61 Search results for "therapist"

The Five Signs of a Great (Virtual) Black Therapist
by Imadé Nibokun Finding a Black therapist can be hard, and finding one during a pandemic is even harder. The social distancing required by the COVID-19 outbreak means that on top of being Black- affirming and capable of supporting your mental health needs, therapists need to be accessible virtually. RELATED: Reminders and affirmations to […]
When therapists gaslight Black people into tranquility instead of validating our legitimate anxieties
Editor’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month and National Masturbation Month. This is also the month that we celebrate Mother’s Day. At BYP, we will be exploring these topics alongside the theme of Imagination and the Arts, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. By […]
The Price of Presence
The Price of Presence: Notes From Atlanta’s Strip Economy Notes From An Urban Feminist A year ago I landed in Atlanta, Georgia without my three children, my husband or community. I arrived with four luggages in tow, and although I considered myself a fully realized feminist whose identity could stand alone, I felt like something […]
What We Carry: A Coming-of-Age Tale of Grief, Therapy, and Reckoning
by Christian M. Ivey “What We Carry” is a powerful coming-of-age story that follows Drew, a young Black college student grappling with grief, anxiety, and the long shadow of racial trauma. Get yo ass up, Drew! My alarm rang, a nasty, raggedy rang, almost soundin’ like it was yellin’ at me. Get yo ass up, […]
What do you do when childhood trauma makes you close off from the care you need to heal it?
Editor’s Note: June is LGBTQ Pride Month. At BYP, we will be exploring gender, sexuality, transgender issues and queer theory, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. We want to hear from you! Send us your pitches at info@blackyouthproject.com My parents love me more than anyone […]
The trans child in me still needs to feel wanted
by Jamila Dawn Mitchell I’m writing this because I need to feel wanted. That’s it. It may sound selfish to most. To a psychologist, though, this makes sense. Most things we do are done in spite of our desire to want to be loved. The sense of belonging is the essence of our humanity and […]
Used in a relentless pursuit of the elusive middle class, side hustle culture is killing Black folx
Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring Black Liberation & Organizing, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. How do we hold politicians accountable to Black communities? Is that even possible? What should be our role in the electoral politics? What does abolition look like in practice? What […]
In and out of the closet: Rejecting the heteronormative binary of “coming out”
As grating as “Old Town Road” and its endless stream of remixes has become, there was always something about Lil Nas X that I just couldn’t help rooting for. That thing was substantiated when he posted a series of tweets confirming his queerness, although he didn’t use the term. He did, however, claim to be […]
For Black women and girls who aren’t “autistic enough”
by Jo (Foderingham) Brown I remember sitting in the cafeteria in kindergarten when something made me feel anxious. When I was around this age, if I felt that way, I would physically ground myself: I’d clench my fists really hard or get up and move around. This particular day while my empty lunch box was […]
6 Mental Health Awareness podcasts and shows for Black women
by Ajeé Buggam If 2020 didn’t teach us anything, it taught us the importance of our mental health and how fragile it truly is if we don’t tend to it. Oftentimes in Black homes, checking in regarding each other’s mental health is not a common conversation we inquire about. The unfortunate truth is Black people […]
My daughter saves me from my anxieties with the embrace of her little arms
by Donnie Moreland It’s the eve of what folks are calling the “most important presidential election of our lives.” I’m being told to prepare. I’m being told to panic. I strap both ends of my cloth mask around my ears to drop my ballot at a county library. This is the second time I’m having […]
When the Ancestors tell you to go to therapy
There aren’t enough accessible therapists to go around. I met this reality after an Ifa divination that I got while I was in Cuba, and my dreams for an entire year afterward, told me that I needed to focus on my mental health. My ancestors were LOUD about the mental work that I needed to […]