Challenges finding mental health professionals of color

1 IN 5 ADULTS EXPERIENCE MENTAL ILLNESS EACH YEAR AND LESS THAN HALF OF THEM RECEIVE TREATMENT. BUT FINDING HELP ISN’T ALWAYS THAT EASY. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, THE MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DOES NOT REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF THE UNITED STATES. OUR MEDICAL REPORTER, JESSICA BROWN, WITH THE EFFORT TO FILL IN THE GAP, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THERAPY AND WE JUST DON’T HAVE THE SUPPLY TO MEET THE DEMAND. DR. KHADIJA WATKINS IS A PSYCHIATRIST AT MDH AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE CLAY CENTER FOR YOUNG HEALTHY MINDS. SHE KNOWS IT’S NOT EASY FOR PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH TO FIND HELP. PEOPLE HAVE WAITED FOR YEARS TO TRY TO GET A THERAPIST THAT THEY CAN THAT THEY FIND AS A MATCH OR THAT TAKES THEIR INSURANCE, ESPECIALLY IF WE THINK ABOUT CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIST OR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT THERAPISTS. THERE ARE VERY FEW. AND WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THERAPISTS OF COLOR, ESPECIALLY BLACK THERAPISTS, THE SEARCH GETS EVEN MORE CHALLENGING AROUND 5 TO 6%. THERAPISTS ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR, WHETHER THEY’RE BLACK OR BROWN. AND SO THAT’S PRETTY BIG. IF WE THINK ABOUT WHAT THE WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN LOOKS LIKE, IT DOESN’T REALLY QUITE MATCH. AND SO IT’S REALLY HARD FOR SOME PEOPLE TO FIND SOMEONE THAT THEY THINK CAN RELATE TO THEM. BUT THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT SITTING ACROSS THE ROOM FROM SOMEONE WHO CAN KNOW YOUR WHO KNOWS YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHO’S BEEN IN YOUR SHOES THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO SHARE ALL OF THE THE UNSPOKEN NESS. GABBY PALMER KNOWS THE PROBLEM ALL TOO WELL. IT’S A BIG REASON SHE BECAME A PSYCHOLOGIST. SHE’S NOW WORKING TO RECRUIT MORE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS OF COLOR AT WILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE. WIDEN THE PIPELINE FOR FOLKS OF COLOR WHO WANT TO WORK AND IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES OR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES WHO ALSO IDENTIFY AS A RACIAL ETHNIC MINORITY AND THERE IS A POWER OF REALLY GIVING SERVICE WHILE ALSO BEING SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE THE ONES YOU GIVE SERVICE TO. THAT’S WHERE THE BLACK MENTAL HEALTH GRADUATE ACADEMY COMES IN. DOCTOR NATALIE CORT FOUNDED THE PROGRAM AT WILLIAM JAMES AS A WAY TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN CLINICIAN LINES OF COLOR FOR A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FROM HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED BACKGROUNDS, FROM RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY MINORITIZED BACKGROUNDS COMING INTO SPACES, ESPECIALLY PREDOMINANTLY WHITE ACADEMIC SPACES. THERE’S OFTENTIMES FEELINGS OF EXCLUSION. DR. COURT SAYS THE PROGRAM’S MAGIC IS IN THE CONNECTION. WE TRY TO WRAP OUR ARMS AROUND OUR BLACK STUDENT LEADERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY DESERVE TO BE HERE AT WILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE AND THEY DESERVE TO BE IN THE FIELD AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY ARE DEVOTED TO DESERVE TO HAVE THEM IN THIS FIELD. SO THAT’S OUR COMMITMENT. SINCE THE ACADEMY STARTED IN 2016, DR. SHORT SAYS, MORE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN APPLYING A SIGN OF HOPE FOR MORE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT AT A TIME WHEN IT’S NEEDED MOST. THERE IS NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH. THAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR LIFE AND WE NEED HEALING AND SO IT’S A REALLY LOVELY THING TO SEE MORE INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN BEING HEALERS COMING TO OUR SPACE. WELL, LET ME GIVE YOU A LITTLE HOPE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST SHORTAGE. WE’RE DEALING WITH. DR. CORT, WHO YOU SAW THERE SAYS SINCE THE PANDEMIC, THERE’S BEEN ABOUT A 200% INCREASE IN STUDENT INTEREST OF ALL BACKGROUNDS IN THEIR PROGRAMS IN THE MENTAL HEALTH FIELD, WHICH IS HUGE AS WELL. DR. KHADIJAH BOOTHE WATKINS SAYS IN A TIME OF THIS KIND OF SHORTAGE, AS DAUNTING AS THE PROCESS TO FIND A THERAPIST CAN BE, IF YOU’RE IN NEED, TRY TO STAY THE COURSE AND GET IN WHERE YOU CAN. EVEN IF THEY DON’T HAVE A SIMILAR BACKGROUND, THEY MAY STILL BE ABLE TO SERVE YOUR NEEDS. FOR CITYLINE. I’M JESSICA BROWN. AND JOINING US NOW IS DR. CHARMAINE JACKMAN. SHE’S FOUNDER AND CEO OF PSYCH, A DIRECTOR OF THERAPISTS OF COLOR. WELCOME. AS WE JUST HEARD, THERE’S ALREADY A BUILT IN BARRIER FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR WHO ARE SEEKING HELP. IT’S YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, THOUGH, THAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA FOR PSYCH. TELL US WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU LOOKED FOR A THERAPIST. SO ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO. AT THIS POINT, I WAS GOING THROUGH A CHALLENGING TIME IN MY RELATIONSHIP AND AND I WAS VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHO I WANTED TO SEE AND THAT I WANTED TO BE IN THE THERAPY ROOM WITH A BLACK WOMAN. AND THE PROCESS WAS FRUSTRATING. IT TOOK LITERALLY OVER SIX MONTHS TO FIND A THERAPIST OF COLOR. AND I’M A THERAPIST. SO KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THE SYSTEM, I KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE IT. AND IT STILL TOOK ME THAT LONG TO FIND A THERAPIST. I WAS REALLY CHARGED WITH MAKING THIS. THIS WAS NOT RIGHT IN MY MIND, AND I REALLY WANTED TO DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE THAT FOR OTHER PEOPLE. SO TELL US ABOUT INFOSEC. INFOSEC IS A PLATFORM THAT WE STARTED INTO IN JANUARY 2020. OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE IT EASIER AND FASTER FOR PEOPLE TO FIND THERAPISTS OF COLOR. AND SO WE’VE BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS NOW AND WE’RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR PEOPLE. I CAN’T GO TOO FAR WITHOUT SOMEONE JUST TELLING ME HOW GRATEFUL THEY ARE. YOU’RE TO FIND A THERAPIST WHO LOOKS LIKE THEM AND WHO GETS THEM. SO TELL US HOW HOW HAVING A THERAPIST FROM THE SAME IDEA GROUP HELPS ADDRESS ISSUES IN WAYS THAT ARE WHITE THERAPISTS CANNOT ABSOLUTELY. SO SOME THINGS THAT PEOPLE SHARE THAT THEY ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE MICROAGGRESSIONS AND SOMETIMES OVERT RACISM IN THE THERAPY ROOM. AND THAT’S NOT OKAY. SOME OF THE DATA WE FIND IS THAT WHEN THERE’S A CULTURAL MISMATCH BETWEEN THE THERAPIST AND THE CLIENT, THE PEOPLE OF COLOR OFTEN DROP OUT OF THERAPY VERY QUICKLY. SOMETIMES AFTER THE FIRST OR SECOND SESSION. AND SO UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF THE STIGMA PEOPLE, THEN THEN THINK THAT THERAPY DOESN’T WORK. AND SO HAVING A THERAPIST OF COLOR, SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTAND YOUR BACKGROUND, WHO UNDERSTANDS YOUR JOURNEY, WHO’S WALKED SOME OF THOSE THINGS WITH YOU, MAKES THAT PROCESS AFFIRMING. AND EMPOWERING. AND PEOPLE ACTUALLY FEEL THAT THEY CAN OPEN UP MORE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES. THAT’S TOO BAD. SO YOU DO THINK THAT WHEN SOMEONE IS UNABLE TO FIND SOMEONE OF THEIR SAME BACKGROUND FOR COUNSELING SERVICES, THAT IT DOES STOP THEM FROM SEEKING HELP ALTOGETHER? IF SO, YEAH. WHAT CAN BE THE DANGER OF THAT? SO, YOU KNOW, AS A AS A MENTAL PROFESSIONAL, I THINK THE DANGER IS THAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE SOMEONE WHO YOU CAN TRUST IN THAT SPACE, YOU MAY NOT TELL THEM ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU’RE NAVIGATING IN LIFE. YOU MAY FEEL SHAME FULL TALKING ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS. AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE WORST OUTCOME, BECAUSE WE KNOW UNTREATED MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS CAN LEAD TO SUICIDE. SO FOR ME, IN THE EXTREME CASE, IT CAN BE FATAL. AND SO FOR ME, I’M REALLY CHARGED IN MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THAT SPACE AND THEY HAVE A CHOICE ABOUT WHO THEY SEE FOR THERAPY AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET HELP. DOCTOR JACKMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TO TELL US ABOUT PSYCH. NOW, IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS IN NEED OF HELP, YOU CAN CALL OR TEXT THE MASSACHUSETTS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HELPLINE. THE NUMBER IS ON YOUR SCREEN. WE’LL ALSO SHARE THESE RESOURCES AND A LINK TO PSYCH ON OUR WEBSITE AT. AND IN A FINAL NOTE, THE HEALTH EQUITY COMPACT, WHICH IS A COALITION OF OVER 70 MASSACHUSETTS LEADERS OF COLOR WHO ARE PUSHING FOR EQUITABLE HEALTH OUTCOMES IS BECOMING MORE INCLUSIVE. IT’S EXPANDING TO REPRESENT AAPI, MIDDLE EASTERN AND MORE IMMIGRANT LEADERS IN HEALTH CARE, PUBLIC HEALTH, BUSINESS AND ACADEMIA. THE COMPACTS MOVE IS ANOTHER ST

Challenges finding mental health professionals of color

How a personal experience inspired one therapist to launch to tool for people of color to find help.

Updated: 12:30 PM EDT May 21, 2023

According to the American Psychological Association, the mental health workforce does not reflect the diversity of the United States. WCVB’s Medical Reporter Jessica Brown reports on efforts to fill the gap, and we’re joined by Dr. Charmain Jackman, founder and CEO of InnoPsych, a directory of therapists of color.If you or someone you know is in need of help, call or text 833-773-2445 and work with a trained clinician or peer coach to get connected directly to the right services for you. Learn more at mass.gov/BHroadmap.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

According to the American Psychological Association, the mental health workforce does not reflect the diversity of the United States. WCVB’s Medical Reporter Jessica Brown reports on efforts to fill the gap, and we’re joined by Dr. Charmain Jackman, founder and CEO of InnoPsych, a directory of therapists of color.

If you or someone you know is in need of help, call or text 833-773-2445 and work with a trained clinician or peer coach to get connected directly to the right services for you. Learn more at mass.gov/BHroadmap.