Black Lives Matter organizer wants to see more BIPOC therapists, counsellors in the north

The co-president of Black Lives Matter Sudbury says there needs to be more local BIPOC therapists.

Ra'anaa Brown says there is a gap in the amount and availability of therapists, counsellors or resources, specifically for people of colour.

"For instance, when I first was looking to have a counselor, I was matched with a person who was not a person of colour, because there wasn't a high availability. And a lot of the difficulties that I found in being a black woman and wanting to discuss that, was having this disconnect between the therapist," she said.

"Because they couldn't understand when I would say somebody discriminated against me or I experienced racism. They would always question, 'was it, racism?' There was a lack of understanding of the lived experiences of a black person in Sudbury. It's this constant second guessing and someone always questioning."

'Face-to-face' 

Brown says the BIPOC community can find therapists of colour virtually, which is happening more often, as people stay home and connect online with others.

"You can access resources across Canada or in different cities, which is definitely something that's very beneficial," she said.

"But still, it would be best to have somebody locally. It's just that intimacy of meeting with a counselor in person be face-to-face with someone."

Brown says she hopes that will be the case post-pandemic.

"One of the most important things to recognize when dealing with people of colour is that there's a lot of generational trauma, generational mental health illnesses and issues that have to be taken into consideration," she said.

"So we're talking about things in terms of systemic issues such as oppression, discrimination and things that have been historically long-standing in our society." 

Brown encourages people who want to gain a better understanding to watch the short documentary, Amplify, which draws attention to these lived experiences and how they affect mental health.