black mental health & Black THERAPISTS book list

5/23/2022

This post is dedicated to Dr. Mikal N. Rasheed, a great therapist and friend who lived October 7, 1943-July 7, 2021. He helped countless patients which included close friends and family members. I am thankful for the gift he brought forth to the world in service of the common man and woman. At the end of this post, I've included a list of the books he and his lovely wife have written.

Focus on Black Mental Health

Black mental health was brought center stage when Simone Biles became the 4th Black athlete in the Olympic Games (2020-2021) to decline to participate for some of her routines due to mental health reasons. Though it's widely accepted that taking personal time or as so ably put by Heather Hedley in her, "Me Time" is essential to maintaining good health, athletes are held to even higher standards.

Athletes are projected in the media as being teflon coated super-humans with nerves of steel. Adjectives like indestructible, and invincible are often used to describe those who perform fantastic feats. The superwoman and superman syndrome is bantered about and worn like a badge of honor. And for Black people, the myths are magnified. Ideas of our ability to withstand pain have long been misrepresented. In the book, “Medical Apartheid,” scores of the enslaved were not given anaestesia when undergoing operations because in part it was believed we didn’t feel pain. This mindset has been carried over into today’s society when others respond to the athlete’s call for help with taunts and jokes as Olympic athlete Simone Biles was when she took a mental health break from part of the Tokoyo Olympic 2020-2021 Games.

Thankfully, there are authors who have written for the casually curious all the way to college level student therapists who will find great information specifically on how and when to get Mental Health services for the Black community.

Books on Black Mental Health

Olympic women’s shot put thrower Raven Saunders revealed that she was depressed and had childhood trauma effecting her performance. There’s an excellent mini-documentary video that describes her journey. Her nickname of “Hulk” added to her persona of being able to conquer the world in spite of any internal challenges. Going from suicide ideation to Olympic silver medalist is testament to the beneficial role that mental health services can provide. View more about her life in a mini documentary on Youtube.

The Black community, however is hesitant to ask for mental health services. It is an unfortunate side effect of years of mistreatment by doctors and a stigma associated with being considered “crazy” or “touched.” It is well known that society at large does not have a realistic view of what it is like to live with a mental illness, no thanks to the media’s role in socializing this. According to, “How the Stigma of Mental Health Is Spread by Mass Media,” Naveed Saleh, MD, MS, says the media can downplay its effects or portray symptoms of a disease like depression with a broad brush.

When Japanese and Haitian heritage tennis sensation Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French open citing depression and anxiety in her twitter feed. I was glad to hear Black doctor Dr. Jen Caudle who has also suffered from anxiety applaud Osaka for taking a stand for herself and bringing more attention to a topic many feel ashamed to admit. Dr. Caudle even admitted in her video it was the first time she revealed her challenge with the disease publicly based in part because Osaka did.

“Noone really knows all the sacrifices
that you make just to be good.”
Naomi Osaka

As an observer of the benefits of mental health services specifically with Black therapists, I’ve learned quite a bit. Understanding the distinction between psychiatric doctors and psychologists was of major importance. Psychiatrists prescribe medication and psychologists focus on useful communication tools and techniques to process thought. Dr. Rasheed was a psychologist. He was able to instantly bond with his patients. He also made sure that the environment was filled with calm by providing soft aromatic scents and soothing music in his office. As a Black therapist, he was able to understand the role racism may play in influencing stress and well-being. In my opinion, there’s no substitute for being able to relate to someone who has had first hand experience with racism from this perspective. Even the most well-intentioned without that experience will find it challenging to fully understand. Of course each person has to decide based on the importance and sensitivity of their issues which skill set is most important for their therapist to have. Just as some women may prefer a female gynecologist if sexually abused, a Black male may prefer a Black male psychologist if suffering from the effects of a racist attack. There’s no right or wrong, there’s just what's best for the patient, makes the patient most comfortable and delivers the results they desire.

I am proud of all of the Olympic players who took a stand for their mental health. To have trained years in preparation and not be able to demonstrate your accomplishments is sure to have been one of the toughest decisions they’ve ever had to make as an athlete. I think it unfair to call the athlete a “quitter” as done so by Matt Walsh in his Youtube rant. Social media outlets have made it easier to breed what has been called, “armchair revolutionaries.” These are people who sit in the solitude of their homes and scream at their electronic screens without fear of reprisals or repercussions. It is a cowardly act of bullying at another level. I stand in solidarity with the athletes' actions.

Just pausing for a moment to reflect on the year leading up to the Olympics, we’re reminded of the world watching in horror as George Floyd was murdered. Certainly, this qualifies as trauma that may require mental health services to process through. If a shooter came into a school and shot up the school children, those who survived would be traumatized because they witnessed their friends dying before their very eyes. Though George Floyd was unknown to most prior to his murder, his community and others saw him as a fellow human being killed in cold blood without any signs of remorse or empathy from the offending officer. How are people healing after witnessing this trauma played over and over again on the news? Some are seeking out therapists, some are trying to withstand the pain and others may not be effected until a future unknown timeframe.

And then, of course there is the ongoing global pandemic starting in 2019 that has killed millions. The worst of its kind since the Spanish Flu pandemic over 100 years ago. The numbers that succumb to the disease are repeated every hour on the hour forcing the sadness of mortality to hang heavy in the hearts and minds of the people. Mental health service requests has been on the increase by 30% as reported by KFF website for national health issues in their Feb. 10th post called, "The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use."

But let us not forget over 400 years of the trauma of enslavement passed down for generations. What a wickedly potent cocktail this becomes for potential mental health strain. This is why books like, "The Isis Papers ; The Keys to the Colors," “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” or "Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit" are important to focus on the unique generational impacts. This should not be taken lightly. Just because some experiences are a common occurrence in society doesn’t mean they should be tolerated without some form of redress, especially if it weighs on the heart or mind. You'll find more information about Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, author of "The Isis Papers" in our previous blog post, "8 Black Women in History."

I was happy to welcome Dr. Rheeda Walker’s book, “The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve” onto a list like this when it was released in May 2020. She navigated throughout this complex web of stressors experienced by the Black community, validated them and offered solutions. She created a “Psychological Fortitude Meter,” so that people could measure for others where they are. This is a useful tool for those who may not be able to find the exact words to express why they feel as they do.
Youtube has a useful dialog with this author on The Breakfast Club.

Is it a wonder why some would need to take a time out? Is it a wonder why after back-to-back calamities added to the pressures of physical and mental strains of competition, that some would need to step back and breathe?

I think not.

And, thankfully, the mental health profession can specifically address issues like these. The year 2021 has brought forth a plethora of titles to choose from. Michelle Williams kicked off our first joint Black bookseller online book signing with her book, “Checking in: How Getting Real about Depression Saved My Life---And Can Save Yours.” She had dialog with a different celebrity for each of the 6 days. Celebrities like Tamar Braxton, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Chloe Bailey and Tabitha Brown were transparent in the challenges they faced in their careers, for example. I applaud her attempt to normalize sharing or “Checking In” with your friends and family for the Black community. I remember realizing what a yeoman's job she had to do in repackage this long-standing stigma and reputation the topic has.

One of the most important advice I received from Dr. Rasheed before he passed was how to interact with someone who has been diagnosed with a mental health illness. He said that instead of trying to jump in to save the day or give your two cents on what may be a hot topic, ask your friend or family member if they’ve discussed the issue with their therapist or suggest they see one. I was relived to put into practice this strategy because it doesn’t set the inexperienced person up to say something that could unwittingly trigger an emotional confrontation. Instead it redirects a potential accident to a path that a trained therapist will be able to address based on specific techniques and case history. The journey to healing is a process and it is best traversed by those trained to do so. It allows and enables the therapist to follow through with their plans and adjust if needed.

Many other suggestions are given in a new book called, "Black Mental Health Matters: The Ultimate Guide for Mental Health Awareness in the Black Community " by Aaren Snyder which came out in 2020. The book is less than $20 and gives a quick peep into some of the key definitions and real-life stories needed to get familiar with the mental health field.

In conclusion, I suggest that those looking for more information select a title to start with like, “The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve” for a better feel into the what questions to ask to find out more from your loved one or for yourself. Talk to friends or family to see if they know of a therapist they can recommend. As the saying goes, “it’s hard to see the full picture when you’re in the frame.” Getting an opinion and suggestions about how to handle your issue is a step for your own health and well being. It is a step more are getting comfortable taking and hopefully you will feel more comfortable too. You deserve it. Do not rest until you get the results you want.

Dr. Mikal Rasheed

The list of these his academic titles can be found below.

Additional Resources

Documentary on Raven Saunders on Youtube
MSNBC's, "Naomi Osaka Makes Us Come Face To Face With Mental Health Issues"

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