Dealing With the Things In Our Closet: A Recap, and Ancestral Black Mental Health

“…that very shift can help people... to begin to not see themselves as broken or somehow deficient... but begin to understand: ‘no, wait, this is what I did to survive.’ And it’s — you did pretty good! There might have been some negative effects to it, most medicines we take have some side effect warnings, right? Hello!” -Dr. Ronke Tapp on reframing mental illness.

Dr. Tapp recaps the Dealing With The Things In Our Closet session she co-facilitated with Melanie Funchess at the Mayor’s Inspiring Our Community conference last fall (2018). We discuss ways subconscious responses to racial stress show up in our behavior and parenting and are passed on genetically. We also discuss how black psychologists are leading the push to shift the focus from illness to survival and adaptation, and the need for a social justice perspective that addresses unhealthy systems in our society. She shares her opinions on the role of medication in treatment for people of color, and generational skill/gifts.

Airdate: 
Thursday, May 23, 2019