Topeka mental health providers work to each out to Black community

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Studies show people who are Black are more likely to experience certain emotional distress symptoms, but are less likely to seek help for mental health. With February being Black History Month, two Topeka behavioral health providers are speaking up about the potential reasons behind this, and how they hope to help people move past them to seek help. Licensed social worker Kenisha Morton and APRN Angel Patterson-Tetuan, who both work at Topeka’s Stormont Vail Behavioral Health, never doubted they’d work in this field. “I always knew I was going to work in the behavioral health field,” Kenisha said. “I’ve known this since like high school!” Angel says she was inspired by the struggles of her own family. “I wanted to help,” she said. “I wanted to shine a light.” Both say, as Black women, they felt even more responsibility. “It’s important to have that representation and to see people that look like us, that look like you, when you walk into the hospital, It helps build that trust,” Kenisha said. Trust is a vital component in mental health care. “To get to what’s wrong, you have to bare your soul – and you have to bare...