We know that opening up about mental health issues can save a life. While the stigma around the issue can often be swept under the rug in our communities, we are proud to know that there are institutions, organizations and individuals who are committed to helping us with this internal battle.

In honor of #WorldMentalHealthDay, we’ve complied a list of Black owned and focused mental health resources.

[Interested in having your practice or offering added to the list? Email Melissa – [email protected], Sub: Mental Health Resource]

Alabama

Dr. Eliza Belle – A Black licensed psychologist working in administration in a state psychiatric hospital as well as the owner of a private clinical practice in Birmingham, Alabama. Working to erase the negative stigma of mental illness (especially in the Black community) is her life’s passion, and she has committed to helping those in need to heal and grow.

 

California

Family Paths – (formerly Parental Stress Service) A non-profit organization of mental health professionals and dedicated volunteers that provides a number of mental health and supportive services to low income, multi-stressed individuals and families in Alameda County of the San Francisco Bay Area. Services include a 24-hour Parent Support Hotline, a Foster Parent Advice Line, CalWORKs Case Management, Positive Parenting Classes, and Family Yoga. They also provide counseling for children, adolescents, adults and families.

DMV (District Of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia)

AAKOMA (African American Knowledge Optimized for Mindfully Healthy Adolescents) –  Addresses the depression and other mental health needs of African American and youth of color by developing and implementing rigorous, culturally relevant, patient centered, community-engaged research and clinical care. Dr. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble is the Director of The AAKOMA Project and is also the Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Georgetown University Medical Center.

Harvesting Hope, LLC – A youth and family services program sowing seeds of hope in the community.  It works with a local high school to provide mentoring and peer leadership skills to the next generation of leaders and providing community based training opportunities to local youth and families in partnership with local community agencies.

SMR Counseling Services, Burtonsville, MD – SMR serves the needs of those who desire professional therapy outside traditional appointment hours and settings. Offices are located in Burtonsville, Maryland; Waldorf, Maryland; and Washington, D.C. The practice also serves as a training ground for those who desire to enter the field of counseling.

Synergy Wellness Therapeutic Services – Dr. Deidra A. Sorrell is a licensed professional counselor with 17 years of experience as a school psychologist in the DC public school system. She currently serve children, adults and families.

TherapyWorks by Angela Hill LLC – Angela has over 18 years experience in the field of counseling and therapy. Here passion is to support, assist, and empower individuals and families to live their best lives and have access to all community resources.

https://www.ebony.com/wellness-empowerment/mental-sanity-preservation#axzz4MhmCUti6
Click The Pic To Read Mental Floss: What I Do to Preserve My Mental Sanity

Florida

Coach Debbie Motivates – A focus on Existentialism, Art Therapy, Mindfulness, Infant Mental Health, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Epigenetics, and raising awareness to decrease stigma in our communities.

Florida Social Solutions – Founded in Orlando by Zeta Connor and her fiancé,  a Christian couple who not only believes in the power of God, and prayer, but also upholds a firm belief that with determination, the impossible CAN become possible. It provides clinical and case management services for individuals that struggle to gain self-sufficiency due to manifesting mental health disorders.

Georgia

Heal With Crystal – Dr. Crystal Jones serves to hold space for transformative processes. In birth, she holds space as a holistic doula. In healing, she serves as an intuitive chiropractic healer. In transitions, she serves as an agent for intentional manifestation.

Illinois 

Changing Perspectives – A multidisciplinary behavioral health care practice centered on the evaluation of mental disorders, diagnostics, and preventative health care services from a multicultural perspective. Their mission is to help clients become a better version of themselves through empathy, understanding, and holistic mental health care.

Thriving with Baby – A new family support community ran by Nicole Woodcox Bolden M.S.W and her husband. Nicole is a social worker specializing in perinatal mental health (i.e Postpartum depression & Anxiety) and family coaching.

Louisiana

Small Talk Counseling & Consulting, LLC – The mission of Small Talk Counseling & Consulting Services is to provide quality therapeutic, educational, and social support services to individual adults, couples, families, and organizations through genuine, interpersonal and collaborative relationships and detailed personalized care.

african american teen depression consoled
Click Here To Read Suicide Rates For Black Children

New York

Counseling Space – A social work practice that aims to improve the quality of life for individuals  and communities who struggle with mental health conditions. Founded by Leslie M. Garcia, who has over 15 years of experience, it specializes in culturally aware and culturally competent-based services.

The Black Psychiatrists of Greater New York & Associates – A multi-cultural organization that seeks to expand access to psychiatric care for people of African descent and all people who are under-served.

North Carolina

SOLAY Counseling – Founded by Dr. Kamala Uzzell, is a private mental health practice with offices in two cities in North Carolina. One focus of the practice is providing accessible services for persons of color.  Dr. Uzzell is a licensed professional counselor supervisor and adjunct professor of counseling and psychology with 17 years of professional therapy experience.

Tennessee

Healing Hearts Counseling Center – An innovative client-centered counseling treatment for individuals who are in need of a safe place to heal. Its mental health professionals have extensive experience and have received hands on training  treating a diverse spectrum of issues including complex trauma, sex addiction & intimacy issues, love addiction, depression & other mood disorders, anxiety, grief and loss.

Texas

Finding The Foundation – Finding the Foundation was founded by Alisha Woodall, a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor with years of experience in client support. Her experience has exposed her to a broad selection of people, including adolescents and juveniles, adults, couples, as well as family systems and people suffering from addictions.

Online Resources

Unapologetically Us – Unapologetically Us, launched in 2014is a lifestyle brand and online community designed for Black women. In this digital space, our platform is to responsibly inform, foster creativity and engage in thoughtful dialogue.

Click The Pic To Read Depression and the Black Superwoman Syndrome
Click The Pic To Read Depression and the Black Superwoman Syndrome

Educational Materials, Books and Podcasts

A Fight Worth Finishing – Written by mental health advocate and self help book author Jasmin Pierre, this book is based on her experiences with major depressive disorder and suicide, This two part series is written to encourage others to never give up, no matter the adversity and to always keep fighting till the finish.

Alice Berry is an artist and clinical counselor who specializes in the mental health challenges that artists and creatives face. She authored a study about African American artists and mental health, found here.

Black Disabled Woman Syllabus –  A living document that lists imperative information and resources about the Black disabled woman’s experience to educate, inform, and empower the public about the plight of this triple minority group including the areas of mental health and stigma.

Black Families In Therapy: Understanding the African American Experience

Highwater PodcastThe Artist’s Guide To Mental Health episode and Poet and Mental Health Advocate Bassey Ikpi #NoShameDay episode.

Relish Culinary Therapy – A blog founded by Kiara Whack that teaches people how to preserve your mental stability by implementing proper holistic nutrition. Recipes, food news, and other information about how to use food as medicine so we don’t have to frequent the doctor is present.

Rivers Are Coming – A classic compilation of essays and poems on healing from emotional wounds inflicted by depression and trauma, and celebrating the survival of being lost and discovering ones ability to live wholeheartedly. Author Minaa B. uses the river as a metaphor to solicit change, and extends an invitation to welcome the power of uncertainty into the lives of people so that we can be introduced to love, hope and healing, and to progress in an upward trajectory.

Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales Of Epic Humiliation by Aisha Tyler

The Siwe Project – A global non-profit started by Bassey Ikpi dedicated to promoting mental health awareness throughout the global black community. The goal of the organization is to widen the public dialogue regarding the lived experiences of people of African Descent with mental illness. By providing opportunities for dialogue and the uplifting of new narratives and discourse, The Siwe Project aims to encourage more people to seek treatment without shame.


Melissa Kimble is the Senior Social Media Manager for the EBONY brand. An advocate for Black Creatives via #blkcreatives, you can connect with her on Twitter at @Melissa_Kimble.