Resource CenterTaking Care of Your Mental Health as a Young Black Man

Taking Care of Your Mental Health as a Young Black Man

A young Black man out for a run while listening to music with earbuds.

By Tiffany Eve Lawrence

As a young Black man, you may have grown up in a family where mental health was rarely discussed. You might have found it easier to tough it out than ask for help. And if you did ask for help, you might have had a hard time finding quality mental health care or a therapist who understood your cultural background.

Having mental health care that celebrates your identity and speaks to your unique experiences is one of the most effective ways to take care of yourself in a society that has historically pushed the Black community to the margins. They’re not always easy to find, but there are therapists, organizations, and individual habits you can lean on to validate your identity and take care of your well-being.

How to Open Your Mind to Therapy

It’s OK to be unsure about therapy and whether it will work for you. Keeping these things in mind may help you be more open to the experience:

You can take your time. You don’t have to share everything with your therapist all at once. You can work your way up to talking about more difficult subjects.
There are different forms of support. From more traditional talk therapy to mindfulness- or trauma-focused therapy, there are different types you can try to see what is most helpful to you.
There are ways to make therapy more affordable. Therapists may offer a sliding scale, which means they will adjust their session fees based on what you are able to pay. You may also find low-cost or free therapy services through local community centers or health clinics.
What you tell your therapist will not be shared. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known as HIPAA, protects your health information. If you are 18 years old or older, your health-care information, including mental health information, is protected by law and will not be shared with anyone without your consent. If you are under 18, privacy laws vary by state. In general, mental health providers will keep your mental health information private as long as you are not at risk of harming yourself or others.

Learn more about mental health and privacy, ways to find affordable health care, and how to get care when you are concerned about privacy.

Other Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health as a Young Black Man

Going to therapy is a great way to take care of your mental health, but there are plenty of other ways to find support. Here are a few practical things you can start doing.

Find Expressive Outlets

The arts are embedded in the history of Black culture. It’s why most family cookouts or reunions are filled with music and dancing. Find opportunities to express yourself through writing in a private notebook, painting, singing karaoke with friends, learning a musical instrument, or doing slam poetry at an open mic night.

If you are considering therapy, you may explore talk therapy options that include the arts, such as dance therapy; art therapy; narrative therapy, where you work with your therapist to “write” your life story and see life events through a more positive lens; or somative movement therapy, where you focus on the relationship between your mind and body and how trauma may affect your physical self.

Engage With Your Support Network

Community doesn’t have to consist of acquiring a big crowd of friends. It can start with having one or two people with whom you can be honest, laugh, and turn to when you need a hand. Along with enjoying their company, it’s important that they offer a listening ear and are nonjudgmental so you feel safe to share your frustrations when life gets hard. And remember: Your community can be close-knit or far-reaching, and it can include anyone from coaches and teachers to leaders in your youth group or another community organization.

Find Ways to De-stress

Happiness is healing — whatever shape it takes. Find activities and hobbies that allow you to disconnect from stress and connect with yourself. In moments of pure joy, you can be unfiltered and unguarded, allowing you to show up authentically and celebrate life.

Practice Asking for Help

You shouldn’t have to ride out your problems alone, but it’s not always easy to ask for support. Make a habit of asking for a hand in small ways. That way, when things get really tough, you already know how to flex your help-seeking muscle. If you’re struggling in class, ask your teacher for some extra help. If you’re having a hard time in your sport, ask your coach for some pointers after practice. The more you get in the practice of asking for help, the easier it will get over time.

The Truth About Therapy for Black Men

For hundreds of years, mental health therapy was white-centered. In many ways, it still is. Psychological treatments and diagnoses were developed by studying the lived experiences of white people only — mostly white men. That impacted how the entire system of mental health care works.

Efforts have been made to be more inclusive in research. Still, it can be challenging to find care that connects to your racial and cultural background when, as of 2021, just over 5% of active psychologists in America were Black.

Given that reality, young Black men too often are labeled as being resistant to mental health services when the truth is that society hasn’t created enough therapeutic spaces that are culturally responsive and safe.

Remember: Culturally Responsive Care Is Out There

Let’s get one thing straight: Just because therapy centered around the Black experience is hard to find does not mean it doesn’t exist — or that it isn’t worthwhile. Representation is still unbalanced, but there are resources created specifically to help you find care.

Get more therapy resources for diverse identities and tips on how to find a culturally competent therapist.

Seeing a culturally competent therapist can help you feel seen, heard, and not judged, and you may find you don’t even need to explain the nuances of your values, experiences, and perspective.