Supporting Black Mental Health
This page is regularly updated with new resources and information.
According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black adults in the U.S. are more likely than white adults to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress, such as sadness, hopelessness and feeling like everything is an effort. Black adults living below the poverty line are more than twice as likely to report serious psychological distress than those with more financial security. Additionally, members of the Black community face structural challenges accessing the care and treatment they need. Only one in three Black adults who need mental health care receive it.
The list below contains a variety of mental health resources for the Black community, and for more information on culturally competent care, visit NAMI’s page about the Black community and mental health care.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
28 Days of Black History
A virtual exhibition of 28 works that celebrate Black legacy in the U.S throughout the month of February. This exhibition centers the voices of Black LGBTQ leaders and Black leaders with disabilities. A new newsletter is delivered each evening via email.
Sharing Hope
NAMI’s program to increase mental health awareness in Black communities. It’s an hour long presentation people can put on that addresses topics like stigma, symptoms, etc.
Anti-Racism Daily
The Anti-Racism Daily is a free, daily newsletter pairing current events with historical context and personal reflections on how racism persists in the U.S. and the world.
BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health)
Aimed at removing the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing through education, training, advocacy and the creative arts.
Black in Mental Health
Mental health resources and media highlighting black excellence in mental health fields throughout the world.
Black Mental Health Alliance
Provides information and resources and a “Find a Therapist” locator to connect with a culturally competent mental health professional.
Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
Provides support and brings awareness to mental health issues in the Black community.
Therapy for Black Girls
Offers a listing of mental health professionals across the country who provide high quality, culturally competent services to Black women and girls, an informational podcast and an online support community.
Black Girls Breathing
Black Girls Breathing™ is a safe space for black womxn to actively manage their mental health through breathwork and community.
The Okra Project
A collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People.
For the Gworls
A Black, Trans-led collective that curates parties to fundraise money to help Black transgender people pay for their rent, gender-affirming surgeries, smaller co-pays for medicines/doctor’s visits, and travel assistance. (Not hosting parties due to COVID-19, but still offering assistance)
The Confess Project
A National Grassroots Movement committed to building a culture of mental health for boys, men of color, and their families.
The Center for Healing Racial Trauma
The Center for Healing Racial Trauma offers services and trainings designed to heal racially/ethnically marginalized people from Racism.
National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide
NOPCAS serves as the only national organization of its kind addressing the issue of suicide prevention and intervention, specifically in communities of color.
Sista Afya
Provides young adult Black women with mental wellness education, resource connection, and community support that empowers them to take charge of their mental wellbeing.
BLKHLTH
Critically engages and challenges racism and its impact on Black health through workshops and trainings, practice-based consulting, community health events, and digital media.
The Loveland Foundation
The Loveland Foundation’s goal is to bring opportunity and healing to communities of color, and especially to Black women and girls, through fellowships, residency programs, listening tours, and more.
Black Women’s Health Imperative
The first nonprofit organization created by Black women to help protect and advance the health and wellness of Black women and girls.
Trans Women of Color Collective
Created to cultivate economic opportunities and affirming spaces for Trans people of color and their families, to foster kinship, build community, engage in healing and restorative justice through arts, culture, media, advocacy and activism.
NAACP
The largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. Has over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Their mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
African American Older Adults and Race-Related Stress
Resource from the APA that details what race-related stress is and how it affects African American older adults. Also shares what health providers can do to help, and additional resources.
Therapy for Black Men
A dedicated resource for Black men seeking and finding mental health support. They provide targeted resources and a database filled with professionals equipped to support men of color.
ASALH
The Study of African American Life and History promotes Black History Month in honor of Dr. Carter G. Woodson who initiated the celebration of Negro History Week, which in 1976 expanded to include the entire month of February. This website celebrates the study of African American History.
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) focuses on understanding what racism is, where it comes from, how it functions, why it persists and how it can be undone. “Our workshops utilize a systemic approach that emphasizes learning from history, developing leadership, maintaining accountability to communities, creating networks, undoing internalized racial oppression and understanding the role of organizational gate keeping as a mechanism for perpetuating racism.”
Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
Open Path Psychotherapy Collective is a non-profit nationwide network of mental health professionals dedicated to providing middle and lower-income level individuals, couples, families, and children with access to affordable psychotherapy and mental health education services. (cost range from $30-$60 for individual sessions).
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