Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Raquel Martin
Hans Alcindor Photography
May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time dedicated to spotlighting mental health, challenging stigma and creating spaces “where people are supported, understood, and find healing.” For many from historically marginalized communities, cost, medical mistrust and cultural issues contribute to greater barriers to mental health support. In a field where so many coaches, therapists, gurus, and experts all operate under the wellness and mental health umbrella, it can be especially hard for those seeking care to find the support they need.
“I think in the mental health field, coaches have a role in that room as well, but therapy is different than coaching and you cannot be provided therapy by someone who is not a licensed mental health professional,” says licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Raquel Martin. “I think it’s really important to talk about the realm or the scope of practice with individuals who are licensed and unlicensed. Everyone is deserving of inform consent about the differences between things, so if someone is stating something that is blatantly untrue and it will get in the way of someone making an informed choice, I think it’s important to speak out about that.”
Martin spends parts of her time online debunking myths about the mental health field. Most recently, Martin sparked a lot of conversation when she made a video educating her audience about mental health licensure after a popular life coach made claims about licensure, which many called out as inaccurate. “I think it’s important to speak out about one of the messages that had been stated that licensure is only required to submit to insurance. That’s not true. Licensure has been created because it also means that you are beholden to certain individuals…to a licensing board.”
It can be especially hard for Black professionals seeking mental health care to find the support they need.
getty
“It’s done because individuals were taken advantage of, especially people of African and Caribbean descent,” Martin said. “[The licensing board] also states that you can’t work outside your scope of practice. It states that you have to have a required number of education credits each year to maintain your license. It also states that if you do something to our client, clients have someone to speak to, and to possibly file charges with. It also means that things can be taken away from you such as your license.”
“When it comes to marginalized communities there is access and stigma issues that we are constantly coming up against,” shared pre-licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Donna Dockery. “Finding licensed clinicians from marginalized communities is hard enough. Having anyone come in with fake credentials muddies the water and can be harmful in numerous ways. It puts the wellbeing of those who take advice from them at risk as they share misinformation based on lack of training.”
“There are so many barriers that people of African and Caribbean descent face when it comes to mental healthcare and support,” Martin shared. “I would say diversity of resources because therapy is a great aspect of mental health support but then there’s also access to clean air and open spaces and appropriate education and equal pay and these are all mental health things, as well. We think about mental healthcare and support, we go straight to therapy, but there’s so many things that contribute to poor mental health residing in a food apartheid, not getting paid a quality amount, equitable income, not having housing, like these things will impact my patients just as much not having someone to talk to.”
“When it comes to marginalized communities there is access and stigma issues that we are constantly coming up against.”
getty
“It’s important to say therapy is one path to healing but whatever path you take, it must be paved with community. I talk about therapy and then I also talk about the realm of coaching, and I also talk about mutual aid, and I also talk about kinship care and I also talk about the support groups to be put in place to close these gaps. I created the Burn the Cape support group for Black women, which provides 10 weeks of psychoeducation and mental healthcare, in addition to being created by, for and run by Black women.”
Given the barriers to mental health support for Black professionals, workplaces should be intentional about creating systems that address these barriers. This can include culturally informed mental health professionals and resources available through employee assistance programs and encouraging feedback via surveys and other anonymous methods. A 2021 article from Harvard Business Review broke down specific ways to support rest and recovery for Black employees, providing a reminder of the importance of assessing employee needs and introducing targeted interventions.
Our workplaces can be a vital source of community, so it’s important to also consider how to support employee wellbeing. Mental health challenges can affect any employee, so it’s imperative to invest in worker wellbeing, which can lead to several positive outcomes, including increased employee engagement. “Workplaces can best support the mental health of employees by valuing their wellbeing,” shared Dockery. “Understanding that when their employees feel safe, valued, seen and heard, their work can excel.”