Trying to write on a topic as significant as Black History and Mental Health is overwhelming. There are so many important topics under the large umbrella of mental health and the Black community in the U.S. In honor of Black History Month, let’s start with the history through the contributions to the field of psychology by leading African American scientists and doctors. 

The past informs the present. While you read through the achievements of Black voices throughout the development of psychology, consider how their research mirrors what has happened in more recent times.

The History

African Americans have been influencing the course of psychology since its evolution. Contention exists around the beginning of psychology as a science. The first psychology lab reportedly began in late nineteenth century Germany. By the early twentieth century, Dr. Herman Canady had completed research on the impact of race in IQ testing. Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller assisted Alois Alzheimer in psychiatric research. Dr. Ruth Winifred Howard Beckham, also known as “the feminist psychologist”, was among the first women to earn a PhD in Psychology. She became an active participant in the American Psychological Association. Doctors Kenneth and Mamie Clark (the first and second black PhD graduates from Columbia) researched the impact of racial segregation in schools which ultimately helped rule it unconstitutional. Dr. Joseph White exposed the implicit whiteness of the field of psychology.

This highlight reel of contributions calls attention to the role of societal perception on the Black community. Black leaders in the field of psychology have worked to show how science has been influenced by society. The purpose of psychology is to examine how the mind works, what informs behaviors. In order to accurately examine our behavior, our minds, we have to be aware of the bias we have and how it colors our reality. 

The CDC and the American Public Health Association have both declared racism as a public health crisis. After the deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and Breonna Taylor in 2020 the impact of racism “shifted from a chronic stressor to a trauma trigger”. In the field of mental health, clinicians are ethically bound to cultural competency. In practice, this should mean a basic understanding of personal bias and the vast differences in how we all experience the world. 

The Statistics

Congressman John Lewis said, “we must bring the issue of mental illness out into the sunlight, out of the shadow, out of the closet, deal with it, treat people”. In order to shed light on mental health in the Black community, a few facts need to be taken into consideration. 

Black people with mental health conditions, particularly schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and other psychoses are more likely to be incarcerated than people of other races. Compared with white Americans, African Americans are less likely to receive consistent care or be included in research and are more likely to use emergency services. Compared with whites with the same symptoms, African Americans are more frequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and less frequently diagnosed with mood disorders

Physician-patient communication differs for African Americans and whites. One study found that physicians were 23% more verbally dominant, and engaged in 33% less patient-centered communication with African American patients than with white patients.

• In 2018, 58% of Black and African American young adults 18-25 and 50% of adults 26-49 with serious mental illness did NOT receive treatment. 

• Nearly 90% of Black and African American people over the age of 12 with a substance use disorder did NOT receive treatment. 

• In 2016, 12% of Black and African American adults who had a doctor’s office or clinic visit over the past year had difficulty getting needed care, tests or treatment compared to 7% of white adults.

How The Past Influences The Present

The statistics show the continued impact of bias on care provided to the Black community. It is equally important for this to be understood by individuals seeking care as the individuals providing it. The science of psychology is evolving. It is becoming more inclusive and more comprehensive, but it is not without flaws, faults, and missing spaces.

If you or a loved one need help processing the overt traumas or even the microaggression you experience, we’d be happy to listen. There is space for growth, compassion, and understanding in the therapy room. We would love to be a part of that journey.

Sources: Black and African American Communities and Mental Health, Mental Health Facts for African Americans, U.S. Census Bureau, Johnson R, et al. “Patient race/ethnicity and quality of patient-physician communication during medical visits.” Am J Public Health. 2004. 94(12), 2084-90., U.S. Department of Justice Prisoners in 2015, Incarceration among adults who are in the public mental health system: rates, risk factors, and short-term outcomes, CDC Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey, Psychology Today: Black History Month, NAMI: African American