No More Stigma: Shifting Narratives About Mental Health Among the Caribbean Diaspora

“Black people don’t do therapy.” For far too long, this statement has circulated in our community with little interrogation. While it is known generally that negative stigma is pervasive in Black and Caribbean communities, little has been done to uncover their actual experiences with mental health and therapy. In 2020, as discussions about mental health became more mainstream, it was clear how little research was available on how stigma impacts our experiences with mental health. This paper summarizes the results from a research study which used a mixed-methods survey to explore how personal and familial experiences influence attitudes toward therapy. The total sample included 429 respondents, of which 75.3% identified as female, 44.3% identified as Black, 9.1% as Caribbean/West Indian, and 7.5% as Latinx/Hispanic. The paper will share findings on preferences for therapist’s racial/ethnic identity, family messaging about therapy, actual engagement in therapy, and barriers to accessing therapy. For example,…