BIPOC Therapists Near Me

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), communities of color can often encounter significant challenges in finding effective treatment for mental health. Access to treatment and a lack of cultural competence amongst providers were among the most prevalent concerns—however, the challenges that communities face in gaining access to effective help are diverse. Life Insight’s local BIPOC therapists recognize these challenges, and are dedicated to providing care for the mental health and wellness of every individual.

Finding Specialized Care

Finding a therapist who understands your experiences can be one of the most challenging parts of the process. Specialists interviewed by Mental Health America (MHA) say that there’s a shortage of culturally competent therapy options for people of color. For instance, in 2017, less than 2 percent of American Psychological Association members were Black or African American.

According to NAMI, people of color were also shown to have more trouble opening up to others about their mental health when compared to white Americans. However, when you do find the right therapist or counselor, it can help minimize some of the “emotional labor” involved with having to explain personal experiences around race and ethnicity. 

Cultural Competence

In healthcare, cultural competence is defined as the “ability of providers and organizations to effectively deliver healthcare services that meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients.” Cultural competence is a concept that goes beyond just understanding surface-level facts about individual cultures. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble, a psychologist interviewed by The New York Times, describes it as how you “show up in any space in a way that allows other people to feel welcome, to feel heard and to feel understood.” 

For instance, in an interview with HuffPost, one help-seeker described the challenges involved with finding a therapist that understood her experiences as a Filipina, Chinese and Spanish woman. Agnes Morelos felt that counselors she had seen in the past “watered down” some of her experiences, and it took finding another Asian-American therapist to achieve a sort of “mutual, unspoken understanding of her identity.”

No matter the issue you are trying to work through, our staff of BIPOC therapists nearby recognize the unique experiences of BIPOC individuals, and believe that you have a right to feel affirmed and validated. It’s important to us that you feel safe and free to express yourself in the therapeutic space.

Reaching Out For Help

Finding a culturally competent counselor or therapist can be a challenge. Yet whether you are exploring the impact of race and ethnicity on your lived experience, or processing other aspects of your identity, Life Insight’s BIPOC therapists are there to help. If you feel that you are in need of specialized mental health care, it may be time to reach out to one of our therapists in Burr Ridge today.