'Black Therapy 101' event addresses mental health stigma, promotes healing in Black community

According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black adults in the U.S. are more likely than white adults to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress. Yet, according to the American Psychiatric Association, only one in three Black people receive mental health treatment.

Mental health awareness, counseling and therapy are extremely important for Black Americans as they combat racism, police brutality and social and economic inequity, said Courtney Abegunde, operations director for Steel Smiling.

The trauma can impact daily life — in 2020, suicide was the third leading cause of death for Black people ages 15 to 24, according to Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.

“Black Therapy 101” took over Opya Studios in the South Side earlier this month, a well-being event presented by Artist Talk Mental Health in collaboration with Steel Smiling. The event included a panel discussion with audience members and mental wellness professionals demystifying mental health in the Black community.

The night brought out around 30 people and opened with a body scan led by Robin Sheffey, project manager at Steel Smiling, followed by a spoken word performance by Treble NLS, lead teaching artist at 1Hood Media. Abegunde moderated the panel discussion.

“Tonight was very powerful, and it went very well. The community showed up in a really vulnerable way. I think all the panelists showed up in a vulnerable way,” said Sydney Davis, founder and CEO of Artist Talk Mental Health.

“It’s exciting to see people show up for themselves, especially in a community where we don’t always prioritize ourselves,” she said.

Davis said they will continue to have more events like “Black Therapy 101” and hopes attendees take what they have learned and continue to spark these conversations within their communities.

Ruby Pinto was invited to the event by her friend Dr. Daniel Salahuddin. Pinto does somatic work at a therapy practice and was curious about the work being done in the area in support of Black women.

“I think it is so important to get the community together to talk about not just mental health, but Black mental health, because that’s something that is highly stigmatized. We have a lot to discuss as a community; we have a lot of healing to do,” said Salahuddin, a psychologist whose objective is to promote collective healing and liberation. “To be in a space like this is a huge honor.”

Many therapists in attendance opened up about also receiving therapy, and the message of art as therapy.

Attendees were also supplied with an Allegheny County African American Mental Health Resource Guide from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a Healing & Accountability Wheel courtesy of the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM), and information about Steel Healing, a Steel Smiling program that provides access to mental health supports and financial assistance for mental health care.

Dr. Darla Timbo of Atlas Counseling said therapy is a therapeutic relationship for the therapist and the patient. “It’s a powerful connection. We as therapists grow, too. It helps to reconstruct how we enter and interact with the world,” she said.

Julius Boatwright, founder of the Black Mental Wellness Group and Steel Smiling, spoke about going to therapy once a week.

“The 10% that we don’t share with anyone, the parts that are vulnerable or insecure … that’s where deep transformational healing happens,” he said.

“It’s definitely time to have even more conversations about Black mental health and improving the lives of Black people here in this region,” Abegunde said. “We have to do it in big public ways. People are interested and curious about treatment and care, but they are also very interested in spaces like these, where you don’t need insurance to come and share what’s on your mind,” she said.

Devin Kirkland of Cranberry said he didn’t hear about mental health and therapy at all growing up.

“This is what the Black community needs — more mental health awareness. We need to be aware of the different options in therapy,” he said. “I’ve been losing friends to violence and the streets since I was 10 years old, and I have never seen a therapist. I think I handled it well and moved on well, but I am not everybody, and everybody is not me.”

For immediate mental health support and access to Steel Healing, call 412-390-5545 or visit steelsmilingpgh.org.