Pause. Breathe. Hope. Heal.
Dear Reader! To make life easier for you, feel free to click the link below to download this podcast episode and listen to it on the go. You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, or watch it on the Oak and Stream Therapy YouTube page.
This podcast episode and blog post is about Black Mental Health in Canada, and I’ll be interviewing psychotherapist, Shanique Victoria Edwards who is an expert in racial trauma and mental health resilience.
Shanique’s Bio: Shanique Victoria is a psychotherapist in Ontario, Canada. She is a Knowledge Translation Specialist with the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression (CAMH), a mental health consultant with Black Mental Health Canada, and a public speaker. She also serves on the steering committee for The Health Research Council for People of African Descent. Her areas of research focus on racial trauma and mental health resilience. Shanique is a passionate advocate for the diverse and unique mental health needs of BIPOC individuals.
The interview: As I look at this topic, I think it’s important to locate myself. From my perspective as a Black woman of Caribbean descent, there are many reasons why some black people who share a similar background to me refuse to seek out mental health support. For some there’s a prevailing thought, “we just don’t do that in our culture”. For others, they have tried to access mental health support but have been met with therapists who due to a lack of cultural awareness or competency, minimized their experience and did more harm than good. For other people, economically it’s sometimes hard to access quality mental health support.
In this interview, Shanique will answer these important questions:
- What are some of the major barriers for black Canadians when it comes to accessing mental health care?
- What do you suggest non-BIPOC therapists do to provide black Canadians with more culturally sensitive, client care?
- What are some mental health resources that Black Canadians can access?
She will also leave listeners an important take-away.
You can find Shanique at: https://www.shaniquevictoria.com/
Mental health resources for Black Canadians:
- Black mental health Canada: Their mission is to improve the mental health and well-being of Black individuals and communities in Canada by advocating for culturally competent mental health services and promoting community education and empowerment.
- African-Canadian Christian Network: A Toronto based, Black non-profit organization dedicated to equipping Black youth and their families with tools to navigate the systematic barriers that hinder the community.
- Toronto For All: Anti-Black Racism & Black Mental Health: A selection of organizations and helplines in the Toronto area.
- Black Women in Motion: A Toronto-based organization that provides consent and mental health education, advocacy, and support for Black women and non-binary people, and survivors of sexual violence.
- Black Youth Helpline: A multicultural helpline and services that focus on community development and support for Black youth across Canada.
- Black mental Health Alliance: A community-led charity working to improve the health and well-being of Black communities in Canada.
- Suicide Crisis line: A safe space to talk, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
- Black mental health matters: A service in the GTA that caters to clients who typically can’t afford mental health services, and provides low-cost treatment options with a therapist who is culturally understanding.
- Black Mental Health Connections Montreal (BMHC MTL): An alliance of organizations and individuals providing services and focusing on the mental health and well-being of the English-speaking Black community in Montreal.
- The Mental Health Coalition: A Resource Library that includes resource pamphlets specifically for BIPOC and Black folks.
As you finish reading this post, remember to take a moment to pause, breathe, hope, and heal.
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