Stay Up: Minority Mental Heath Month

July is Minority Mental Health Month, founded by Mental Health America, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the mental health of Americans. Mental Health America chose identity as the theme of this year-- the focus is on the intersections of our identities and the impact that has on our mental health.   

We all love a good podcast. Protest found a few created by women of color that concentrate on mental health and wellness for marginalized people. We’ll share some of our faves throughout the rest of July 2019. Today, we bring you Black Therapist Podcast, formerly known as Black In Therapy created by Nikita Banks.

Black Therapist Podcast

Nikita Banks is a licensed psychotherapist, life strategist, author and creator of the Black Therapist Podcast. Her podcast centers on mental wellness and the issues black people and people of color are forced to endure. Many of us black and brown folk were taught to suppress mental distress as though the suppression was an act of strength. The result was the negation of our experiences and the invalidation of our feelings. 

Nikita is both sisterly and knowledgeable when she speaks of mental health and offers advice from a culturally relevant perspective.  She equips listeners with some tools that help breakdown the figurative and literal barriers that exist between them and mental health care.  Her listeners quickly learn they’re closer to maintaining mental wellness than they once believed themselves to be.

Episode titles include How to Survive Toxic Family Members and Surviving Surviving R Kelly, Myths Surrounding Self Care is one of my favorites. Mainstream media’s perspective of self-care has warped it’s true meaning for many of us. This is a great episode for anyone who compared their self-care activities to what the media has popularized and thought they cared for themselves the ‘wrong’ way. Sometimes restoration requires we pair yoga classes at a trendy studio with self-care activities that feel ugly, mundane and complex. The takeaway from the Myths Surrounding Self Care (and the Black Therapist Podcast in general) is that self-care and mental wellness routines are self-activated, lifelong, and ultra-personal.

Find more podcast episodes, link to resources, and get in touch with Nikita Banks by clicking here.