Black Clinical Psychologist centering Black mental health. Tweets not medical advice, opinions mine & RTs not endorsements. They/Them.
Jan 8, 2023 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
Part of treatment for depression is behavioral activation…this means doing things even when your motivation isn’t there…
This might seem counterintuitive, but it creates a positive feedback loop. Activity -> enjoyment/achievement…this is positive reinforcement and it makes you more likely to do the activity again…
Aug 31, 2020 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Let's talk about paranoia and racial disparities in schizophrenia/psychosis.
A thread...
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Black Americans are 2.4x more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than White Americans, and 3-5x more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder.
Importantly, this is in clinical samples. We don't see this magnitude of disparities in epidemiological samples.
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Jul 7, 2020 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
I'm seeing that we need to have a talk about racism.
Racism is not just prejudice.
Racism = Racial prejudice + social and institutional power.
🧵
Racism involves prejudice against a racial group COMBINED with the power to codify that prejudice into institutional policies, laws, and societal norms, which enables the systematic oppression of that racial group(s) and which favors the dominant racial group (e.g. white ppl).
Jun 14, 2020 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
Calling all therapists!
PSA: You are responsible for providing culturally-relevant treatment to your clients. What does this look like?
A thread...
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Overall, this involves *explicitly* addressing clinician-client cultural differences, discrimination, stigma, and perceptions of mental health care early in therapy. This is critical to creating a healing space.
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Jun 8, 2020 • 14 tweets • 2 min read
The stain of racism is deep within the origins of Psychiatry and Psychology.
History lesson thread...
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Early in its lifetime, psychiatry played a central role in justifying chattel slavery. The “Father of American Psychiatry,” Benjamin Rush, stated in 1799 that Black people suffered from a disease similar to leprosy, called “Negritude.”
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May 31, 2020 • 23 tweets • 3 min read
What is #PTSD and how does it differ from racial stress and trauma?
2. PTSD is a mental *disorder* (remember this) that is caused by experiencing a traumatic event. Our diagnostic manual is very specific about what types of events are considered traumatic...
