8 Back-to-School Mental Health Resources for BIPOC Students
Many parents and children are looking forward to back-to-school season and easing into a regular schedule once again. Student mental health was already a growing concern before COVID-19. Depression among adolescents in the U.S. has been increasing steadily over the years.
BIPOC students particularly may experience more negative circumstances such as racial/ethnic discrimination, marginalization, and lack of access to resources and services that contribute negatively to their mental health. There are many online resources that can help BIPOC students manage their mental health as back-to-school season begins.
Here are eight back-to-school mental health resources for BIPOC students:
1. The Steve Fund
The Steve Fund is an organization dedicated to supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color. The Fund works with colleges and universities, nonprofits, researchers, mental health experts, families, and young people to promote programs and strategies to build understanding and provide assistance to young BIPOC people.
The Steve Fund offers an array programs and services, with sessions designed and led by mental health experts. Student workshops equip high school and college students with knowledge and skills to maintain positive mental health through their academic pursuits and throughout their lives.
Workshops are available virtually, pre-recorded or in person, and cover topics such as self-care, racial healing, coping, and addressing micro-aggressions and racial incidents. The Fund offers video series, panels and interviews with experts, white papers, webinars and more. Students can also text to connect with a live, trained crisis counselor.
2. BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health
BEAM is a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists who are committed to the emotional and mental health and healing of Black communities.
Their mission is to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing. BEAM fulfills its mission through education, training, advocacy and the creative arts.
The website offers tips and articles, downloadable toolkits, printable worksheets, and more. The Collective also has produced a video series sharing voices of Black advocates, therapists, social workers, writers, artists and yoga teachers on the most pressing issues surrounding mental health.
How will you create a litle peace of mind for yourself today? pic.twitter.com/ave8plEN6y
— BEAM (@_beamorg) August 6, 2020
3. We R Native
We R Native is a comprehensive health resource for Native youth, by Native youth. With a holistic health approach, the website shares extensive categories of articles and videos geared toward issues facing Native students including culture, body and mind, relationships, and environment. There is a page dedicated to mental health, with articles covering anxiety and depression, managing stress, anger and school pressures.
The site contains over 330 health and wellness pages that have been reviewed by Native youth and topical experts, and encourages youth to share their stories as well. Ask Auntie is a feature that allows youth to seek advice by submitting questions online.
4. Asian Mental Health Collective
The Asian Mental Health Collective aims to make mental health easily available, approachable, and accessible to Asian communities worldwide. Its mission is to normalize and de-stigmatize mental health within the Asian community.
The website features an interview series, “Advancing Asian Mental Health,” that features individuals and organizations striving to make a difference among Asian communities around the world. Readers are invited to submit their own stories as well. Listen to Mental Health Mukbang, a video/podcast with conversations that bring Asian culture and mental health to the table.
5. Therapy for Black Girls
Therapy for Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls. The community was founded by Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist, and host of the popular podcast, “Therapy for Black Girls.” Bradford makes mental health topics more relevant and accessible for Black women and uses pop culture to illustrate psychological concepts.
Along with her podcast, Dr. Bradford offers the Yellow Couch Collective, a community for Black women to gather to support, encourage, and learn from one another with a monthly membership starting at $9.99 a month.
6. Therapy for Latinx
Therapy for Latinx provides resources for the Latinx community to heal, thrive, and become advocates for their own mental health. The website allows people to find therapists, life coaches, emergency mental health centers, and free/low costs community clinics.
Navigating Therapy for Latinx is easy for both mental health professionals and people seeking mental health treatment. People looking for therapists can search the database; Latinx therapists who want to be included in the database can submit their info into a simple form. This resource is also available in both English and Spanish. Therapy for Latinx also offers free online mental health screenings in partnership with Mental Health America.
7. Brown Girl Therapy
Brown Girl Therapy is a mental health community for “all children of immigrants to explore our bicultural identities and discuss taboo topics as they pertain to our mental health and wellness in this world and in our relationships.” Founded by Sahaj Kohli, the space is for the community but also for mental health professionals to learn more about working with immigrant clients and families.
The Instagram page offers tidbits, while the Brown Girl Therapy Newsletter is filled with various resources, news about all events, and other tips and inspiration.
8. Active Minds
Active Minds is a nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults. The organization is dedicated to building stronger families and communities, with a focus on young adults ages 14–25. Through education, research and advocacy, Active Minds is changing the conversation about mental health.
While this website is not specifically for BIPOC people, they have some great content geared toward BIPOC students including this webinar, “More than a Moment — A Conversation with BIPOC Student Mental Health Leaders,” available on YouTube.
Hopefully these online resources will help BIPOC students manage their mental health as the back-to-school season begins and continue to provide them with a supportive community and safe space.
Header image via Prostock-Studio/Getty Images
Maria Lianos-Carbone is the author of “Oh Baby! A Mom’s Self-Care Survival Guide for the First Year”, and publisher of amotherworld.com, a popular family lifestyle blog for women.
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