Black Psychiatrists Research Articles

A Clinic for the People: Toward an Antiracist Psychiatry at the Tuskegee Institute 1947-1965.

From 1947 until 1963, a small group of psychiatrists from the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital ran a Mental Hygiene Clinic designed to provide outpatient care and education to the Black residents of Macon County, Alabama. In an analysis of the clinic and the work of its Director, Dr. Prince Barker, we see the ways that Black psychiatrists tried to develop an antiracist approach to psychiatry and to develop their own autonomy in segregated Alabama. But there were limitations to this work. Tensions between the state funding body, local politics, and the internal racism of psychiatry itself all made it difficult for Tuskegee psychiatrists to provide alternatives to care beyond the veil of the color line.

Library Exhibit Celebrates APA’s Black Psychiatrists

Library Exhibit Celebrates APA’s Black Psychiatrists

Coming Up…

Black Psychiatrists of America Inc., will hold its 2024 Spring Conference, “Exploring the Nexus of Community and Mental Health: Space, Place and Identity,” March 21–24 in Los Angeles. Visit https://blackpsychiatrists.org/bpa‐spring‐conference for more information.

Coming Up…

Black Psychiatrists of America Inc., will hold its 2024 Spring Conference, “Exploring the Nexus of Community and Mental Health: Space, Place and Identity,” March 21–24 in Los Angeles. Visit https://blackpsychiatrists.org/bpa‐spring‐conference for more information.

Burnout and Moral Injury Among Black Psychiatrists and Other Black Mental Health Professionals.

This column discusses burnout and moral injury among Black psychiatrists and other Black mental health professionals and highlights the contribution of racism to these outcomes. In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic and racial turmoil have revealed stark inequities in health care and social justice, and demand for mental health services has increased. To meet the mental health needs of communities, racism must be recognized as a factor in burnout and moral injury. The authors offer preventive strategies to support the mental health, well-being, and longevity of Black mental health professionals.

Exploring Career Choice Among Black Psychiatry Interns: an Exploratory Qualitative Study.

Relative to the Black American population size, there is an underrepresentation of Black psychiatrists in the USA. In order to address this issue, it is important to explore factors that contribute to Black medical students' decision to pursue a career in psychiatry. First-year psychiatry residents who identify as Black (N = 7) were interviewed. Career Construction Theory provided a structured framework for the interview process. For qualitative analysis of data, codes were assigned to reflect concepts and develop themes. All participants mentioned the impact of being a Black psychiatrist in the Black community, the influence of strong female role models on their life, and the importance of the fit between their personality and the work done within psychiatry. The majority of interviewees identified macro-level and cultural events that had influenced them and discussed a desire for advocacy and the influence of Black role models, perseverance, and the importance of work-life balance. This qualitative study identified many influential factors that were deemed important to Black interns in their decision to pursue a residency in psychiatry. With the information learned from these interviews, educators within psychiatry can bolster their support of Black medical students, encourage pursuit of a career in psychiatry, and ultimately, work toward reducing disparities in psychiatric care. Future research should examine additional collective notions of career decision-making.

Ezra Griffith, M.D., to Receive Chester Pierce Human Rights Award

Ezra Griffith, M.D., to Receive Chester Pierce Human Rights Award

Black Irony: Modernism, Mimicry, and African America in Lewis Nkosi’s Drama

ABSTRACT: Like many Black intellectuals that came of age as apartheid was tightening its grip in the 1950s, Lewis Nkosi (1936–2010) left South Africa on a one-way ticket. Although he outlived apartheid and returned to his native land on and off after 1991, he lived abroad in the United States in the 1990s and in Europe in the 2000s. Although allied with the African National Congress in exile, he wrote skeptically about emphatic anti-apartheid writing. His essays from the 1950s on reflect his preference for cosmopolitan and experimental authors from Dostoyevsky to Kafka, in other words for modernism broadly speaking, and his creative writing reflects this preference in the ironic and satirical rather than the usual earnest treatment of the struggle. While several critics have noted this modernist preference, none have examined the influence of Black American authors on Nkosi’s writing. This omission demands attention, as Nkosi’s creative writing, especially drama for stage and radio, draws deeply from Black Americans, even when he steals themes, phrases, and characters without acknowledging sources. The Rhythm of Violence written and performed during his first US sojourn 1960–61, borrows style and phrasing from Black Beat poet Ted Joans, the radio drama “We Can’t All Be Martin Luther King,” broadcast on BBC 4 in 1971, lifts title and tone—unacknowledged—from activist-writer Julian Bond’s ironic poem responding to expectations that all Black intellectuals emulate Dr. King, and The Black Psychiatrist borrows from the decidedly unironic Black nationalist Amiri Baraka. Like Bond and essayist James Baldwin, Nkosi balanced a commitment to struggle—in his case, presenting Black African and Caribbean writers to the BBC and to readers abroad—with an ironic attitude to what he called the absurdity of apartheid and other forms of racism.

Black Experiences in Academic Psychiatry

The objective of this article is to examine the experiences and challenges faced by Black professionals in the academic psychiatry workforce. The authors used data collected from previous literature to explore experiences faced at each level of the academic psychiatry pipeline. Review of the literature revealed that systemic barriers contribute to burnout, high turnover, and underrepresentation of Black professionals in academic psychiatry. Retention of Black mental health professionals is fostered by institutional support and interventions that address racism and promote growth and development at every level. While there appears to be a growing body of literature in social medical and popular press, peer-reviewed literature on the experiences of Black trainees and professionals in academic psychiatry is still limited. Additional studies, including systematic data collection among Black psychiatrists, psychologists, faculty, and clinical support staffin academic settings, are needed to continue to examine experiences related to race and racism along the educational and professional workforce continuum. [ Psychiatr Ann. 2022;52(12):509–513.]

Altha Stewart, M.D., Honored With Pardes Humanitarian Prize

Altha Stewart, M.D., Honored With Pardes Humanitarian Prize

Impact of Culture, Race, Social Determinants Reflected Throughout New DSM-5-TR

Impact of Culture, Race, Social Determinants Reflected Throughout New <i>DSM-5-TR</i>

Campaign to Endow Chester Pierce Human Rights Award Exceeds Target

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article APA & MeetingsFull AccessCampaign to Endow Chester Pierce Human Rights Award Exceeds TargetSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:30 Nov 2021https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.12.20AbstractThe endowment campaign, which will support costs associated with the presentation of the Human Rights Award lecture at the Annual Meeting, aimed to gather $100,000 in six months.The influence of Chester Pierce, M.D., as a writer, thinker, and clinician is profound. Individuals can still contribute to the Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award fund.The endowment campaign for APA’s Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award raised more than $113,000 in gifts and pledges in six months, with the American Psychiatric Association Foundation contributing a matching $50,000 to endow this award in perpetuity.The endowment campaign, which began in April, was led by a six-member work group: Ezra E.H. Griffith, M.D., David C. Henderson, M.D., APA Medical Director and CEO Saul M. Levin, M.D., M.P.A., Samuel O. Okpaku, M.D., Ph.D., Eliot Sorel, M.D., and Cynthia Turner-Graham, M.D. The endowment will be used to provide recipients of the Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award with an honorarium and related expenses to present a lecture at the Annual Meeting.In a statement to Psychiatric News, Pierce’s family expressed gratitude to APA, the APA Foundation, and the work group that established the endowment campaign. “The entire Pierce family is greatly honored that an endowment fund has been established to support APA’s Human Rights Award,” the family said. “As those who knew him will understand, Chester M. Pierce was such an unassuming person that he would have expressed astonishment upon receiving this recognition. His work was focused on the future and the world, but he was also a kind and generous man who enjoyed TV Westerns and Mad magazine. We deeply appreciate and thank the Foundation for this significant addition to his legacy.”Originally established in 1990 to raise awareness of human rights abuses, the human rights award was renamed in 2017 to honor Pierce in recognition of his dedication as an innovative researcher on humans in extreme environments; an advocate against disparities, stigma, and discrimination; and as a pioneer and visionary in global mental health.Pierce’s influence as a writer, thinker, clinician, and researcher is profound. In 1968, he and other Black psychiatrists founded the Black Psychiatrists of America, and the following year Pierce and his colleagues confronted the APA Board of Trustees about the need to address racism as a public health issue. He wrote and spoke widely about racism and published dozens of articles on how Black and White people interacted with each other, first coining the term “microaggressions.”He was the senior advisor on the creation of the acclaimed children’s television show “Sesame Street.” Pierce spent the majority of his career as a psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a professor of psychiatry and education at Harvard Medical School. He was the first African American full professor at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where in 2009 the MGH global psychiatry program was named after him.Though the campaign has ended, individuals can still support the award by designating a gift at the APA website here or via mobile phone by texting CHESTERPIERCE to #44321. ■Information about the endowment campaign and an oral history of Pierce recorded in 1970 is posted here. ISSUES NewArchived

Do black lives matter in psychoanalysis? Frantz Fanon as our most disputatious ancestor.

Each psychoanalytic tradition traces its lineage to an ancestor-Sigmund Freud as the father of psychoanalysis, Sandor Ferenczi as its once-lost mother, or Jacques Lacan as the prodigal son calling for a return to Freud. Drawing on these ancestors, a growing body of scholars has articulated psychoanalytic perspectives on race, class, sexuality, and gender in the consulting room and in society. These diverse authors-Black, White, and Brown-represent a turn in psychoanalysis that has yet to claim a primary ancestor, ambivalently inhabiting Freudian, Relational, and Lacanian theories as a secure base. In a world under siege by anti-Blackness and COVID-19-pandemics restricting the capacity to breathe for indigenous, immigrant, poor, and Black people-a global voice roars through masks that Black Lives Matter. Trapped between thin blue lines, overlapping pandemics, and the limitations of institute and graduate school training, this article is an outburst claiming Frantz Fanon, the revolutionary Black psychiatrist, as ancestor to this movement. Inspired by Edward Said's insight that Fanon is Freud's most disputatious heir, I will review his thinking as a decolonial psychoanalytic theorist through his classic works and his translated clinical papers. Tracing his psychoanalytic-specifically Lacanian and Ferenczian-influences, I will argue for Fanon's inclusion within the psychoanalytic canon and curriculum, and outline how his contributions are foundational to the decolonial turn. More urgently, I want to draw on Fanon to ask the following question: Do Black Lives Matter in psychoanalysis? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Psychiatry Diversity Leadership in Academic Medicine: Guidelines for Success.

Author(s): Jordan, Ayana; Shim, Ruth S; Rodriguez, Carolyn I; Bath, Eraka; Alves-Bradford, Jean-Marie; Eyler, Lisa; Trinh, Nhi-Ha; Hansen, Helena; Mangurian, Christina | Abstract: Dr. A, a Black woman researcher and clinician-educator in the Department of Psychiatry at a prestigious academic institution, was appointed chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee in 2017, in the context of public complaints and media coverage concerning sexism and racism. Following recent high-profile murders of Black people by police, Dr. A is called upon by the department chair to develop programming. As a first step, Dr. A drafts a strong message against racismandexcessive police force.Despite the statement being vetted by all senior leadership, the department chair insists thatDr.Aplace only her name on it, in case it is not well received. Dr. A receives negative e-mails in response to the statement, with minimal support from the department. Not to be dismayed, Dr. A assembles a DEI committee to plan an strategy for the entire department, without financial support, protected time, or additional resources. The DEI committee progress is slowed by the lack of institutional and departmental commitment. Additionally, several well-meaning non- Black colleagues in the department organize responses to the murders-including protests, town hall events, and public statements-without concerted coordination with the DEI committee, implying that nothing was being done. In parallel, Dr. A is tasked with organizing and dispatching the limited number of Black psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers in the department to deliver care to the entire Black community at her institution. Feeling overwhelmed by the number of tasks she has been asked to initiate-while navigating a tense climate, with minimal financial or administrative departmental support-Dr. A requests a meeting with the department chair and executive committee. At the meeting, Dr. A, a tenured faculty memberfor the past 10 years, is addressed by another colleague's name-the only other Black professor in the department. When Dr. A points out this microaggression, a senior colleague tells her she is being too sensitive, and is overreacting. Despite this interaction, Dr. A highlights multiple institutional barriers, including the structural racism that minimizes the work of DEI initiatives in the department. She presents her proposal for protected time and resources to successfully execute robust antiracist programming but is toldmoneyis tight and to scale back and do the best you can..

Congress Passes Parity, Increases Some MH Funding

Congress Passes Parity, Increases Some MH Funding

Structural Racism in American Psychiatry and APA: Part 9

Structural Racism in American Psychiatry and APA: Part 9

Black Psychiatrists Link History of Structural Racism to Current Outcomes

Black Psychiatrists Link History of Structural Racism to Current Outcomes

To Increase Diversity, Medicine Should Rethink USMLE Scores, Psychiatrists Say

To Increase Diversity, Medicine Should Rethink USMLE Scores, Psychiatrists Say

APA Board Approves New Codes for Suicidal Behavior and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, Discusses Major New Initiatives

APA Board Approves New Codes for Suicidal Behavior and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, Discusses Major New Initiatives

Black psychiatrists say focus on racial, health equity needed in the field

More than 50 years ago, a group of Black psychiatrists stormed an American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting demanding racial equity. Recommendations that were subsequently put forth for white psychiatrists to become more aware of how their everyday practices continue to perpetuate institutional white racism in psychiatry went unheeded, according to two prominent Black psychiatrists who say the challenges then still exist today.