Local non-profit aims to eradicate stigma against mental health in the black community
A local non-profit organization is working to eradicate the stigma behind mental health within the Black community by providing people with the resources they need.
PHILADELPHIA – Mental health experts say more people are seeking therapy now than ever before. There’s just one issue: there aren’t enough therapists. A local family therapist is working to solve this issue by using her expertise to offer people free mental health classes through a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.
Farida Boyer, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Black Brain Campaign, is a family therapist who has made it her life’s mission to highlight the importance of mental health, especially within the Black community. She even designated October 10 as World Mental Health Day.
“We just had our gala and there were close to 300 people who attended, which was amazing. So now they can get the word out about mental health and the importance of mental health so that people in our community have the resources and they get what they need,” Boyer said.
Boyer says the pandemic and increased violence across the city has caused an increase in depression and anxiety, especially among people living in areas where mental health resources are scarce and crime is rife. Although Boyer says progress has been made, there is still a fundamental issue that prevents people from getting the help they need and deserve.
“It is not enough for us”, she said.
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The Brain Brain Campaign is working to change that by training clinicians to get their license so they can work under major insurance companies, which will ultimately give more people access to the therapy.
“We train master’s level clinicians to get their license because they can’t be part of a panel like Independence Blue Cross or Aetna if they don’t have a license. So we want to make sure they’re licensed clinicians who get supervision by culturally licensed therapists,” Boyer said.
The Black Brain campaign offers people 12 free mental health sessions to kick-start people’s mental health journeys. For more information on how to get in touch with a licensed therapist through The Black Brain Campaign, go to TheBlackBrainCampaign.org or visit them Instagram.
