Publications & Reviews
Brilliant minds have seen a need for cultural competence and intersectionality in a discipline that is already supposed to know that what makes each human unique shapes everything that she does in her life. These brief reviews on some publications show why holistic mental health in the Black community is gaining momentum and why it is crucial to healing.
Changing Views on Mental Health in the Black Community
TedTalk by Chante Meadows
TedTalk is a quintessential platform for providing a diverse selection of people with the opportunity to present valuable information. This installment was no exception. As a black female mental health therapist, Meadows effectively demonstrates her personal investment in the topic as she urges others to take up the task of destigmatizing therapy and mental health. Her overall goal seemed to be advocacy, but with the demographics that watch TedTalk, I wonder if the group she was attempting to reach, was truly reached. Do the black people that she refers to as “hurt people” who are in need of therapy overlap with the audience who watch this TedTalk (Meadows, Changing Views). Still, there is an underlying subtext for her talk was that “everybody needs a therapist” and not because they’re “crazy” or “tripping” but because mental health should “be treated like physical health” (Meadows, Changing Views).
Black Mental Health Podcast 018: Therapy Saved My Life
Hosted by Reginald A. Howard
This podcast was effective in bringing a solutions-oriented nonprofit organization, Black Men Heal, onto the show and emphasizing the importance of action. What Black Men Heal does very closely aligns with what Austin Area African American Behavioral Health Network does and it further validates the importance of organizations such as these. To a reader curious about why Black Holistic Mental Health is a topic worth centering discourse around, this podcast is insightful. It was very organic, and authentic. Howard guides the discussion as the guest traverses topics from trauma and causes of mental illness for black people to the goals and missions of the organization. But unlike many other sources, this discussion does not stop at simply bringing the problem to light, it transitions into how to heal and why healing needs to take place. As effective and refreshing as this podcast was for Black Mental Health, the holistic approach could have been executed with greater attention to detail. The host briefly mentioned his use of meditation and journaling to preserve his mental wellness but it was not discussed in detail and it certainly was far from the focus of the podcast.
“A New Approach to Mental Health”
An article by Arlana Shikongo
Shikongo constructs a well-written analysis of Dr.Cartman and his volunteerism. The inclusion of a brief video narrated by Dr. Cartman himself about what he does and why he does it, culminates in a beautiful profile about a black male psychologist taking what he was taught about psychology and using it to help his community, specifically Black boys, who are the most in need of mental health services. Even just the decision to entitle the video “A New Approach to Mental Wellness” shows the commitment to Holistic Mental Health. The phrase mental wellness indicates a state of total being for an individual that allows them to function in their day to day lives and underscores the totality of how Dr. Cartman uses psychology in a transformative manner. “His work leans into restorative justice, the idea being that mental and criminal rehabilitation can come from personal and community reconciliation. It is inspired by a drive to find alternative ways of having these discussions,” (Shikongo). The use of a multimedia method, a written article and a video, to present his work is emphatic of the purpose of the organization itself. “‘Restorative justice allows me to be in schools and use misbehavior, these “incidents” in schools as opportunities to have these conversations about social and emotional development in ways that the schools traditionally don’t,’ he explained,” (Shikongo). This article fulfills a need to bring the stories of black men healing black youth to the forefront in a way that is inviting and encouraging of discovery to those looking to learn more about holistic mental health for Black people.
Misconceptions of Depression in African Americans
An article from the Academic Journal Frontiers in Psychiatry by Zohaib Sohail, Rahn Kennedy Bailey and William D. Richie
With what seems to be either intent or at least self-awareness, this article fails to adequately address any misconceptions of Depression in African Americans. “Although this lacks empirical data to substantiate its effectiveness, it serves as a means for setting a framework for future thought on this issue” (Sohail et. al). To deal with the inconsistently of being an academic journal that offers no novel information Sohail et al. reject the notion that their article in and of itself an informative piece about depression in African Americans, rather they claim they wish to encourage discourse. “Our goal is to draw attention toward more evidenced-based approaches to broaden understanding of diagnostic and management modalities” (Sohail et. al). This article is “an attempt to organize [their] thoughts on misdiagnoses and under treatment of depression in African Americans” (Sohail et al.). However, it’s attempt to mobilize itself as a call to action for the exploration of depression in African Americans seems overzealous.
Holistic Medicine and Mental Health Practice: Toward a New Synthesis
An article from the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry by James S. Gordon
This article effectively underlines the importance of holism in mental health care. As an academic journal, this article functions exactly as a reader would expect it to. It seems driven by a general curiosity about what holistic medicine is as well as a more subliminal motive to encourage appreciation for Holism’s place in the healthcare field, where it once belonged until it was ostracized.