For Black Americans suffering from mental illness, the answer may lie in community
TheGrio...
In this exclusive interview during Mental Health Awareness Month Dr. Raquel Martin opens up about the healing power of building community.
For many Black Americans trying to gain a better disposition right now, the answer may not be more self-work; it may be each other.
As Mental Health Awareness Month begins, it arrives at a time when many are carrying a heavy, collective weight, from grief to burnout.
“A lot of us are experiencing a significant amount of collective grief over a lot of things,” Dr. Raquel Martin, a licensed psychologist and professor based in Nashville, Tennessee, told theGrio by phone on Friday.
She noted April in particular was especially heavy for Black women, marked by headline after headline of Black femicide, something she said has also devastated many Black men who feel helpless, only for the month to end with the Voting Rights Act being gutted in the Supreme Court.
“The biggest message that I’ve been pushing is the aspect of community,” said the psychologist. “It may sound trite, but one of the biggest things that I advocate for is us creating our own liberation-based ecosystems where we can support each other as a community.”
Roughly one in five Black Americans experiences mental illness, yet more than half of Black adults who may need therapy never seek it. Systemic barriers to care persist, something experts and mental health professionals like Martin readily acknowledge, but for many, there is also a lack of community. This year’s Mental Health Awareness Month theme from the National Alliance on Mental Illness centers on community as a vital source of support and empowering connection.
“Therapy does not have a monopoly on healing,” Dr. Martin said. “Whatever path you take, whether it is spirituality or therapy or activism, it will be paved with community.”
In a world that often demands masking and code-switching from Black people, simply existing can be exhausting. Even with the best self-improvement tools and routines, without spaces that affirm the Black experience, that performance can become isolating.
“The isolation is one of the things that makes it so hard for us, feeling like, not only are we going through this, we’re going through it alone,” she explained.
In safe spaces designed with the Black experience at the forefront, however, healing can begin when the mask can finally slip. In these environments, microaggressions, overt racism, and the despair shaped by current events impacting Black life can be fully named. Knowing you aren’t alone, that others see and feel it too, can help the body settle and create a stronger foundation for navigating those emotions.
Community can take many forms. It can be found among friends, at church, through organizations like the NAACP or the Urban League, or in clubs built around reading, sports, writing, or game nights. It can also be as simple as attending events or trying new classes that align with your interests.
The goal, Dr. Martin said, is to find people “where you already have a united thought process, or starting something new and being able to build in that community, because when it comes to community, you’re not only benefiting from your own expertise and skills, you’re also benefiting from the expertise and skills of those around you and who care about you.”
Social media can also be a powerful tool in finding both mental health resources and community. While not everything or everyone should be trusted, Martin likens it to not giving out our Social Security number to just anyone, so the same discernment should apply online—still, when used intentionally, there is much to be gained.
“Social media, when done well, is very helpful, because it’s so accessible,” Dr. Martin, who has built a platform across social media and through her podcast, sharing mental health resources and insights with hundreds of thousands daily, said.
“You may not be able to see me in therapy,” she continued. “Social media has been one of the most helpful things in life when it comes to me feeling I’m able to help more people.”
Offline, there’s also activism. Channeling anger, sadness, and hopelessness into organizing or joining groups already doing the work, can build community while restoring a sense of agency.
“I prescribe activism as much as I prescribe coping skills, because a lot of us are feeling hopelessness and powerlessness, and activism is the epitome of taking that power back,” Dr. Martin said.
Communities aren’t just for validating pain. They can also be sources of joy, places where you feel safe enough to fully be yourself, without shrinking or editing for others. Over time, community can become family. You might meet someone at a tennis club who becomes part of your child’s village, or someone who connects you to a life-changing opportunity, or even helps you see yourself more clearly.
“We are a collectivist people,” Martin stressed. “As someone who specializes in Black health and well-being, we’re a collectivist culture, and a lot of us are getting bogged down by what’s happening in the system … When does the system serve us? We always have each other.”