals that share their unique traits, values, and sensibilities.

Black Therapists Rock
Black Therapists Rock’s mission is to increase awareness of social and psychological issues impacting vulnerable communities and reduce stigma related to mental health. They offer a directory to find Black therapists and mental health providers.

The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color
The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) is a healing justice organization that actively works to transform mental health for queer and trans people of color in North America. They also offer a directory that helps queer and trans people of color locate queer and trans people of color mental health practitioners as well as offering a scholarship fund.

LGBTQ Psychotherapists of Color – San Francisco, CA
QTOC is a San Francisco/Bay Area grassroots, volunteer-led group providing support, networking, leadership development, and community building opportunities for LGBTQs of Color in Psychology, Social Work, and Counseling. They also provide a therapist directory for in-person and virtual counseling.

Psychology Today
If you need help finding an African American therapist, Psychology Today offers a search tool matched on zip code or city.

Black Mental Health Organizations

Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness – Chicago, IL
Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness has a mission to sustain the mental wellness of Black women through building community, sharing information, and connecting Black women to quality mental wellness services.

Healhaus – Brooklyn, NY
Wellness center in Brooklyn NY offering classes, mindfulness exercises, and online classes, workshops, and private sessions.

Ethel’s Club
Digital membership club focused empowering people of color in wellness, culture, and creativity.

The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
The vision is to eradicate the stigma around mental health issues in the African American community. Through their partnerships, the foundation will ensure cultural competency in caring for African Americans who struggle with mental illness by providing scholarships to African-American students who seek a career in the mental health field; offer mental health services and programs to young people in urban schools; and combat recidivism within the prison system.

Sad Girls Club
An online platform and in real life community created to bring girls together who are battling mental illnesses. There are three goals that stand at the forefront of their work—Remove the negative stigma integrated in mental health conversations. Provide mental health services to girls who do not have access to therapy and treatment. Create in real-life safe spaces that build a community for young women to know—they are not alone.

Thank You For Breathing
Bridging the gap between personal + community responsibility: comment section to IRL. The Breathing Space is now home to an audience made up of individuals, like-minded and un-like minded, invested in each other’s lived experiences, partaking in candid discourse; safely, openly, and freely.

Loveland Foundation
Loveland Therapy Fund provides financial assistance to Black women and girls seeking therapy.

Melanin & Mental Health
Melanin & Mental Health was born out of a desire to connect individuals with culturally competent clinicians committed to serving the mental health needs of Black & Latinx/Hispanic communities. They are committed to promoting the growth and healing of our communities through our website, online directory, and monthly events.

If you’re interested in personal stories regarding Black mental health, read “An Open Letter to Black Women About Mental Health”

Disclaimer: Although TWLOHA believes in the power of professional help, you are responsible for selecting the provider or treatment. TWLOHA cannot accept responsibility for any of the services provided by these or any other providers.

Leave a Reply

Comments (14)

  1. Vicky Tench

    Thank you for providing this list and lending your platform toward this fight for equality and justice. It is met first time hearing of most of these organizations. 🙂

    Reply  |  
    1. TWLOHA

      Vicky,

      We wish we had made this list and these services known sooner. We’re glad you were able to find them through us. Thank you for being here.

      With Hope,
      TWLOHA

      Reply  |  
  2. Tierra Paulus

    Thank you for doing this and everything else that you do.

    Reply  |  
  3. Steve McCrea

    This is a great list!
    I have to say, though, I was a little disappointed that the article did not directly deal with the QUALITY of services provided even in situations where a “culturally competent” therapist is available. There are issues regarding the entire setup of the mental health system which involve systematic racism and classism from the very definitions of “mental disorders” on up. I am hoping to see The Mighty address this issue head on at some point, because providing the same-old, same-old provided by a black therapist/psychiatrist certainly doesn’t address the systematic issues I’m referring to.

    It looks like a large number of these practitioners do in fact take these issues into account – perhaps one of them can provide an article on how they approach black/minority clients who are suffering but for whom the standard “mental health” approach is not effective or is even destructive. I would find it very interesting to read about what is different when trying to help a population that is systematically oppressed by our social systems and institutions, including the mental health system itself.

    Reply  |  
    1. TWLOHA

      Hi Steve,

      We appreciate your input and share your concern. We will be featuring an article on our blog next week titled “An Invitation to White therapists” that hopefully begins to address some of the issues you brought up. Beyond that, our team continues to search for resources that we hope can be a starting point for Black people to access mental health services. If you have more insight to offer, we would love to hear from you. You can email our team at [email protected] specifically.

      With Hope,
      TWLOHA

      Reply  |  
  4. Matthew Erwin

    Hello!
    My names matt, I’m a intern therapist (I have a degree just working on getting licensed) here in south Florida. I’d love to help anyway I can, not sure what I can do but I am eager to help.

    Reply  |  
  5. Savita Carothers

    My name is Savita Carothers and I am a Black Licensed Marriage Family Therapist / woman working in the Ventura County area and want to know what I can do to highlight this systemic racism & discrimination that is so prevalent in the Ventura County area? Please let me know if you have any additional resources, how can I emphasize this historical problem to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors or or how I can support people of color more within this predominately White culture within behavioral health system?

    Reply  |  
    1. TWLOHA

      Hi Savita!

      Thank you so much for commenting and reaching out, and for being willing to do what you can to address systemic racism in your community/area. Would you email your message and any other relevant information to us at [email protected]? We’ll do our best to answer your questions there.

      With Hope,
      TWLOHA

      Reply  |  
  6. Mackenzie Littledale

    It’s the HUGE gap in mental illness/health recovery stories that I wrote a novel (This Darkness is Mine). It’s still in manuscript form and I’m currently seeking a literary agent. I’ve noticed an absence from bookstore and library shelves of recent fiction from a black female perspective on getting an unwanted diagnosis and struggling to come to terms with it. Thank you for this article and all these amazing resources available to us. (Twitter @mackenzielitt13. Facebook @mackenzielittledalewriter). I’ve bookmarked this page for future reference. Much appreciation.

    Reply  |  
  7. Liliana

    Hola mi depre me tiene aburrida y estoy perdiendo mi familia

    Reply  |  
    1. TWLOHA

      Hola amigo,

      Lamentamos saber que estás luchando. Tenga en cuenta que hay esperanza y ayuda, y que usted es digno de ambos. ¿Nos enviará un correo electrónico a [email protected] para que podamos aprender más sobre su historia y ofrecerle apoyo?

      Con esperanza,
      TWLOHA

      Reply  |  
  8. Luna Sofia Anaya

    ❗❗❗❗

    Reply  |  
  9. Damla

    Cannot believe people going through hard times like these

    Reply  |  
  10. Karah

    Even just being an onlooker I saw mistreatment to a black women once while we were roommates in the in-patient psych ward at the hospital. She got there because of an altercation of her mother in law trying to break in, she got so distressed that she hurt herself. (No bandaid even needed) but the cops had been called and they brought her in and she was unwillingly admitted. A young first time mom, who’s baby was only a few weeks old, facing a family altercation. I’m no expert but that spelled postpartum depression. The dr gave her sleeping pills and she stayed in for a week confused and just wanting to go home to her baby. Black women have a higher rate of having preeclampsia and bad birth help so traumatic times, this is an area specific that could be of great value I believe.

    Reply  |  
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