Mental Health in the black community

In the Black community, one is often told to “be strong,” or “there’s nothing wrong with you,” in times of stress, trauma, drug addiction or poor state of mental health. While also facing racism, discrimination, and lack of access to mental health care, statistics show there’s a growing need for mental health to be properly addressed among those in the African American community. Aside from those roadblocks, there is a stigma ingrained in the culture surrounding mental health issues. In this edition of Podcasting With Amin, we sit with Dr. Akinkunle Owoso, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine, Renee Hodgins , a Mental Health Counselor at the Counseling and Educational Center, and Lissa Marteen, a parent of a child with mental illness, to have a candid conversation tackling the misconceptions of mental health and the need for treatment to carry on healthy and happy lifestyles.