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On this week’s episode of BeREAL, Diana and Ednesha are joined by Ednesha’s friend, Brian Sales, to discuss the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on black and brown communities. Brian Sales is a scholar of black culture living near the D.C. area in Virginia. He has worked in higher education, human services, and youth mentorship.
This episode covers many issues that currently do not have an adequate amount of dialogue around them. Your hosts discuss the use of the term “essential worker,” and how it puts a positive spin on a darker reality. Minority workers in urban areas fill a large percentage of the essential jobs that are not given enough appreciation for the duties they are fulfilling as retail workers, public transit workers, and maintenance workers. The episode also addresses how social distancing in urban and suburban areas are two drastically different experiences.
The conversation shifts to a more general discussion of race and mental health. Your hosts address how different stigmas of therapy can deter minority patients from seeking help. They discuss the stereotypes affixed to black women that propagate the belief that they should not need to get mental health counseling. They give examples of how these stereotypes are reflected in advertising and marketing campaigns, and the detrimental effects this can have on many people’s mental health. Brian speaks on the issue further when he explains how gender can influence one’s choice to seek out counseling.
The episode concludes with your hosts and guest examining how the mental health profession has diversified over time, the benefits of that diversification, and how it can be further changed for the better in the future.
As always, thank you so much for joining us this week on BeREAL, stay tuned for the next episode launching next week!
For more information on The BeREAL Podcast and BeWELL Psychotherapy visit the links below.
