Birmingham Therapists Share Importance of Mental Health Wellness for Black Women

By Keisa Sharpe-Jefferson | For The Birmingham Times Dr. Nadia Richardson-Johnson is a professor, diversity consultant as well as Founder and CEO of the Black Women’s Mental Health Institute (BWMHI). She serves with a personal understanding of what mental health patients battle. Johnson’s been vocal and vulnerable about being diagnosed with “high functioning, rapid cycling, bipolar two,” which is characterized as experiencing four or more episodes of mania or depression in a year’s timeframe. Her diagnosis came after a collaborative conversation between her medical team – including her counselor, psychiatrist, and internal medicine physician. “I gave all three of them permission to talk to each other, and when they did, they all kind of came together (with a diagnosis),” said Johnson. That “official” diagnosis opened the door for additional conversations with family who’d managed similar mental health struggles for years, she said. Dr. Nadia Richardson-Johnson, Founder and CEO of the Black Women’s Mental Health Institute. (Amarr Croskey Photo, For The Birmingham Times) Johnson and other Birmingham-area medical professionals encourage members of the Black community to be more open about their mental health. There’s still a negative stigma associated with mental illness in the Black community and that stigma is hindering...