Honoring Black History Month: Legacy, Liberation & Perinatal Mental Health Care
Each February, we honor Black History Month, a time to reflect on the resilience, brilliance, and enduring contributions of Black communities. For me, as a Black, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and perinatal mental health therapist, this month is deeply personal. It is both a celebration of our legacy and a call to continue advocating for healing, equity, and care that truly sees Black people.
This post is written with love, reverence, and commitment to Black mothers, parents, birthing people, caregivers, and queer families who deserve support that is not only competent, but compassionate and culturally affirming.
Black Identity, Culture & Mental Health
Black history is rooted in survival, resistance, and community care, but it also carries generations of trauma shaped by racism, medical neglect, and systemic oppression. In many Black communities, mental health has long been stigmatized or deprioritized due to cultural expectations of strength, faith-based coping, and the necessity of pushing through.
Phrases like “be strong,” “pray about it,” or “we don’t talk about that” can make it difficult to acknowledge emotional pain, especially during vulnerable life transitions like pregnancy, postpartum, or parenthood. Many Black parents struggle silently with depression, anxiety, birth trauma, or grief while feeling pressure to hold everything together.
These barriers are not personal failures. They are the result of systems that have historically failed Black people.
Holding Intersections: Blackness, Perinatal Mental Health & Queer Identity
As a PMH-C certified therapist, I support clients navigating:
Pregnancy and postpartum depression or anxiety
Traumatic birth experiences or pregnancy loss
Identity shifts in new parenthood
Racial stress and medical mistrust in perinatal spaces
Coming out or parenting within LGBTQIA+ identities
Nontraditional or chosen family structures
For Black LGBTQIA+ parents, these experiences are often layered. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism can converge, creating isolation in both parenting and mental health spaces. Many queer Black parents are forced to choose between parts of their identity or feel unseen altogether.
Therapy should never require you to shrink yourself. It should be a space where your full humanity is welcomed.
What Culturally Affirming Care Looks Like for Black Families
Inclusive perinatal mental health care for Black clients must go beyond awareness. It requires action, accountability, and humility. That looks like:
Acknowledging the impact of racism and generational trauma
Respecting medical mistrust without minimizing lived experience
Honoring diverse family structures and parenting choices
Affirming gender identity, sexuality, and pronouns in reproductive spaces
Creating room for anger, grief, joy, and rest… all of it
As a Black therapist, I understand the weight of being unheard or dismissed in healthcare settings. While no two experiences are the same, I lead my work with shared cultural understanding, deep empathy, and the belief that Black people deserve softness, safety, and care.
Resources for Black & LGBTQIA+ Perinatal Support
If you’re seeking support that centers Black identity and healing, these organizations may be helpful:
Therapy for Black Girls, mental health resources and therapist directory
Black Mental Health Village, culturally responsive therapy support, including LGBTQIA+ community
Postpartum Support International, Black-led support groups and resources
The Loveland Foundation, financial assistance for therapy for Black women, non-binary persons, and girls
A Note from Me, As Your Therapist
Black history is not just something we remember. It is something we carry. It lives in our bodies, our families, and our parenting. As a Black woman and affirming therapist, I know how powerful it is to be truly seen in a healing space.
During Black History Month and beyond, I remain committed to:
Centering Black voices and lived experiences
Advocating for equitable, inclusive perinatal mental health care
Supporting Black parents in all forms, single, partnered, queer, trans, chosen family, and beyond
Whether you are expecting, postpartum, grieving, overwhelmed, or simply trying to survive a system not built for you, you are not weak for needing support. You are human.
You don’t have to carry it alone.
To learn more about my services or to schedule a session, click here.
