Finding a therapist is hard enough, but what if you are African American? Black women have been historically under-served by the mental health field. There are many black female therapists who can help with your therapy needs; all you need to do is know where to look.
We recommend that you check our Directory of Black Therapists. You can find black therapists in your state and then read their profiles to see if they would be a good fit for you. If not, there are other directories where you can search by specialty or zip code. Good luck finding yourself the best therapist!
- How Can a Black Therapist Help With Your Mental Health Issues
- Therapy timeline: How Therapy Can Help You Get Well Again
- What Are The Specialities of a Female Black Therapist
- How to find an African American female therapists near me
- Benefits of Therapy for Black Women:
- Common Treatment Options For People suffering from Mental Health Issues
- Browse our Directory to Find Help from Black Female Therapists
How Can a Black Therapist Help With Your Mental Health Issues
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a therapist can help with mental health issues by “providing supportive therapy that helps people identify and solve problems.”
They will ask questions about when your symptoms began, how you deal with them in daily life, and why you think they may have started. For some people this is enough to prevent or get rid of their symptoms.
A therapist might also recommend different coping skills for managing stressful events. Some therapists specialize in certain types of treatment like cognitive behavioral therapy. The goal is always to provide support while giving clients tools so they are able to tackle life head-on!
Therapy timeline: How Therapy Can Help You Get Well Again
It takes time for any kind of therapy to be effective. Some people feel relief right away but that’s not the case for everyone. It often takes months or years so don’t worry if you’re still struggling with your symptoms, it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you.
Therapy can also help provide a sense of hope and meaning in life, which may have been missing before treatment began! It gives you skills to manage future stressors too, because part of mental health is learning how to cope when feeling overwhelmed at work or school etc.
You’ll find more and more success as time goes on and will develop new coping strategies along the way through difficult moments!
What Are The Specialities of a Female Black Therapist
There are many black women therapists who specialize in different areas like marriage counseling/couples therapy, family counseling/couples therapy, individual psychotherapy, woman’s issues, and the following below:
Trauma and PTSD Marital Therapy Grief Emotional Disturbance Multicultural Concerns Anxiety Relationship Issues Premarital Counseling Adult Breakups College Aged Student Concerns Loss or Grief Family of Origin Issues | Adjustment to College Aggression and Violence Women’s Issues Life Coaching Health Illness and Medical Issues Marriage Counseling Adjusting to Change / Life Transitions Couples Therapy Fatherless Children Family Conflict Helplessness and Victimhood |
How to find an African American female therapists near me
If you’re looking for a therapist who specializes in the African American perspective, you might start your search with these organizations to find someone near where you live:
– National Association of Black Social Workers – 1899 L Street NW Suite 400 Washington DC 20036 Tel (202) 319-0900. The association is a membership organization that provides advocacy and resources for social workers. They offer referrals to black therapists around the country as well as certification courses and continuing education opportunities. You can also take advantage of their events calendar which lists seminars on topics such as cultural competence or children’s mental health issues related to race/ethnicity.
– The Association of Black Psychologists – 1600 West Devon Avenue Suite 308 Oak Park IL 60304 Phone (708) 384-0040. This is a membership organization that provides advocacy for black psychologists by promoting their work and providing an environment of collegiality, support, cooperation and fellowship. They have referrals to culturally competent mental health professionals around the country as well as continuing education opportunities such as seminars on children’s mental health issues related to race/ethnicity.
– National Association of Black Psychiatrists – 701 North Fairfax Street Suite 720 Alexandria VA 22314 Phone (703) 299-9920 The association advocates for psychiatrists who are African American or interested in serving this population including encouraging research into psychiatric conditions prevalent among blacks, supporting educational initiatives aimed at training more minority psychiatrists and fostering greater awareness about discrimination against Blacks with mental illnesses
– The National Institute of Mental Health has a list of mental health professionals in your area on their website:
NMH – Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) – Support Groups and Services for People with OCD, Panic Disorder or Social Phobia – Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)
Benefits of Therapy for Black Women:
-Therapy diminishes self-destructive thoughts and behavior patterns
-It provides a safe space to explore feelings of low self worth, unhappiness or anger that are not acceptable in the broader society
-Self exploration through therapy can lead to healthier relationships with family members, friends and partners. It also leads to greater job satisfaction which may benefit one’s career prospects. This is especially true given recent research from Harvard University showing black women experience a wage gap during their twenties compared to white males working full time in comparable professions. The study suggests that this problem stems from discrimination on both sides – racial bias against blacks as well as gender bias among whites.
-A safe space to explore feelings of low self worth, unhappiness or anger that are not acceptable in the broader society
-Self exploration through therapy can lead to healthier relationships with family members and friends. It also leads to greater job satisfaction which may benefit one’s career prospects.
Common Treatment Options For People suffering from Mental Health Issues
*Psychotherapy: this is the treatment of mental health issues by talking through them with a therapist. The goal in psychotherapy is to make you feel better about yourself, or process what’s going on so that it no longer feels like such a big deal because you understand how your mind works.
This can be done one-on-one, but more often than not it happens as part of a group environment where there are multiple people and their experiences being shared. Psychotherapy usually takes place over an extended period of time between sessions, which can sometimes be weeks apart if someone needs extra help processing everything they have been coming up against recently.*
*Medication: medication allows for mood stabilization for individuals suffering from severe depression or anxiety and it’s often coupled with psychotherapy.
*Hospitalization: Sometimes an individual needs to go into the hospital for a physical or mental health issue that is not easily controlled at home. This can happen if someone feels like they are in danger of harming themselves, but this would be done as a last resort when other methods have been exhausted because there will be limited time before discharge from the facility.*
*Detox: Detoxing might sound scary, but it isn’t just removing drugs from your system – detox programs also provide therapy, legal services, education about addictive behaviors and more so you’re prepared to live without substances once discharged.*
Browse our Directory to Find Help from Black Female Therapists
Therapy is not just for people who are facing mental illness or addiction issues, many individuals use therapy and counseling to help them cope with stressful situations like abuse, divorce, family problems, sexual assault – the list can go on. To find black female therapists in your area that specialize in these types of services check out our directory here.