AROUND THE ABPsi
My First ABPsi Convention: A Reflection
Introduction I walked into my first Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) Convention with nervous feelings. I had been involved with ABPsi for years during my undergraduate studies. I started as an event coordinator, served as the President of my student chapter, and now serve as the Associate Editor for PsychDiscourse. […]
Pressure
Supreme Court Decision on Affirmative Action
By Dr. Thomas Parham I write on behalf of the national Association of Black Psychologists, Inc. (ABPsi), our President Dr. Donell Barnett, our Board of Directors, past presidents, and Council of Elders to strongly condemn and express profound disappointment and outrage at the latest Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action […]
Research Corner
WISDOMBEARERS: A Study of Proverb Use and Values Among African American Elders
By: Huberta Jackson-LowmanJustin WilliamsChrista JohnsonStephanie BarnesJasmine PlummerEarnestine RichardsonFlorida A&M University ABSTRACT This study investigated knowledge and use of proverbs, values associated with proverb use, and proverb prioritization among Afrikan American elders 60 years of age and older. Forty elders living in retirement homes in the southeastern part of the country […]
RECENT POSTS
Remembering and Reforming 9/11
On September 10th, my son asked, “Is anyone afraid that we are flying to New York tomorrow?” My wife and I looked at each other. “No, we’ll be fine,” replied my wife. The next day we boarded the flight to New York. While some of the cabin’s passengers slept, […]
Beyond the Mask: The Inner Self (IS) and the BE Mindful Mind
Dr. Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks remains one of the most influential examinations of the psychological consequences of racism, colonialism, and imposed identity. When Fanon first published the book in 1952, he explored how repeated exposure to a social environment that associates whiteness with intelligence, beauty, civilization, acceptance, and […]
Beyond Silence: African Approaches to Suicide Prevention and Healing
World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10 “Be strong.” “Keep going.” “Do not let people see you break.” These words can sound like care to many black people. These words can also mean that, whatever hurts, hold it. For people who have endured enslavement across generations, colonization, racism, and exclusion, there […]
When Black Clinicians Burn Out, Black Communities Pay the Price
Self-care is also not limited to therapy, meditation, or calling EAP. Sometimes self-care is having a Saturday night available to take your spouse out. It is being able to take a Friday afternoon off for a dental appointment. It is having enough flexibility to get your oil changed, pick up a sick child, or manage your life without fearing that you will be written up.
The Transformation of Transgenerational Pain into Transgenerational Joy
Human beings inherit more than names, property, and physical characteristics. We also inherit stories, images, expectations, coping patterns, beliefs, and ways of understanding ourselves. Some of these inheritances strengthen us; others wound us. BE Mindful Therapy® (BE-MT) is the psychotherapy text that establishes the framework for understanding Transgenerational Pain (TP) […]
Breaking Invisible Chains: Financial Trauma, Mental Health, and the Liberation of the African Spirit
THE CHAINS WE CANNOT SEE Our ancestors endured chains that could be seen. Today, some of the chains affecting Black families are harder to see. Financial stress. Economic fear. Shame. Survival thinking. Intergenerational scarcity. These invisible chains may not leave marks on our wrists, but they can leave marks on […]
When Survival Looks Like Smiling: Black Women, Autism, and the Cost of Layered Masking
There are many ways to disappear without ever leaving the room. Sometimes it looks like smiling when your nervous system is overwhelmed. Sometimes it looks like rehearsing every conversation before it happens or replaying every interaction after it ends. It can sound like saying, “I’m fine,” because explaining what is […]
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