{"id":5385,"date":"2019-10-05T20:09:16","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T00:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drsonjasutherland.com\/?p=5385"},"modified":"2024-03-14T09:41:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T13:41:13","slug":"brothers-lets-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drsonjasutherland.com\/brothers-lets-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Brothers Lets Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

DR. SONJA SUTHERLAND \/ <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Barbershops are natural places of brotherhood and companionship, especially for black men, who can enjoy each other\u2019s friendship and community by gathering around each other and discussing whatever topic is relevant and interesting (Ryssdal, 2014; Simpson, 2017; \u201cBlack Men and Mental Illness Can Be a Conversation, Too\u201d, 2015). Politics, sports, romance, family, education\u2026 many subjects are discussed in this space of safe growth, but a very important one is sadly neglected: mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

Dr. Sonja Sutherland<\/span><\/p>\n

CEO of The Legacy Consortium (TLC)<\/span><\/p>\n

Director of the Legacy Changers Counseling Centers <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
LEARN MORE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
HAVE QUESTIONS<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

Quick Links <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
WATCH VIDEO<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
GET INVOLVED<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
OUR MISSION\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
OUR METHOD\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
REFFERENCES<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Black men have been historically burdened by the need to constantly prove their masculinity by handling all issues on their own, without asking for help of any kind, avoiding any possible display of vulnerability, as showing weakness would contradict their validity as men and, in that sense, even compromise their humanity (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, 2017). However, failing to include mental health in the rhetoric of barbershops is a huge missed opportunity. The fact that black men coming from many different walks in life meet there to talk in a fraternal manner makes it an ideal place to promote a necessary healthy conversation among a demographic that can benefit greatly from it (\u201cBlack Men and Mental Illness Can Be a Conversation, Too\u201d, 2015).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

If barbershops were directly targeted by health organizations and harnessed in their full potential, men could find themselves in a safe space where educational material to prevent or explain mental illness could be brought, as well as information on where to get the most appropriate help if they feel the urgency to talk to a professional counselor. Barbershops could function as a first point of contact for men in need of assistance with emotional problems that they do not dare talk with anyone about (\u201cBlack Men and Mental Illness Can Be a Conversation, Too\u201d, 2015).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the reasons why it is urgent for black men to start a dialogue around mental health is racism. Recently, racism has been identified as a direct cause of posttraumatic stress disorder and other severe, actual physical issues, contributing to the early death of over a hundred thousand black people every year (\u201cBlack & African American Communities and Mental Health\u201d, 2017). Arguably, some believe, that the harmful attitudes that have characterized America\u2019s mainstream approach towards African Americans have been significantly phased out. There is enough evidence to suggest otherwise, but even if one agrees with this perspective, the remaining instances that still happen have very real and tangible consequences (Williams, 2017a).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides the increased propensity to negative health outcomes, there is also the historically determined, nearly ingrained distrust of authorities, who either participate in the discrimination in an active manner or fail to address it in a timely, fair manner, which leads black men to perceive said authorities as less than willing to act with their well-being in mind (\u201cBlack & African American Communities and Mental Health\u201d, 2017). <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

“<\/span>Serious studies report that one fifth of adult black males are more likely to report psychological difficulty than their adult white male counterparts, which interacts with poverty to make the number three times higher for those black men who are poor. Even worse, teenagers of African American descent have a higher likeliness of attempting suicide\u20158.3 percent vs. 6.2 percent, as per the U. S. Office of Minority Health (\u201cU. S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health\u201d, 2017).<\/em>” <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This disparity, unfortunately, and in a very worrying manner, is also reflected by the way justice deals with offenses committed by black men: 60 percent of prisoners in America are people of color, and African Americans are statistically over-represented in jails and prisons. Non-violent crime, such as small-scale drug distribution or possession, is punished in an especially harsh manner when the perpetrator is black, a disproportion that becomes evident when we compare the estimated amount of regular drug users who are black (only 14 percent of users) and the amount of black people arrested over drug-related charges (37 percent of the entire drug-arrested population) (Kerby, 2012).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

One would be inclined to think that, given the extent and significance of this type of evidence showing that black Americans continue to live beneath the consequences of discrimination, that there would be a commensurate number of counselors and physicians of African American descent available to provide the care and healing that black men need. In reality, less than 2 percent of the members of the American Psychological Association identify as either black or African American, which makes some people think that mental health professionals might not be culturally literate and sensitive enough to provide treatment for discrimination-related malaise (American Psychological Association, 2014). Also, those African Americans who dare get treatment, often find themselves becoming the unwitting target of racism and micro-aggressions from their therapists (Williams, 2017b).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

These reasons interact to generate a stigma among black men regarding the use of mental health services. Black men who struggle with disorders such as depression, anxiety or other mental health issues, risk being labeled as \u2018crazy\u2019 by their African American peers, who themselves have been as just as maligned by hyper-masculinity. This reality becomes a breeding ground for even further isolation and harm (Williams, 2017a). Some men refrain from conveying their negative emotions to their family members, for fear of the same stigma around mental illness as a form of weakness.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

This paints a very bleak landscape; on one hand, we have a group of individuals who are<\/span><\/p>\n