We Need More Black Mental Health Counselors

And this group can help make it happen.

May 23, 2024

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We often hear the advice: You should go to therapy.

But finding a therapist is hard. There are a lot of variables that can make it difficult to connect with someone in a counseling setting.

The therapist’s specific training and clinical approach. Whether they specialize in some of the issues you face. How much experience they have. Whether you feel comfortable opening up to them. Whether actually give sound advice and ask effective questions. And just the general vibe.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Black people face the added layer of gauging whether a potential counselor has a thorough understanding of racism and can help them work through the daily denigrations racism produces.

I use an online service for therapy where you have access to a network of professionals across the country.

I filled out the form indicating my preferences for a therapist: Christian, BIPOC, in a southern state, etc.

Since I lived in Arkansas they paired me with a counselor who lived in the same state and was a Christian.

She was also white.

Photo of hands of an African American woman gesturing in a counselor's office — Photo Credit: Getty Images

Having a white therapist is not, in itself, an issue. The problem was she had zero context for my strivings against racism.

I remember telling her about some of my public work with racial justice, and she said something to the effect of, “I love that! If we can learn not to make such a big deal about race, maybe we’d get along better.”

She was essentially espousing a colorblind ideology. Meanwhile, my work has been to help people become more color-conscious to expose biases and work toward a more equitable society.

I switched therapists after one session.

Thankfully, I ended up with a Black Christian woman who grew up in the South and understood my work as well as racial dynamics in the U.S.

But I’m fortunate.

Many, many other people struggle to find a race-conscious therapist trained to help heal the specific harm that racism causes.

And white people need therapists who are adept at navigating racial issues as well. While the harm may be different, white people need mental health therapy to address racism, too.

There’s a Foundation for That

There are problems with training and mentoring. There is also the problem of too few people of color in the mental health field.

We need more Black mental health counselors.

Thankfully, there’s an organization dedicated to supporting Black people to and through the process of becoming a licensed professional counselor.

It’s called the Black Mental Health Counselors Reparations Foundation.

The mission of BMHCR is to “empower and provide financial support to licensed, or licensed-eligible Black mental health counselors through student debt relief, supervision grants, and scholarships as a form of reparations.”

Part of their inspiration comes from my second book, How to Fight Racism.

I have a section called “Create a Pipeline of Mental Health Therapists of Color.” In it I suggested that “you or your church could contribute to scholarship funds for people of color interested in getting trained in mental health and therapy.”

Well, that’s precisely what the founders of BMHCR did.

On my Footnotes podcast, I spoke to Dr. Layla Bonner, Dr. Dr. DeAndrea N. Witherspoon Nash, and Rev. Dr. Danny Bryant about their organization and what they’re trying to do.

In this conversation you’ll hear about:

How the BMHCR started
How Christians have responded to the idea of reparations
What kind of work they do and what impact they’re having
No/low cost ways of improving your mental health
How you can get involved (make a DONATION)

We are mind-body-soul beings. If we neglect our mental health, then we experience less flourishing in life and have a diminished capacity to love ourselves and others.

Black people have endured the specific harm of racism for centuries. To break generational patterns of trauma, we must address the mental health challenges that come with surviving in a racist context. To do this, we must have more Black mental health counselors.