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Bridging the Leadership Gap
Recent research has shown that our collective “mental model” and quest for the conventional white standard for a leader reduces the likelihood that BIPOC will be viewed as suitable for leadership roles. Lack of diversity at the top of organizations has often been attributed to the belief that...
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Developing a Culture of Accountability and Belonging
Creating a psychologically safe and inclusive work culture of Accountability and Belonging is central to the role of a developing anti-racist leader. The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior that leaders are willing to tolerate. An effective culture shift requires the...
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Black Men and Mental Health: Practical Solutions
It's no secret that black men face a unique set of circumstances in our world; economic, healthcare, and educational disparities, systemic racism, and social injustice. These factors create a world where it seems Black men's lives are rarely valued, much less their thoughts and feelings. This has...
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Mental Health in BIPOC Communities: How to Reduce Stigma and Barriers
Much of the stigma around mental health stems from crisis situations. We fear people who seem out of control, especially when we don’t know how to support them. For Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), social disparities can compound that fear. During my career, I’ve worked in...
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PSA Addresses Mental Health Stigma in the Latino Community
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI-NYC), which has been providing support to families and individuals affected by mental illness for over 40 years, has developed culturally responsive programs to help address the mental health needs of the Latino community. Our Helpline...
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Tips on Becoming an Antiracist Leader
White institutional culture is most often invisible. It determines the norms and standards in your organization and is damaging to the antiracist journey. It requires training your eyes to see, your ears to hear, and your voice to become racially fluent. The first step for an antiracist leader is...
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Using the Seven Principles of Afrocentricity to Frame a Community-Based Organization’s Programs and Services for Individuals, Families, and Communities
Services for the UnderServed (S:US) is one the largest community-based, health and human services organizations in New York State and intentionally works daily to "right" societal imbalances by providing comprehensive and culturally responsive programming. The need to fulfill its mission of driving...
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Critical Themes in Mental Health Treatment of African Americans: Past, Present, and Recommendations for the Future
Part One: The Past Must our mental health community, both locally, nationally, and internationally, surrender to the many mistakes that occurred in the past regarding the care and treatment of African Americans? Or is it possible that we can critically examine the historical antecedents, thinking...
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Responding to the COVID Pandemic and Racial Injustice
One of the truths that have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic is that while the trauma and grief of COVID-19 and the accumulated racial injustices have been widespread, the impact has been felt more strongly in some communities. COVID-19 has been much more harmful to Black and Brown communities...
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Beyond Data: Strategies to Reduce Racial Missteps for Behavioral Healthcare Providers
Discussions of social determinants of behavioral health (SDBH) are often limited to data. While statistics are extremely valuable to understand the impact of institutional and systemic forces across racial and economic lines, SDBH conversations regularly exclude practical means to raise the...
