Blog

Welcome to The Black Youth Mental Health Initiative Blog

         Read our recaps of The Black Youth Mental Health Initiative Presentations

We Exist For You: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Black Youth

By: Nina Lanzillotta, Elisha Arnold, & Tessa McNaboe


Eliot, a 7th grader in Richmond, Virginia, kicked off the Black Youth Mental Health Initiative's (BYMHI) Black Joy in Community professional development series with a poignant statement – She said, "calling folks out is a skill I need to develop because suffering in silence is not good for our mental health." Her statement serves as a resounding call to action, reflecting the urgent need for mental health support for Black youth. Eliot’s speech, along with the statements of others during the event, underscored the critical need for Black youth mental health.


The Black Youth Mental Health Initiative 

Acknowledging the alarming disparities in mental health outcomes and the rising prevalence of suicidal ideations among Black youth, Dr. Renae Mayes (University of Arizona), Dr. Lauren Mims (NYU), and Dr. Paul Harris were awarded a $1.2 million dollar grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH). BYMHI is a collaborative community project that unites researchers, mental health experts, school districts, teachers, and community members with the aim of informing educational policies by reimagining what mental health support looks like for Black youth. BYMHI places particular emphasis on understanding the unique experiences and challenges experienced by the Richmond, Virginia community. 


The State of Black Youth Mental Health

During the first Black Joy in Community professional development event, attendees learned about the State of Black Youth Mental Health and specific resources in Richmond, VA available to support youth, as well as the caring and concerned adults who support them. This important discussion included insights from keynote speaker Dr. Shawn Jones and panelists Dr. Ram Bhagat, Dr. Erica Daniels, and Tiffany Goodman. 


Sawubona

Dr. Shawn Jones, Assistant Professor of Psychology at VCU and BYMHI Advisory Board Member, presented a keynote address that provided profound insights on the psychosocial well-being of Black youth in contemporary society. First, Dr. Jones described the paradox of hypervisibility that Black youth often experience—Black youth are hypervisible in some contexts and invisible in others. For example, he highlighted an alarming statistic illustrating hyper invisibility from the Department of Education (2016): Black children are 3.6 times more likely to be suspended than white children. He also described Black children’s invisibility: Black youth are less likely to have access to essential mental health supports. Throughout his presentation, Dr. Jones emphasized the vital importance of treating each child as a unique individual and ensuring they feel fully acknowledged, appreciated, and honored in their own identity. Specifically, he drew upon the Zulu word "Sawubona," which translates to "I see you." This term captures the essence of BYMHI, underscoring BYMHI’s commitment to recognizing and acknowledging the importance of Black youth thriving in all aspects of their lives. 

After, the event transitioned to a panel session with Dr. Ram Bhagat, Dr. Erica Daniels, Tiffany Goodman, and Dr. Paul Harris. Panelists shared several strategies and initiatives in Richmond, Virginia developed to support Black youth, including the creation of gun violence initiatives in schools, the establishment of spaces like wellness rooms, and opportunities to participate in restorative practices (e.g, breathwork and cultural celebrations) in and outside of school. Panelists also talked about the importance of designing interventions and supports for Black youth, as well as destigmatizing mental health discussions through transparent conversations.


Returning to Eliot’s Opening Address

However, it was Eliot, a young girl residing in Richmond, Virginia, who left the most profound impact on the webinar attendees. Her eloquent description about being a Black youth in contemporary society underscored the need for advocacy and support. In her five minute speech, Eliot highlighted the impact of race-related issues, such as learning about Breonna Taylor's death and experiencing daily racial microaggressions, on her mental health. She stated, "I think about how many things like that and worse that Black youth see on a daily basis that we just get used to seeing. Even though our bodies and our minds are taking a toll." Then, Eliot passionately implored us to act. She encouraged her peers to discuss their mental health experiences openly and advocated that everyone should go to therapy. Most importantly, she asked every adult to involve youth in events and conversations about mental health. She shared that she thinks, "young people would be more honest about how we are feeling if there are more spaces where we can talk about it."  


Eliot's call to action, along with the insights from Dr. Jones and the other panelists, reminds us that we must strive to create spaces where Black children can share their experiences and be heard. Policies regarding Black youth mental health have evolved over time, shaped by newer and more profound research, and we must all stand in solidarity to nurture and support Black children’s mental health and wellbeing. 


To watch the 2 hour session, please visit: https://vimeo.com/868410580/c9db339d20?share=copy. 

It Takes a Village: Practical Steps in Supporting Black Youth’s Mental Health

By: Gabrielle Sylvester and Elisha Arnold


During the second edition of the Black Joy in Community Series on November 8th, 2023, we had the honor of hearing from the inspiring youth speaker, Nona. Courageously, she shared her personal experiences with mental health challenges, providing a narrative that resonated with the daily struggles encountered by many Black youth navigating various stressors. Nona's story deeply resonated, emphasizing the urgency for practitioners, clinicians, educators, and parents to recognize signs of mental health challenges and offer support. In response to this imperative, Dr. Paul Harris delivered a keynote address, presenting practical and actionable steps to identify mental health challenges among Black youth. Dr. Harris’ insights are especially valuable, addressing a common difficulty faced by parents and community networks in effectively supporting their children's mental health. This is particularly crucial given the disparities in mental health treatment and the externalization of mental health symptoms in different ways for Black youth. There is also the underrepresentation of Black mental health professionals, contributing to the under and misdiagnosis of Black youth. It is essential to listen to the experiences of Black youth and empower parents, caregivers, and community networks to advocate for the mental health needs of Black youth. Dr. Harris’ keynote can be broken down into three sections: 


 Recognizing signs and symptoms: Dr. Paul Harris begins by emphasizing the significance of identifying signs and symptoms of mental health issues in Black youth. It is crucial to acknowledge and take prompt action. By observing persistent changes in behavior and mood, we can initiate the first crucial steps in identifying potential mental health challenges. Dr. Harris urges us to pinpoint specific signs, laying the groundwork for proactive support of mental health.


Disparities in Mental Health for Black Youth: In discussing the mental health challenges of Black youth, Dr. Harris focused on depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and psychotic disorders. He highlighted the issues of underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis. With regard to misdiagnosis, Black children are disproportionately diagnosed with conduct, disruptive, and impulse-control disorders. Clinicians lacking the cultural competence to interpret the behaviors of Black youth within their sociocultural context place stigmatized labels on them that lead to dissociation within educational environments.


Actionable Steps to Support: Finally, Dr. Paul Harris outlines practical steps for schools and families to proactively enhance the mental well-being of Black youth. Recognizing the urgency of early intervention to prevent self-harm and harm to others, he underscores the importance of fostering a supportive community environment. His recommendations encompass encouraging students to seek assistance from school counselors, advocating for improved mental health resources in schools, and emphasizing the significance of affordable crisis stabilization services, weekly counseling sessions, and support groups. Dr. Harris also stresses the creation of safe spaces for Black youth to openly share their struggles without judgment and highlights the value of community program involvement, such as the YMCA. Implementing these actionable tips can lead to community members actively supporting Black youth. Black youth confront heightened challenges to their mental well-being due to structural oppression. While adopting adaptive strategies in response to stressors, it is crucial for the community to commit to addressing this issue to provide the best support for our youth.


If you would like to watch the recording, please visit https://vimeo.com/874860504/b56270d616?share=copy 

Helping Black Men and Boys Find Their Joy: Providing Counseling to Boys and Men of Color: Culturally Sensitive Theory & Practice

Written by: Nina Lanzillotta

Edited by: Shantina Washington


For the third edition of the Black Youth Mental Health Initiative, we had the honor of hearing from a youth speaker named Devonte and licensed Mental Health Practitioner James Harris. They discussed the barriers that make it difficult for Black boys and men to receive mental health support and provided solutions on how we can better support and affirm Black boys and men on their mental health journey. High School Junior initiated the conversation by discussing the pervasive impact of discrimination and depictions of racism in the media on his mental health. He underscored how this impact was collectively felt amongst his community, particularly among youth of color, stating, “If one of us feels it, we all do.” 


Striving Towards Healing 

Following Devonte’s address, we listened to the remarkable James Harris, the founder of Men to Heal and The Healing Hub. He is also the author of “Man, Just Express Yourself”. James served in the army for eight years before pursuing an inspiring career in the mental health field.  He now holds a Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health from South University.


Harris commenced his keynote by emphasizing the critical importance of having conversations about mental health regarding Black boys and men. He underscored the need to raise awareness of this topic to break the detrimental cycles of internalized racial stereotypes and anger that so many Black men and boys live with. He noted the bi-directional nature of mental and physical health, highlighting how both go hand in hand and can greatly impact Black men and boys' ability to be resilient in the face of challenges. To implement healthier frameworks of support, Harris encouraged us to frequently check in on the Black men and boys within our communities, approaching them with a mindset of care devoid of any judgment. Cultivating spaces where Black men and boys can establish relationships founded on acceptance and trust is essential in helping them comfortably articulate their experiences and needs.The process of creating this space is not always swift or easy, but Harris shares that building these ecosystems of care creates a foundation for Black men and boys to initiate the process of their healing. 


Feel Your Feelings

In his discussion, Harris also touched on the stigmas and stereotypes that detrimentally affect Black boys and create barriers to their acquisition of mental health support. Gender-related stereotypes that encourage men to be tough or the bearers of financial responsibilities minimize Black men’s ability to express their emotions in healthy ways. Oftentimes, Black men associate “help-seeking” with weakness or shame. Inaccurate depictions of mental health issues in the media are also unhelpful and serve to further exacerbate feelings of inadequacy related to asking for help or even receiving a mental health diagnosis. He offers his advice on how to mitigate this issue, bringing up practices like encouraging Black men and boys to “feel their feelings” and to “let them cry”. Relatedly, Harris shared that it is common to see Black boys mask their underlying emotions with anger. In response to this, he noted that it is necessary to provide them with the tools to recognize what sentiments they may be consciously or unconsciously masking. 


Fostering Belonging: Supporting Black Youth Mental Health in Academia

In closing, Dr. Lauren Mims reminded us of the vision of the Black Youth Mental Health Initiative Grant 


“The vision is a school community where Black students can be authentically themselves who are affirmed, nurtured and provided resources to cultivate their wellbeing, racial pride, and curiosity.” 


To strive for this vision, we need to work together to create spaces where Black youth feel affirmed and accepted in their understanding of their lives. Centering parents and community members within this experience is also crucial for securing the vision. Dr. Mims' sentiments echo back to the beginning of the webinar, where Devonte emphasized the importance of facilitating and nurturing conversations about the state of Black youth mental health. Devante expressed, 


“Maybe, the more we talk about it, it can help all Black youth find their joy too.” 


Below are some key takeaways for how we can create a community of healing and, as Devante put it so well, help all Black youth secure their joy. 



Please see the link below to watch the whole webinar:

https://vimeo.com/884426125/f78cada86d?share=copy 

Cultivating Homeplaces for Black Girls to Be Well 

Written by: Sofía Burstin

Edited by: Shantina Washington


For our first edition of the Black Joy Community Series for 2024, we had the opportunity and honor of hearing from Angela Patton, founder of Camp Diva Leadership Academy and CEO of Girls for A Change. Angela Patton is an accomplished advocate of Black girl's healing and healthy development. One of her many accomplishments includes co-producing a documentary, Daughters, which was nominated last month at the Sundance Festival. The documentary won the Favorite Award at the festival and is now on Netflix. The documentary showcases the importance of father-daughter dances between Black girls and their fathers, focusing on incarcerated fathers. Her work not only showcases her commitment to Black girls but also to her community.


Fostering Community to Support Young Black Girls

Angela Patton was born and raised in Virginia, where she currently resides. She decided to stay because she wanted to give her community and Black girls a chance to thrive and feel validated.  Angela started a non-profit organization to help Black girls be seen, heard, and celebrated.  She wanted to build a community where Black girls have safe spaces to be themselves. Her inspiration to build Girls For a Change was also inspired by a conversation she had with a young Black girl from her community. The young girl shared that her dad was incarcerated. The trauma of her father’s incarceration caused her to become an adult at a very young age (10 years old). This story inspired Angela to facilitate father-daughter dances for Black girls with incarcerated fathers. When the young girl was 15, she later spoke to Angela and stated, “I realize now how important Girls for a Change and my parents' efforts are. With my father back home, I see the true value of organizations like Girls for a Change in my life”. This story has a very powerful message, as it reflects the work Angela Patton has done throughout her career and is a reflection that these spaces are necessary for the growth, development, and safety of young Black girls. After hearing Angela recount this story, Paul Harris, who is part of the Black Youth Mental Health Initiative grant team and dad of a little Black girl,  shared his thoughts about the impact of Angela’s work with the audience. He said, “his daughter is a completely different person since she joined Camp Diva Leadership”, he thanked Angela Patton for creating these spaces for Black girls to thrive.


Understanding the State of Black Girl Mental Health

Dr. Lauren Mims and undergraduate student Asa Ohalete led the group into further discussion on the state of Black girls' mental health. Dr. Mims, whose current research focuses on the ability of Black children to learn and develop amidst the normativity of racial discrimination in their everyday life experiences, speaks about the barriers that keep Black girls from receiving the support they need and provides insightful statistics about the suicide rate amongst Black youth. Dr. Mims mentioned that the rate of suicide for Black youth ages 5-12 has increased by 73%, making Black youth ages 5-12 twice as likely to die by suicide when compared to other ethnic-racial groups. Dr. Mims makes us aware that there is an alarming situation happening in policy education. There is a gap in understanding both the antecedents, the prevention strategies, and the intervention strategies for suicide risk, especially when referencing Black girls who experience the impact of living in an intersectional oppressive system. Mims highlights how essential it is to know the statistics of suicide rates to effect and create policy change. When policies and advocates focus on Black girls they must look at all the environmental layers of the person's experience. 


Dr. Mims' goal in combating inept research and policies on Black girls is to freedom dream with Black children and their families and use their brilliance to guide the development of new research policies, practices, and narratives. Dr. Mims mentions, it would be helpful to consider family values, school experiences, and the community each person navigates when developing solutions to help Black girls gain mental stability. Additionally, we need to consider what these little girls are seeing in the media and internalizing about being a Black girl and the impact it has on their self-definition. Dr. Mims and Asa close by presenting different strategies for supporting black girls' mental health.


Strategies to Support Black Girl's Mental Health:

1. Provide Black girls with space at home, in school, or in the community to journal. Have them write positive statements, and co-write stories with other Black girls to create empowerment between each other by talking about their strengths.

2. Create safe spaces for Black girls like support groups, Black girl clubs, or extracurricular activity clubs where they can build a community of their own. 

3. Implement grounding exercises, such as breathing, moving your body, singing, and yoga.

4. Represent Black girls in every ecosystem (macrosystem, microsystem, exosystem, mesosystem, chronosystem)

5. Encourage family connection by spending time together, discussing family values, sharing personal experiences that open a line of communication, and validating their feelings by letting them know they are not alone in the situation they are in.

6. Utilize a socio-ecological/cultural framework when working with Black girls. 

7. Provide culturally responsive care that supports the community. 

8. Mental health professionals can create a collectivistic and/or interconnected approach to treatment for a more comfortable clinical environment that serves the systemic factors that Black girls live in. 



Raising Black Youth: A Parent’s Role in Cultivating Joy and Resilience

Written by: Alice Bui 


In the first week of June, the BYMHI series returned with a new webinar on parenting with Black joy led by Dr. Anjali Ferguson, the executive director of the Virginia Association for Infant Mental Health and the founder of Parenting Culture Incorporated, providing resources for inclusive parenting communities. Joined with her was her niece, Mila, who started off the webinar with her journey on mental health. As a Black girl, Mila encountered multiple barriers in attending predominantly white schools, shifting between different schools, and finding herself disconnected from others due to the lack of diversity in the environment. Through those challenging moments, Mila expressed that her mother has been her greatest source of support, as she initiated conversations over her child’s emotions and thoughts, relieving the bottled-up worries in Mila. 


The opening statement remarks on the crucial role of parents in establishing healthy emotional development for their children, especially in navigating through racially structured situations and interpreting their cultural identity, which is Dr. Ferguson’s main scope of focus in the webinar. As a South Asian mother who is raising multiracial (Indian-Black) children, she used to question her role in addressing racial inequality and racial socialization with her children, especially during racial awakening times, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Henceforth, through the webinar, Dr. Ferguson informed more parents on the impacts of race on child development of mental health and strategies to counteract bias with joy. 


Challenges in raising Black youths: systematic racism & racial trauma

To understand the importance of joy in parenting, our keynote speaker explored the realities of Black children’s mental health risks and child development. Exposed to systematic racism both passively and directly, Black adolescents face a greater risk for the development of mental health symptoms, such as anxiety and depression compared to their counterparts. Hence, parents should take these societal expectations and stereotypes into consideration even at the early stages of childhood, when racial bias starts to form in their identity. 


Racial trauma can be transformed into intergenerational trauma, in which the traumatic experiences from race-based events or history can transmit the fear and trauma into the next generations of the individual. Thus, Dr. Ferguson emphasized how families of color specifically may experience higher mental health symptoms, as cautious and warning messages on racism from parents may contribute to the anxiety and hypervigilance in children when facing the world. Although parents cannot change the systems that lead to stressors on children, they can benefit from recognizing these social determinants and then using joy and resilience as a way to counteract the negative effects of systemic racism. 

Another key idea that the speaker mentioned is code switching, which is the behavior among historically minoritized individuals to adjust their behaviors to fit in with the dominant culture. Dr. Ferguson emphasizes that while it is good to teach children to navigate social situations, parents also can play a role in reducing the pressure that code switching may have on their children by relieving pressures, and thus, reducing mental health risks. 


Cultivate joy in the cultural identity of Black children at home

As Dr. Ferguson shared that “cultivating joy is one of the strongest ways to combat racial trauma,” undoubtedly the term “Black joy” has been the focus of parenting strategies for many Black families. However, the question here is how can parents apply these grand concepts into daily practices for their own children. Her recommendations include: 


Daily Practices of Joy at Home


The Value of Community

Finally, Dr. Ferguson ends the webinar with the value of community as a source of strength. The supportive community spaces allow both parents and children to connect with one another and together, combat the racial trauma shared in many Black families. Linked with her earlier talks on racial socialization, the practices of joy and resilience, require the participation of all parents. Only then, will it resonate to counteract the long history of systematic racism in the future of Black youths. 


“The most underrated form of generational wealth are emotionally intelligent parents.”

 - Dr. Anjeli Ferguson


View the full recording of the webinar here.