Black Therapists
Are You Looking For Help From Someone Who Can Identify With Your Pain?
Are you a Black or Brown individual or couple seeking culturally competent mental health support? Do you tend to feel isolated or misunderstood? Could you benefit from the perspective and support of someone who can identify with your experiences?
You may be feeling emotionally exhausted after years of code-switching, trying to assimilate, and enduring systemic bias. Whether you experience microaggressions, receive unfair treatment (including lower pay at work), or are penalized when trying to assert yourself, you have likely lost trust in the systems and institutions meant to provide stability and support.
And while you may have sought therapy or coaching in the past, it might have been hard for you to find someone who looked like you, someone who could truly understand your feelings. As a result, you probably felt like you couldn’t fully open up to or trust your therapist.
At Insideout Living, we understand the impact that anxiety, depression, and trauma—including racial trauma—can have on your life and relationships. All you want is to feel seen and understood in your experiences so that you can find joy, problem-solve, and live with more confidence.
Fortunately, our team includes Black therapists, coaches, and psychologists who can help you examine your experiences as you process and heal.
Trying To Find A Black Therapist Can Create Further Stress
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), Black and Brown therapists make up only four percent of the mental health workforce. This means it can be challenging for clients to find and schedule sessions with Black and Brown counselors. For these individuals needing support, it’s likely their exhaustion increases when explaining their background and experiences to white clinicians.
Not to mention, within the Black community, there can be certain religious leanings or cultural standards that stigmatize therapy. Those who are religious may be concerned that seeking the help of a clinician means their faith is weak. And other members of the BIPOC community may not feel comfortable discussing their personal lives or distressing experiences out of a need to protect themselves or remain stoic and in control.
Like So Many Institutions, Mental Health Systems Lack Representation And Cultural Literacy
It’s not as if our medical and mental health systems offer much reassurance. Many Black and Brown patients have had negative experiences under the care of non-Black clinicians and oftentimes, effective resources are hard to find or altogether inaccessible.
Yet, working with a Black therapist, psychologist, or coach can remove some of those barriers. By receiving culturally competent care from someone who values your identity and has firsthand experience with some of your same challenges, you can feel seen, heard, and understood.
Therapy At Insideout Living Allows You To Receive Support Without Judgment Or Expectation
Though you may have found it difficult to be open and transparent with clinicians in the past, counseling with a Black or Brown therapist can help remove some of the fear around being minimized or judged. Instead of being relied upon to “teach” your counselor about the Black experience, you can use therapy as a chance to take a load off and feel supported.
At Insideout Living, our practice is Black-owned and operated, and some of our clinicians are BIPOC. Whether you’re seeking individual therapy for anxiety, depression, or PTSD, couples counseling in support of your relationship, or personal and career coaching, you will be paired with a Black or Brown therapist who can offer compassion and empathy.
Our Approach To Counseling
Beyond offering trauma-informed care, the team at Insideout Living maintains a high level of cultural competence and provides a strengths-based approach to both online and in-person therapy. We value and understand the power of resiliency, especially for our BIPOC clients. Our process is collaborative and treats you as the expert on your own life.
Though disruptive symptoms are likely what caused you to seek therapy, we are trained to identify root causes and provide you with the skills you need to overcome hurdles. And depending on your needs, your therapist is likely to use behavioral methods (including Cognitive Behavioral and Dialectical Behavior Therapies, or CBT and DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Somatic Therapy along with other trauma-focused approaches that are particularly useful for Black and Brown individuals and couples.
As you gain a clearer understanding of the underlying circumstances at the core of your condition, you will be given an opportunity to build a customized toolkit to use in times of distress. By integrating these practices into your everyday life, you will likely experience increased self-confidence and create a narrative that celebrates your strengths.
By receiving support from someone who can genuinely identify with your perspectives and unique challenges, meaningful change is possible. A Black therapist can help you to transform your relationship with your past, your environment, and yourself. At Insideout Living, we offer culturally aware support that paves the way for healing and new possibilities.
Perhaps You’re Ready to See A Therapist, But You Still Have Questions…
As a Black individual/couple, how do I know I will be treated with respect in therapy?
Because the founders of Insideout Living are Black clinicians and coaches, we are devoted to providing a safe, empathetic space for our BIPOC clients. Our clinicians are trained to maintain an exceptional degree of cultural literacy and provide a welcoming, engaging atmosphere for our clients.
Working with our Black counselors and coaches, you can feel confident in the therapeutic process, knowing that you’re in the care of someone who understands your pain and invests in your healing.
How long does therapy take?
That’s a good question, and it’s one we get frequently. However, it’s a question that is relatively hard to answer. The length of time spent in therapy depends on the obstacles you experience and your specific goals for therapy. Nevertheless, our goal is to help you find solutions and integrate new practices in your life so you can find lasting relief.
How much does therapy cost?
Therapists’ fees vary based on experience and expertise. We aim to make counseling as accessible as possible, especially for our Black and Brown clients, so some of our therapists are in-network with BCBSIL PPO.
If you want to know more, please contact us.
We Are Here To Help You Feel Seen And Understood In Your Experiences
Insideout Living offers culturally competent support and care that can help you overcome emotional pain and distress.
Please click here to schedule an appointment, and you will be paired with a Black or Brown therapist who is qualified to meet your needs and goals.
¹https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint#:~:text=In%202015%2C%2086%20percent%20of,from%20other%20racial%2Fethnic%20groups.
