Locals Advocate For Culturally Competent Care Providers

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer As awareness of Black men’s mental health needs has increased, so do calls for culturally competent care. The National Institutes of Health says cultural competence helps patients feel comfortable with their provider and leads to their seeking continued care.& For many, culturally competent means therapists who look like them, but therein lays the challenge. Preferring a same-race provider doesn’t guarantee you’ll get one. According to 2022 data from the American Psychological Association’s Center for Workforce Studies, only 4% of U.S. psychologists identify as Black and of those, only 8% were Black men. Of the hundreds of local mental health providers listed on the Psychology Today directory, only a small percentage are African American and fewer still are men. Many aren’t accepting new clients because they’re at capacity. Dr. Troy Williams compared finding Black male therapists to help facilitate mental health sessions he co-hosts in barbershop settings to “finding a needle in a haystack.”& Bryant Howard owns and operates his own counseling service in the Pocket area. Louis Bryant III, OBSERVER. Dr. Williams kept asking around for someone to participate with the Cut to the Chase support group and was eventually given the...