“Black History Month is typically a time of reflection. A time to acknowledge the challenges and celebrate the triumphs. Yet, our current circumstance is anything but typical. Our reflection should not applaud the resilience and strength of those who have overcome adversity without also acknowledging the psychological impact of their struggles on their lives, families and communities—both then and now. Especially in the workplace.”

Tramaine EL-Amin, vice president for Mental Health First Aid, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

These important words, from a 2021 Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) blog post by Tramaine EL-Amin, vice president for Mental Health First Aid, still ring true as mental health challenges continue to disproportionately affect Black communities.

Black mental wellbeing matters. As we celebrate Black History Month, we’re sharing resources to help you support your peers, friends, and communities and be an effective Mental Health First Aider, honoring individuals’ diversity. Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the resources available to Black communities.

Social Media Resources

For many, social media isn’t just a source of entertainment or distraction; it’s a space to turn to for inspiration, keep a pulse on social issues, and support artists and small businesses. Consider hitting the follow button on some of these Black mental health accounts:

• Black Male Mental Health on Instagram
  • Bio Breakdown: “Our perspective, our stories, our brilliance, our healing.”
• Black Mental Health Alliance on Instagram and X
  • Bio Breakdown: “Trusted forum for culturally competent mental health programs and services for marginalized communities.”
• Alkeme Health on Instagram
  • Bio Breakdown: “Mental health support for the Black community.”
• The Loveland Foundation on Instagram
  • Bio Breakdown: “Loveland Foundation is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls.”
• Melanin & Mental Health on Instagram and X
  • Bio Breakdown: “Two Brown Chicks changing the face of therapy on BOTH sides of the couch by helping Black/Latinx ppl find Black/Latinx therapists.”
• Boris L. Henson Foundation on Instagram and LinkedIn
  • Bio breakdown: Founded by @tarajiphenson, the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation is a nonprofit organization that advocates for improved access, combats stigma, and provides essential resources in Black communities.
• Therapy for Black Girls on Instagram and Facebook
  • Bio Breakdown: Mental Health Resources for 💁🏾‍♀️👸🏿👩🏽‍🦱
• Silence the Shame on Instagram and website.
  • Bio Breakdown: Educating communities on mental health and wellness through compelling content and wellness trainings.
• Black Mental Wellness on Instagram
  • Bio breakdown: Providing access to evidence-based information from a Black perspective, to highlight and increase the diversity of mental health professionals, and to decrease the mental health stigma in the Black community.

Websites

These websites provide information, activities and perspectives that can make a difference in your or a friend’s mental wellbeing journey:

• Black Mental Wellness provides access to evidence-based information and resources about mental and behavioral health topics from a Black perspective. Check out the site’s Coping & Wellness tab for actionable strategies for difficult situations, like how to discuss race, discrimination and racial trauma with youth.
• Therapy for Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.
• Therapy for Black Men is working to dismantle the stigma that asking for help is a sign of weakness. The organization provides free therapy for men in a judgment-free, multiculturally competent setting.
• Racism and Anti-racism in America is a free online training series on dismantling systemic racism from the University of Michigan.
• Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM) is removing barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing; it offers a nationwide directory of Black therapists who are available virtually.
• African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (AABH CoE), from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is determined to help transform mental health and substance use care for African Americans, making it safer, more effective, more accessible, more inclusive, more welcoming, more engaging and more culturally appropriate and responsive.
• Team: Changing Minds is a national network of mental health responders dedicated to helping young people, and especially young men, connect to support. They activate the trusted peers and adults in young people’s lives, who are active in pastimes they love, ensuring help is just a click, call, or connection away.
• The Mental Health Coalition’s Roadmap to Black Mental Health is a comprehensive guide that provides an understanding of the specific mental health strengths, challenges, methods of healing, and resources for those in the Black community.

#BeTheDifference

For ways to get more directly involved, consider getting trained in Mental Health First Aid and learn how to support those around you and take care of your own mental wellbeing.

• Find a virtual or in-person Mental Health First Aid course near you by using our Find a Course Tool on the MHFA website.
• Bring Mental Health First Aid to your workplace by visiting MHFA.org/workplace and completing the inquiry form.
• Find out where you, your organization and its services are when it comes to embedding principles of social justice and equity into mental health and substance use treatment with The National Council’s Social Justice Leadership Academy (SJLA) workbook. This workbook is for individual community mental health and substance use treatment providers and leaders at any level of experience “

MHFA.org

For more actionable information on how to support Black mental health, check out these related MHFA blogs:

1. Addressing Increasing Suicide Rates in the Black Community: How You Can Help
2. Understand Workplace Concerns of Black Employees
3. Supporting the Black Community as a Mental Health First Aider

We hope these resources are helpful and encourage you to spread the word over your social networks. You never know when your actions could improve someone’s day or save a life. Thank you for choosing to #BeTheDifference!