Black Health and Wellness: Black History Month
February is Black History Month. Every year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History chooses a theme for this month. This year, the theme is Black Health and Wellness. The theme was chosen to celebrate and pay tribute to the legacy of “Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birth workers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora.” In honor of the theme, we are highlighting TRI Senior Trainers, Teachers, and Facilitators who are involved in the world of health and wellness. Below we share their stories and insights.
Tasha Turner, MA, LPC, CCTP
What or who influenced you to get involved in health & wellness?
Tasha Turner, CRM Senior Trainer
“What happens in this house, stays in this house.” “Just give it to God and pray it out.” “There’s no such thing as depression, quit being ungrateful.” “Therapy is for white people; we don’t do that!”
These statements and more sum up my early experiences with mental health and wellness. I grew up in an urban area, in poverty, and a brown girl; adversity and struggle were part of daily living. I watched countless family and friends struggle with their mental health, substance misuse, toxic relationships, and trauma. I watched my community try to reconcile racial injustice and fit in a society that criminalized our melanin, denied us basic rights, and insisted that we simply were not trying hard enough. My interest and pursuit to understand trauma and resilience is, in many ways, an active rebellion. A rebellion against the generational messages that have bound my family and community at large. I refuse to accept that Black and Brown people do not get to experience optimal health or that our histories must wholly define our futures. Finding TRI and the CRM skills have been among the most useful tools in my pursuit to transform hurt to healing and pain to advocacy.
Reggie McNeil, Transformative Youth Movement, Inc.
In this video, Mr. McNeil discusses how he became involved in health and wellness and what influences motivated him to do so. He also shares which aspects of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® he finds most valuable and which of the CRM skills he utilizes most for self-care. Watch the video to learn more about Reggie.
Jordan Murphy, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC
What or who influenced you to get involved in health & wellness?
Ms. Murphy, CRM Senior Trainer, receiving her degree in BSN from Emory University School of Nursing, 2015.
I was first trained as a bench scientist before making the decision to pursue a career in medicine. I felt drawn to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and patient care, and I really wanted to interact with people in a meaningful way. I thought the best path for me was as a nurse scientist, the best of both careers. After choosing nursing, my grandmother gave me a picture of her mother, my great-grandmother, working as a practical nurse at St. Mary’s Infant Home in Norfolk, Virginia around 1948. Seeing the picture of my great-grandmother, and my Christian faith helped me to realize I was actually called to work in health and wellness.
An image of Ms. Murphy’s great-grandmother working as a practical nurse at St. Mary’s Infant Home in Norfolk, Virginia circa 1948.
It was very affirming to know that my great-grandmother helped to pave the way for me. She was committed to learning and determined to choose her own path in spite of the many challenges faced by Black women during her era. According to my grandmother and mother, “being a domestic, cooking and cleaning houses, was not fitting nor acceptable to her.” Instead, while she was 38 and raising 7 children she made the decision to go to school to become a practical nurse. Although my great-grandmother was poor and often “wore cardboard in her worn shoes, her nurse outfit was always clean, starched, and pressed.” Her determination resonates with me today. I find myself living in a dream she may have only imagined for herself. I’m a pediatric nurse practitioner and researcher working in private practice providing healthcare and therapeutic services for women and children. I find a lot of joy in reflecting on the strength of the women who’ve come before me.
Do you have a favorite resource that you use for wellness?
Taking time for self-care is so important. I love lazy Sunday afternoons, sitting on the sofa with a blanket, and watching a good documentary or movie. Being a good steward of the work that I do includes managing my personal time and creating boundaries with work. Self-care for me means that I prioritize time to rest, recover, and reenergize. The work that I do can be draining, so exercise is also really helpful to keep my overall stress levels down. One of my top resources is free time to do absolutely nothing but relax!
Which aspect of CRM has been most valuable to you or those you work with?
CRM is an excellent tool because I can use the wellness skills for self-care as well as introduce them to family, friends, and clients. One thing I really value about CRM is that I can use the wellness skills with anyone irrespective of age, race, or socioeconomic status. CRM cuts through so many barriers in healthcare, particularly behavioral health, where access to a mental health provider can take 3-4 months in Georgia. When I have patients who are experiencing mental health challenges, I use CRM or TRM in addition to making any necessary referrals. If behavioral health providers and families spoke the same CRM language of wellness, I think we would see reduced crisis-level interventions, decreased suicidality, and stronger families. It’s an ambitious goal, but I believe it’s achievable!
Antonia Bouyer, LMFT
Antonia Bouyer, TRM Facilitator
When I was asked to share rituals and initiatives that Black communities have used to be well, I paused and contemplated what I have learned personally from my family, community, and history. From an early age, I learned that my faith was important. The music in the Black Baptist church was upbeat, I wanted to get up, move, sing and dance. The belief in God, the Creator, a power greater than myself whose heart’s desire was to demonstrate His love for me and others was intoxicating.
How did you become involved in health & wellness?
Initially, I decided that I wanted to work side by side with children and their families. My attitudes about life, struggles as well as blessings, have been shaped by those who have poured into my life, I call them my tribe. I was “voluntarily,” bused across town to an “all-white” school in 4th grade (my mother and my aunt, thought this was a wonderful opportunity for my cousin and me to learn...they were correct). It was at this school that I was introduced to a wonderful woman who worked in the cafeteria. She demonstrated her care and concern for me by listening and being present. I felt like I was seen and heard, I mattered! One of my fondest memories was when we made peanut butter cookies early in the mornings. I still can smell those cookies today. Her acceptance and sincere desire to know me influenced my career choice to work with children, to listen to them, and try to hear them, their pain, conflicts, and joy. Those who listened, who allowed me to be, they were not perfect but neither am I. I learned that it hurts when others pass judgment, something that I would try not to do. My desire was to touch those who had hurting hearts. I wanted to pour into the souls of others the way mine had been poured into. Coming from a broken home, a Black female (a “Negro” at that time), being part of a voluntary busing program to an all-white school, in a single-parent home (for a while) helped me to become familiar with the idea of struggle, racism, distress, resilience, hope, and determination.
What or who influenced you to get involved in health & wellness?
I was influenced by my mother’s passion for reading, music, and desire to learn. I remember having books in our home by James Baldwin and Richard Wright. Also, the music we listened to was Jazz by artists such as Lena Horne, Dionne Warwick, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald. Professionally, my mother worked as a Psychiatric Technician with children who were diagnosed with Down Syndrome. I also learned more about others who are marginalized. I would visit her briefly at work. I can recall one of her patients I met, he lifted his hand, extended it towards me and my mother explained, “he wants you to hold his hand.” My initial shock and hesitation disappeared as I looked into his deep blue eyes that appeared to express love and acceptance. When we were holding hands the differences we had were no longer my focus, instead, there was a knowing, a felt sense of safety and compassion.
Which aspect of TRM has been most valuable to you or those you work with?
I decided that I wanted to work with children, to help others who were struggling, who were distressed, who were misunderstood, so I pursued becoming licensed as a Marriage & Family Therapist. My tendency is to look for strength in others, and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)® addresses normalizing our responses, is strength-based, focuses on well-being, education of neuroscience, and normalizes the survival response. I especially appreciate how TRI desires to acknowledge the culture and how it informs who we are and how we show up in the world.
What is your favorite resource you use for wellness?
Wellness skills that help me turn down the noise that is sometimes present in my world are: “Quiet Time,” starting my day focused on meditating, reading scripture, prayer, going on walks with my dog; spending time in nature with family & friends; singing, listening to music, cooking, engaging in art exercises: drawing, painting, playing with kinesthetic sand; exercise: Mat exercise or lightweights, soaking in the bathtub with essential oils and or defusing them, playing my Native American Style Flute, guitar, drum or singing connecting mind, body, and spirit.