Tiera Cross, CFEL Staffer
In the climate of society today, mental health is an issue that continues to grow in the African American community. However the stigma attached to seeking counseling stops many of us from getting the assistance we need.
In our community, we seem to be very concerned with appearances: if you need mental health counseling then you must be crazy, right? Discussing your struggles with a stranger is “airing dirty laundry.” These are both myths that have hindered the progress of the relationship between counseling and African Americans.
Growing up, many of the families around me were taught that if they weren’t strong enough to handle their problems with only the help of family and God, then they were weak. This was something not only spoken, but also evident in the reactions people had to hearing someone they knew had sought counseling.
The church is the cornerstone of our community. We are taught to pray our problems away and believe, and that is all you need to make it through life. But what happened to God helping those who help themselves? Instead of “making it” through life, shouldn’t we strive to flourish and thrive?
Many other African Americans I have this discussion with argue that if they were to agree to therapy, they would want a counselor who could understand them and how they grew up, the pressures they face as well as the struggles they now fight against. Cultural differences cause the majority of those I have spoken with to feel like only an African American counselor will effectively help them because another black person will know what it is like to grow up black in America.