BROKIN: MENTAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS FOR MEN OF COLOR

Culturally competent treatments for Black men take these realities into account and, as such, share certain ingredients, said psychologists involved in this work. They recommend that clinicians:

Address masculine norms: Studies find that Black men are sometimes more likely than White men to endorse aspects of traditional masculine ideology such as the need to act tough, be in control, and avoid emotional expression. But there are nuances to those findings, said Baron Rogers, PhD, a counseling psychologist at Penn State University, who studies Black men’s mental health. For example, Black men who have been historically marginalized might endorse ideals of masculinity such as financial success but not be able to access those ideals fully. Others may feel pressure to exhibit such qualities but not actually value them on a personal level. As a result, they may experience internal conflict or strain which in turn can lead to shame, anxiety, frustration, and depressive symptoms, he said.

“When men feel disenfranchised, it breeds resentment towards social and economic systems that ask them to abide by the tenets of what it means to be a successful man while at the same time being restricted by those tenets,” Rogers said.

When Black men do hold internalized views of masculinity that encourage them to act tough and withhold their emotions, “it makes a lot of Black men resistant to therapy and more likely to seek informal ways of addressing their mental health through barbershops, church, religion, or talking to family members,” said clinical psychologist Ifeanyi-Allah Ufondu, PhD, Founder of BroKin.Org – Mental Health Solutions for Men of Color So when a Black man does enter therapy, “it’s important to tread lightly as he starts to open up and share his emotions,” he said, “because if you push to discuss emotions too soon and he isn’t ready, he may decide not to return.” Dr. Ufondu’s monthly MENtal Health Roundtable in Dallas, TX. destigmatizes mental health treatment for Black men and boys in an engaging manner, using a psychological science focus.

Jessica L. Jackson, PhD, a counseling psychologist in Houston and global diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging care lead at the mental health tech firm Modern Health, has done some of this work with Black men in settings including the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, the Harris Health System (Texas), and private practice. To help these men identify and become more comfortable with their emotions, she uses a tool called the Feelings Wheel, which labels the spectrum of emotions from the most basic to the most nuanced.

When Black men start to gain a more extensive emotional vocabulary, it provides fuel for the next stages of therapeutic work: addressing past traumas and learning how to communicate more effectively in relationships, Jackson said. She knows they are making progress when they start to bring what they have learned home—for example when they begin communicating with their partners about their feelings instead of brooding or responding with anger. “It’s like they’re getting unstuck,” she said.

Address racism: Culturally informed treatment for Black men also involves directly and therapeutically addressing issues of racism, said Rogers. He suggested that by  educating men on the impact of racism and supporting them to align with their own cultural and personal values, clinicians can  empower Black men to engage with their lives using their own strengths and relational resources.

So along with treatments that specifically address intergenerational trauma and racial trauma, “Black men need connection to their own communities and their own inner worlds, and to learn ways to be internally flexible in relation to rigid masculine ideals so they don’t feel run by them,” he said.

In addition, therapists should be aware that issues of racism and masculinity can intersect in complicated ways, Rogers added. In his dissertation, he surveyed more than 600 Black men on their endorsement of views related to Black male identity, manhood, and the Black experience. He found that prosocial aspects of masculinity such as being responsible and confident were related to strength-based Black values but also with experiences of racial discrimination, perhaps suggesting a strong need to define oneself as a man in the face of oppressive experiences.

For White psychologists to work effectively with Black male clients, it is imperative that they develop a deeper understanding of racism and its impacts by keeping abreast of the latest scholarship, taking continuing-education classes, and getting training in the area, other psychologists noted (in fact, for license renewal, several state licensing boards specifically require courses in cultural diversity). White clinicians should also become familiar with the  APA Guidelines on Race and Ethnicity in Psychology, approved by the APA Council of Representatives in 2019. Among otherpoints, the guidelines state that psychologists should consider their own biases, privileges, and socialization in relation to race and ethnicity and work to address organizational and social inequities and injustices inside and outside of the field.

In a general sense, encouraging clients to talk about racism opens the door to more fulfilling therapy overall, Turner added. “It allows clients to feel that they can talk about anything in this room,” he said. “For me, that’s a really important piece about having that conversation.”