Thanks to social distancing guidelines under COVID-19, mental health services are more accessible over digital channels, making it easier for Black and African American youth to find the mental health care they need.To get started, consider reaching out to a mental health professional through WithTherapy. However, the study findings do advance the science on mental health among Black adolescents in both treatment and out of treatment groups, as well as advocate for additional screening, prevention and treatment options to improve mental health and wellbeing for Black youth. When additional or expanded mental health systems are available, Black adolescents and their families should be made fully aware of mental health treatment resources through a variety of avenues such as school notices and public advertising.

More on supporting Black young people

Several of the middle and high school students acknowledged that they had trouble managing various demands, so they appreciated learning how to stay focused, ask for help, and use organizational and time management strategies. As reflected in the mentor logs, youth across various age ranges learned how to construct and use “positive affirmations,” “thought bubbles,” and positive self-talk statements (e.g., “I can do this!”) to persist in school versus giving up. Some youth experienced a sense of defeat and “anxiety” that stifled their capacity to persevere when faced with challenging tasks at school.

Find the Best Therapist for Black Youth

According to AP News, “Between 1991 and 2019, Black adolescents had the highest increase among any racial or ethnic group in prevalence of suicide attempts — a rise of nearly 80%.” While all young people in the U.S. are experiencing a mental health crisis, Black youth face additional challenges that uniquely impact their mental health. BEAM trains community leaders, therapists, wellness practitioners, teachers, barbers, medical professionals, and others to apply healing justice–informed strategies that support people in mental health crisis while building and strengthening community-based systems of care. From 2018 to 2021, suicide rates among Black youth grew at a faster rate than any other racial group, and Black National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month high school students are now more likely than any others to attempt suicide.

Because we observed some developmental differences across age groups, and we did not probe about the sociocultural context of each participant’s school, future studies could also gather additional background data about important school-related issues to attend to during mentoring sessions and contrast sentiments shared between age groups. As such, future studies could employ other research designs to compare outcomes among Black K-12 students who participate and do not participate in this program. This may be explained by ongoing acts of racial discrimination that has long plagued US educational systems (Griffin Brown & Parker, 2023). Black youth in previous studies have reported feeling unheard and devalued by K-12 educators, leading to negative feelings such as frustration and self-doubt (Bottiani et al., 2016).

Families and community groups

Having a conversation about mental health might be uncomfortable, but it can make all the difference. Learn how your support can stop toxic stress. Gender Spectrum hosts free online groups for parents, caregivers, and other family members and adults.

• The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation offers free mental health services to Black youth and youth of color.
• Get updates on our care services in California and resources to support children’s mental health.
• It is essential that we continue to listen to youth voices and center their lived experiences in order to build a more equitable mental health policy agenda for youth and children.
• With NIMH funding, Lindsey is now leading a study to assess how culturally adapted screening tools and prevention interventions in two New York City emergency departments can better connect Black youth who are experiencing suicidality to the appropriate treatment.
• Fante-Coleman, who is speaking at the Saturday conference, said a Canadian study from 2015 showed Black-Caribbean children and youth waited an average of 16 months for mental health care, compared to seven months for white patients.