Multicultural Mental Health

The Counseling Center joins the rest of the UA community in expressing our grief, sorrow and compassion to all those who have been impacted by the race-based tragedies that continue to occur across our nation. We denounce the longstanding and entrenched history of structural and systemic injustice and oppression that is rooted in and reflective of these tragedies. The Counseling Center is dedicated to addressing the social inequities and biases that exist and it is our obligation as members of the UA community to promote and advance equity and inclusion. While these tragedies can be traumatizing for all of us, we recognize that they may be especially injurious to members of our Asian, Asian American, Black, and African American community. In the aftermath of experiencing or witnessing trauma, it is normal to experience a range of feelings and emotions, such as shock, fear, sadness, anger, helplessness or guilt. As a mental health service, the Counseling Center is committed to affirming and providing care for all our students who have been directly or vicariously impacted by trauma. We encourage you to contact our office if you or someone you know would like support with coping and healing.

For more information on the impact of racism and discrimination for our Asian American/Pacific Islander community as well as resources for support, please visit our Asian American Mental Health Resources page

Support Group

Visit our support group page for sign up information

Coping with a time of growth and change: a support group for Black and African  American identified students.

Group Leader: Jennifer Turner
Group Description: This group will explore and discuss the emotional health, social health, role expectations, relationship with others and self as a member of the Black and African Diaspora community on campus while facing the challenges of anti-Blackness/Racism.

University of Alabama Resources

Self-Care/Coping

Coping Strategies

• 4 ways to cope with racial trauma amid the coronavirus pandemic
• Discrimination: What it is and how to Cope
• Family Care, Community Care, and Self-Care Toolkit: Healing in the Face of Cultural Trauma
• Filling Our Cups: 4 Ways People of Color can Foster Mental Health and Practice Restorative Healing
• Grief is a Direct Impact of Racism: Eight Ways to Support Yourself
• Healing Justice is How We Can Sustain Black Lives
• Proactively Coping with Racism
• Racial Trauma is Real
• Racism Recovery Steps
• The Effects of Racism on Mental Health: How to Cope
• The Link Between Experiences of Racism and Stress and Anxiety for Black Americans: A Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Coping Approach
• Toolkit for Healing in the Face of Cultural Trauma (English and Spanish)

Anti-racism Resources

Tools for Confronting Racism

• Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders
• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
• Confronting Racism
• Racism Interruptions (A Guide for What to Say)
• Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide
• Speak Up: Responding to Everyday Bigotry
• So You Call Yourself An Ally: 10 Things All Allies Need to Know
• So You Want to Wear A Safety Pin
• Guide to Allyship
• A Guide to How You Can Support Marginalized Communities
• How to be an Ally

Exercises

• • Expressive Writing Prompts to Use if You’ve Been Accused of White Fragility, Spiritual Bypassing, or White Privilege
  • Harvard Implicit Bias Test
  • Privilege Points Questionnaire

Books to Read

On the Experience of Racism

• A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
• Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
• I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
• The Bridge Called My Back, Writings by Radical Women of Color edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa
• My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
• The Racial Healing Handbook by Annellese A. Singh
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in The Cafeteria? by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum

 On Antiracism

• How to Be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
• Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
• So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Dr. Robin DiAngelo

Organizations to Support

• Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective
• Black Girls Smiles
• Black Women’s Blueprint
• Color of Change
• Equal Justice Initiative
• Hollaback
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Showing Up for Racial Justice
• Sister Song
• The Audre Lorde Project
• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• The Loveland Foundation
• The Nina Pop and the Tony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund for Black Trans People
• The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness