Black Women's Mental Health

Stephanie Y. Evans is Professor and Chair of African American Studies, Africana Women's Studies, and History at Clark Atlanta University. She is the author of Black Passports: Travel Memoirs as a Tool for Youth Empowerment and the coeditor (with Colette M. Taylor, Michelle R. Dunlap, and DeMond S. Miller) of African Americans and Community Engagement in Higher Education: Community Service, Service-Learning, and Community-Based Research, both also published by SUNY Press. Kanika Bell is Associate Professor of Psychology at Clark Atlanta University. She is also a licensed psychologist and owner of A.T.L. Psychotherapy & Consulting Services. Nsenga K. Burton is Digital Editor of Grady Newsource at the University of Georgia, where she also teaches news writing and multiplatform production. She is the editor of The Burton Wire.

"By bringing together people in the social sciences, the humanities and policy in the writing of Black Women's Mental Health, the editors help women in the academy begin to forge partnerships that help center and amplify black women's voices. The book provides a bibliography of sources that researchers can utilize to build models for future research and programming." — Women in Higher Education

• ForewordLinda Goler Blount, President of Black Women’s Health ImperativeAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Learning to BREATHE: Toward a Balanced Model of Black Women’s WellnessStephanie Y. Evans, Kanika Bell, and Nsenga K. BurtonPart I: Balancing Vulnerability Sisters on Sisters: Inner Peace from the Black Woman Mental Health Professional PerspectiveKanika BellWhen the Bough Breaks: The StrongBlackWoman and the Embodiment of StressChanequa Walker-BarnesRepresentations of Black Women’s Mental Illness in HTGAWM and Being Mary Jane Nsenga K. BurtonSelfies, Subtweets, & Suicide: Social Media as Mediator and Agitator of Mental Health for Black WomenJoy Harden BradfordPart II: Balancing Strength From Worthless to Wellness: Self-Worth, Power, and Creative Survival in Memoirs of Sexual AssaultStephanie Y. EvansThe Travel Diaries: Excursions for Balance, Reflection, Healing, and EmpowermentKami J. AndersonMy Body Is a Vehicle: Narratives of Black Women Holistic Leaders on Spiritual Development, Mental Healing, and Body NurturingRachel PantonBlack Women’s Sexuality and Relationships: Embracing Self-Love through BREATHE-ingQiana M. CuttsAfrican American Mothers’ Parenting in the Midst of Violence and Fear: Finding Meaning and TranscendenceRuby Mendenhall, Loren Henderson, and Barbara M. ScottPart III: Strategies for Balance Black Feminist Therapy as a Wellness ToolLani V. Jones and Beverly Guy-SheftallLooking Through the Window: Black Women’s Perspectives on Mental Health and Self-CareMaudry-Beverley Lashley, Vanessa Marshall, and TyWanda McLaurin-JonesDon’t Go Back to Sleep: Increasing Well-Being through Contemplative PracticeVeta GolerLove Lessons: Black Women Teaching Black Girls to LoveAlero Afejuku, Sheila Flemming-Hunter, and Ayo GathingTransformative Mental Health for African American Women: Health Policy ConsiderationsDaniel E. Dawes and Keisha Braithwaite HoldenAfterwordDiane R. Brown and Verna M. KeithContributorsIndex