114: Minority Maternal Mental Health

Do you think there is a specific need for therapists of color to help African-American women and other women of color who are PMADS (perinatal mood and anxiety disorders) sufferers? You may not think race, ethnicity and culture are factors to be considered in this treatment, but it can be--mostly due to stigmas, access, and the dynamics around seeking out services as a woman of color. Join us for today’s conversation around this important topic. Shivonne Odom, LCPC, is the founder of Akoma Counseling Concepts, LLC, which is the only minority-owned private practice in Washington, DC that focuses on minority maternal mental health. Shivonne provides continuing educational training on cultural competence and minority maternal mental health. She loves to promote awareness on these important issues via community panel discussions, podcasts, and local media outlets. She is passionate and excited about all things mental health and advocacy for women’s health initiatives. In today’s episode, she talks about things on her mind and things everyone needs to hear about more culturally competent services, the need for more therapists of color to be trained in maternal mental health, and the stigma around postpartum depression for black moms. She even touches on how some organizations could do much more to support perinatal mental health.    Show Highlights: How Shivonne started her practice just a year ago in response to the realization that there were no local counseling spaces for moms of color for perinatal mental health How she worked at a community healthcare clinic in DC and saw the need, noticing that 90% of their clients were African-American Why she wanted to make as many mental health services as possible open to as many people as possible What Shivonne saw at the clinic: services focused on diabetes, hypertension, and reproductive services---but not on maternal mental health What it means to provide culturally competent care What Shivonne has seen in pushback regarding mental health from reproductive justice organizations The story of Erica Garner, who died a few months after giving birth and losing her father to police brutality----how she could have been helped with more comprehensive services How mental health and stress affect one’s physical condition Thoughts on the changes that meed to be made and securing more therapists of color being trained to help with culturally competent care during the perinatal period The dominance in healthcare of hetero-normative care and the need for diversity in patient-centered training The trainings Shivonne offers: Perinatal Mood Disorders in Minority Mental Health (See the link below for more info on her upcoming webinar on Sept. 28) At her trainings, Shivonne helps therapists discuss and identify cultural and spiritual issues to be able to assess PMADS and to explain how perinatal health impacts mental health in the African-American community The class teaches what a therapeutic dialogue should sound like with a client of color and what help-seeking behaviors might look like for a mom of color with PMADS The feedback she has received about the “powerful experience” of the webinar, and how people felt connected and established professional relationships with each other How Shivonne’s work has been the most rewarding therapy ever The far-reaching impact of this work to help families The myth that moms believe: that it’s selfish to consider their own mental health   Resources: Shivonne’s website: www.akomacounselingconcepts.com Use promo code “momandmind” to receive 10% off Shivonne’s webinar on September 28!   Find Shivonne on Twitter: https://twitter.com/akomacounseling   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akoma_counseling   Facebook: Akoma Counseling Concepts