Episode 19 Transcript: Empowering Black Mental Health/My Trevor Noah Response
(5 Underrated Black Mental Health Therapy Resources, "Plant Kween", & Other POC Self Care Creators to Celebrate)
In this episode responding to Trevor Noah's recent black mental health video, I'm going to do my part in furthering this important dialogue by sharing what we can learn to improve from a potential missed opportunity in that video, while highlighting 5 empowering advocates & mental health resources for people of color, built off of inclusion and cultural understanding, especially for my lovely black kings, my beautiful lgbt+ community, & those looking for affordable self care tools. So, if you're curious about these 5 underrated resources...come relax with me & keep listening!
Good morning y buenos dias! Welcome to The Noggin Podcast, a cozy mental health advocacy podcast, with me, Kyarra Keele. It genuinely means so much to me that you’re here, so thank you.
On this podcast we cultivate a gentle space advocating for diverse mental health dialogue in the community for people of color, educating about marginalized mental illnesses, sharing empowering resources for recovery, & providing the occasional sprinkling of zest through sarcasm & shenanigans. So, if that's what you’re looking for, welcome home!
Okay, welcome y bievenidos! Again, I’m Kyarra. We're back with a surprise early arrival of Season 3. We've upgraded from the talking in a tin can aesthetic because we finally have a new mic, so I hope you're enjoying that. The official season release is this upcoming Monday Jan 11th & our tradition of The Noggin Nurturing segment will be in that next episode but not today. I felt like we need to talk about this right away and keep Trevor Noah’s conversation about black mental health flowing, so I worked hard to return early in order to share these empowering resources with you, and here we are. Thank you for being here.
Okay, let’s be clear: I genuinely appreciate Trevor Noah for creating and re-uploading his trending black mental health video 2 days ago, January 5th. The two videos combined currently have around 1.6 million views on Youtube. If you don’t know who Trevor is, here’s the 1-second version: he’s an accomplished South African comedian, actor, and the satirical commentary host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central.
I did not make this episode to undermine him in any way. Quite the contrary actually, it made me happy to see him use his sarcastic humor to further open up the mental health dialogue in a relatable and more comfortable way, especially for black listeners and other listeners of color. I do give him credit for neatly articulating valuable points about the deep-rooted issues of mental health stigma in the black community, limited access to resources, misdiagnosis, and the noteworthy difficulty of finding a culturally competent therapist.
So, why did I make this episode then? Well, my constructive criticism after watching that video is: I think there was an incredible missed opportunity that we can learn from to do better in the future. That's because the only resource mentioned in the entire video (nationalcouncil.org) was presented at the last 5 seconds or so, it was not a clickable pop-up link like you typically see, it was just text. And I thought, oh it’s probably in the description box, right? That’s where links and details usually are. Well, no. There were no links to any resources at the time I saw either of the two uploads from Jan 5th and Dec 17th, including the resource mentioned at the last 5 seconds.
So, the missed opportunity was to empower and enlighten the 1.6 million viewers by highlighting and creating awareness for excellent mental health resources that do exist in our community. If you pay attention to the first line of the description box, Trevor's main question that he presents is why does the black community lack access to mental health resources? And I think that's an excellent question that I'm not going to try to address in this brief video because I think the more helpful question that I will address, is instead of investing our energy in repeating the same problem that has existed forever which is mental health stigma in basically any community and definitely for people of color, why are we not investing our energy into highlighting the passionate therapists of color that do exist, black mental health organizations that are working hard to serve our community, & black mental health content creators & advocates that spend every day persevering on their smaller or underrated platforms to change the exact problems that we keep repeating exist.
Although I agree there are indeed limited resources, in my opinion, the problem that is a bit more manageable and faster for each and everyone of us to do our part to solve for now, as members of the community, is to be frequently and proudly vocal to share and support the mental health advocates already working so hard under the radar for people of color and going unrecognized.
When you have over a million people that are listening to you entertainingly present this message about the lack of culturally competent therapy and support, the impact in the short term while they watch the video is that perhaps listeners can relate to this frustration and this discouragement, which you see echoed in the hundreds of comments from my black people, my latinx comunidad, my asians, and so many others, saying hey, we agree, we feel this too... and of course, yes, many listeners did get a little laugh or smile out of it which I think is lovely. But what about the long term, which is really as soon as the 6 minute video is over and the humor fades?
Well, then the reality sets back in. There are still no resources being shared. So, talking about accessibility issues and the stigma is an important start but we can do even better by always remembering to include thoughtful resources in that conversation. C
5 lovely mental health resources for people of color that I give my 5 star yelp review, so to speak blended with a little commentary of the valuable highlights we can take away from Trevor Noah’s video. All links and details will be in the description as well as links to transcripts for my much loved deaf and hard of hearing community if you’d like to follow along.
The first resource is that I researched to share with you is for my black kings out there: https://therapyforblackmen.org/ which has been recognized on the Huffington Post & other prominent sites. At TherapyforBlackMen they say “You don’t have to man up. Let’s talk it through together”. & I have excellent news I’m sure many of you would love to hear: They do offer financial assistance for individual therapy through a simple application that I take note of on their website under the resources tab.
This organization is founded by Benjamin and Vladimire Calixte, two highly accomplished and passionate black advocates in our community, challenging the stigma that asking for help is a sign of weakness. They have a directory with well-organized filters that I browsed and tested myself of over seventy licensed mental health professionals throughout the fifty states to provide judgement-free, multiculturally-competent care to Black men. The therapist profiles are thoughtful and do clearly disclose prices and any sliding scale flexibility upfront. If you already have therapy resources for emotional healing but are looking for motivation & encouragement for your passions & purpose, they also have a separate life coach directory that may be for you.
I know out there somewhere, a black king is listening to this, hey, I’m happy you’re here. I just want to speak specifically to you for a second as a black woman and just another human being, I care about you, I believe you deserve to get the help and support you need. If people say it’s not cool and you’re weak, oh well, let them be bitter and let them have that narrow-minded opinion, and you go focus on getting your happiness, okay? Because you deserve to feel good and you deserve to have a safe place.
There’s nothing wrong with a black man or man in general, feeling or expressing emotion and prioritizing their health, in fact, it’s necessary. You owe it to yourself, to give yourself a chance to thrive. And if you’re a black father listening to this, I believe not only do you owe it to yourself, you also owe it to your children.
As I mentioned in Episode 11, the Father’s Day episode for black dad’s mental health, when you prioritize your health as a man and reshape your perspective to accept that is important to seek professional support for your stability and happiness, I believe it is by far, the kindest gift you can give to your children because you will treat them with more gentleness and patience when you feel good. Also, Trevor mentions subtly in his video through the skit that multi-generational trauma is very real and I agree. So please, to my divine black men out there, please check out TherapyforBlackMen.org link in the description and keep listening for other resources you might like.
It was eye-opening and honestly a little emotional for me to see the dozen of profile photos of mental health professionals of color of all different genders and age ranges because as they mentioned in Trevor Noah’s video, the American Psychological Association's statistic for black psychologists in the workforce was around 4% in 2015 and the crazy but somehow not surprising fact is that the percentage has not budged much at all in the last 5 years from my research. Asian and Hispanic psychologists are also still quite rare it seems.
As Trevor also mentions, in the community for people of color, there’s this persistent message that it’s shameful to talk about mental health, that those struggling need to pray harder and talk to their priest. I know not everyone here may be religious here & that's absolutely fine, I'm only going to talk about it for 1 more second, but if you are, I want to upvote and second an excellent point that Trevor made when he asked “why can’t we use both” (therapy and church). He said, church for some is wonderful for the community and therapy is important for individual 1 on 1 mental health needs, so both are valuable. And I loved when Trevor said “I bet even Jesus himself probably wished he could have gone to therapy”
By the way, hey, if you’re enjoying this episode so far, please take 2 quick seconds, to share the link with someone you care about, just text them, if that you think could use some empowering resources or encouragement because I’d really love this message to uplift as many humans as possible but I can’t do it alone, so you sharing my podcast would mean the world to me. Thank you so much.
Okay, resource #2: Inclusive Therapists.com
Inclusive Therapists offers a simpler way to find a culturally responsive, social justice-oriented therapist. They center the needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, the LGBT+ community, people with disabilities, and they honor the full neurodiversity spectrum. They believe all identities in all bodies deserve equal access to affirming, culturally responsive care. Inclusive Therapists was founded by Melody Li, a queer, womxn of color, and therapist in Texas who had her own fair share of struggles in finding a therapist & became tired of educating that therapist on her multi-cultures, migration trauma, and what it's like to navigate this country.
You can browse for an affordable or sliding-scale health professional on their site for online teletherapy or in-person & filter by the language that the therapist speaks which they have quite a diverse list. What’s even more amazing is their filters are notably above average in detail than I’ve ever seen on any similar therapy directory for just about any mental health category, budget range, insurance, spiritual identity, cultural knowledge, and more! For example, if you’re looking for a therapist with experience regarding immigration or growing up with a multiracial identity, or a transgender therapist, or someone living with disability and chronic pain, they have filters for those specific terms, so you have a better chance of finding someone you can feel at home with.
But! If you don’t have time or energy to browse, you can fill out a fast and simple form on their website where they can match you with a professional such as a counselor, relationship, marriage, or family therapist, social workers, or psychiatrist within 3 days. (https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/get-matched)
I was also happy to see the acknowledgment of my Latinx community immediately on the homepage with translations to make the website more accessible for those you who speak Spanish because mental health resources should be accessible regardless of what language you speak.
Before I continue to the 3rd resource, I want to highlight a final note From the website that Melody beautifully expresses. The quote says, “The therapist in me is pained by hearing stories from friends and folx with marginalized identities that were burned in therapy. I admired how despite the retraumatization, folx still took courage to give therapy another chance. Entering into a therapeutic relationship shouldn't feel like a gamble. My heart is to help connect justice oriented therapists with people of all identities in all bodies that are ready to heal, grow, and thrive. I'm an unlearner, decolonial academic, educator, and troublemaker”
I absolutely love two elements of that. Firstly, we need more zesty trouble makers in this world who use their energy to lovingly empower others. & Secondly, I appreciate the honesty about many individuals getting burned in therapy because that's real, I had a few lackluster therapy experiences until I finally found a therapist who could laugh with me, offer me a practical second perspective when I needed it, & made me feel at home. If you didn't have a great first experience, please try again. It takes time.
Now! In the final section of resources that I’ll be sharing with you today, I want you to pay attention, take notes physically or mentally because if you’re not following, listening, and basking in the good vibes of the 3 lovely black content creators I’m about to briefly share with you, let me tell you something, you’re missing out.
These 3 black creatives are adding their own sprinkle of spice and positivity in the mental health, self-care, and healthy lifestyle spaces and after you finish listening to this episode, please go show them some love and support by following or subscribing to their platforms to show that we appreciate their existence and their passion at a time when we all need it.
The first creator I’d love to give a shout out to is the radiant Christopher, who you may know as Plant Kween on Instagram. Plant Kween is a beautiful Brooklyn-based Black queer femme who believes in community building through plants. Their Instagram is honestly such a joyful place between their radiant smile in the photography, the over 160 luscious “green gurls” as they call their incredible collection of house plants, and the zesty fashion...Ooof mean, c’mon it doesn’t get any better than that. I don’t have Instagram but I’ve seen the preview version of their page, so much of their beautiful photography online, I pinned their photography on The Noggin Podcast Pinterest and I read articles about their journey on Good Morning America and Buzzfeed. Their content is related to mental health in a more subtle sense because they emphasize the connection between plants, personal healing, and happiness.
I’m all in support of this for two reasons: I love to see my black queers out here smiling and thriving first of all, and secondly, if you didn’t know because you’re new here and you haven’t heard my plant references yet, I'm also a passionate plant mum. Nurturing little plantitas is an immense source of joy for me even though at the moment because I moved recently across the country from San Francisco to New York, my last lovely Airbnb host has adopted my sweet plant beings into his own collection, and now my only houseplants are the green onions and tomatoes I’m growing in my windowsill, welp, so I’ve living even more vicariously through Plant Kwees glory.
Also, a relevant side note about plants: I genuinely believe now that plants can give hints about energy. For example, I think if you go into someone’s home or you start dating someone and all of their plants are dead or dying, you might want to run or at least maybe reevaluate that relationship because plants will tell you the truth. (And I’m partially joking because even the best plant nurturers have to start somewhere and we all have managed at less once to affectionately overwater or sun scorch our plants, but I’m also halfway serious because in my experience, they way that someone nurtures their plants can actually speak volumes about how they nurture themselves and other relationships such as with you, but anyway that’s for a different episode)
If you need someone to make you smile and are struggling to keep your plants alive, you’ll love the tips on their Instagram. If you’re listening to this Plant Kween, thank you for being here, thank you for sharing the good word about how we can heal through plants, while simultaneously creating positive representation in the botanical passion/plant parent space because we don’t see a lot of black representation there.
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Now, Plant Kween did a lovely guest episode about plants and healing on The Sugar Jar Podcast with Yasmine Cheyenne, which leads me to my next black creative that you definitely should go show some love and support to and savor their mental health content. The Sugar Jar Podcast is a more recent creation from what I could see, but already highly rated as it should be; it centers around sharing conversations with unique guests about healing journeys. The inspiration for her podcast as I read on her website, was a poignant moment when she recorded a voice note to herself about feeling like a sugar jar in a kitchen, where people in her life could come in and take cup fulls from the jar and leave her feeling exhausted, used, unseen, and alone.
Yasmine’s podcast is gentle, soothing, and naturally flowing which is my favorite podcast style to listen to, I am actually subscribed to her on Google Podcasts, although you can also find her on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or her direct website Yasminecheyenne.com which is linked below. She also provides The Sugar Jar workshops to corporations, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to teach skills for establishing healthy boundaries and healthy relationships. So please go follow her on Instagram or listen to her gentle healing podcast linked below, I highly recommend her collab episode interviewing Plant Kween as a relaxing listen to start.
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The very last lovely black creative that I’ll be sharing today that absolutely deserves more recognition in the mental health space is Nedra Glover Tawwab, who was also featured as a guest on The Sugar Jar Podcast I just mentioned, however, I found her separately on Pinterest because she’s amazing if you like the insightful, tell-it-like-it-is, no-nonsense, no-frills type of content, you need to follow her on Instagram and Pinterest. Nedra is a licensed therapist of 13 years and a relationship expert who helps people create healthy relationships through boundaries and assertiveness. She’s been featured on The New York Times, The Guardian, Psychology Today, Self, and Vice, and others. To give you a sense of the style of what she posts, here's one of the short & sweet yet highly valuable posts that I personally already saved.
8 Things I Would Tell My Younger Self
1. You cannot do "the work" for other people
2. When people want your help, they will ask
3. Some people won't change; it's okay to let go
4. You will have to accept things without understanding them
5. Other people's reaction is a reflection of them, not you
6. If you feel like you can't share your accomplishments with people, they aren't your people
7. Consistent passive-aggressive behaviors are a sign of something deeper; take it seriously
8. People make you think that setting boundaries are mean and rude because they want to continue to take advantage of you
I appreciate those words, I know that the younger me could have absolutely benefitted from reading those simple, tough love truths & I'm sure many of you would appreciate more of her work as well.
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She’s also the founder of Kalidescope Counseling, so if you want to support a lovely black therapist and business owner, you can follow her on Instagram or visit her website linked below. Her new book Set Boundaries, Find Peace is also soon to be released on March 16th; so if you’re looking to support black authors you can check that out! I’ve already saved it to my “to read” shelf on Goodreads because I’m interested to read it and it made me smile as a fellow author because I think Nedra and I both have our own books releasing around the same time.
I'm writing my next book to contribute further to compassionate mental health advocacy, but more details on that in a different episode. To other writers, poets & black creatives out there especially in the mental health space, I'm proud of you & I want to hear from you so please comment below sharing your upcoming passion project releases & where we can support you.
So, what do I want you to remember & learn from Trevor Noah’s video regarding black mental health? I want you to know that although I can agree from personal experience that black people and other people of color do face the challenging and often discouraging barriers of limited access to resources for quality care, proper diagnosis, or struggles to find culturally competent mental health professionals who are relatable, as you can see just from the 5 empowering mental health resources I shared with you, there are advocates out there that care and work hard to offer inclusive services. There are affordable black therapists out there for any gender and a diverse range of mental health needs, and there are lovely black podcasters, bloggers, YouTubers, and even an uplifting black Plant “Kween" in the mental health and self-care space.
When someone shares a valuable resource with you, the way I shared these 5 gems in this episode, it is important that you do your part to support, follow, hype, share those resources with other people of color in our community because that’s the only way we can look out for each other and lift each other up into healing and genuine happiness. if there's someone you would love to give a shout out even if it's just yourself for valuable uplifting resources for our community feel free to message them to me & drop them below in the podcast comment section, my website, or YouTube channel!
To Trevor Noah, if you’re listening to this, thank you for using your voice and your humor to progress the black mental health dialogue in that video. & if you create any more mental health content (which I support and encourage you to do), I look forward to seeing what empowering black mental health resources you choose to share but if nothing else... please just include the resource link in the description box next time (gentle laugh).
If you enjoyed and valued this cozy episode and would love to support me in creating more empowering mental health content, please share this episode link to someone you care about, and you can also become one of my lovely supporters at patreon.com/thenogginpodcast or anchor.fm/thenogginpodcast/support. I deeply appreciate you, thank you so much. I welcome you to come back to relax with me again on Monday, Jan 11th for the official launch of season 3.
The very last thing: If you already know me you can skip these 40 seconds and just head to the end of this episode, but if you are new here and you’ve never stumbled across me before, pleasure to meet you. Again, my name is Kyarra Keele. Aside from being the host of this podcast, I'm a four-time published author, soon to publish my fifth in a few months, I was a healthy lifestyle blogger for six years and I am an aspiring polyglot currently learning four languages which are Spanish American Sign Language French, and Arabic. I was a mental health ambassador working as a liaison between the community and local health center to educate and support and progress the mental health dialogue and I've been navigating the mental health system for about a decade.
I'm deeply passionate about mental health service and advocacy because I believe that no one deserves to be hurting or feeling alone in this universe. I hope that my zest & compassionate podcast will cheer you along on your good days and offer a cozy and supportive haven for you on your more difficult days.
The Noggin Podcast is brought to you today by Anchor. A practical app I actually use. The anchor app is the easiest way to record a high-quality podcast, and distribute it everywhere (including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple, & more) all in one place with one click when you release a new episode. No fancy equipment or experience necessary, and even better than all of that, it’s 100% free! I’ve tried a few other editing apps that make it a headache to import and export your audio files but Anchor’s intuitive platform makes it nice and easy.
If you made it here to the conclusion of this episode, I just want to say thank you so much. Muchisimas gracias. If you’re interested in learning more information you can explore The Noggin Podcast official website, and you can show your love and support for compassionate mental health advocacy on our Patreon as well as following us on Pinterest & The Noggin Podcast Youtube channel to be a part of our cozy home with new episode releases every Monday morning. See you in the next episode! Nos vemos en el próximo episodio.
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