Thursday, February 16, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Two Percent
This is the time of year when doctoral candidates apply for psychology internship positions for the upcoming academic year. These internships will provide invaluable skills and professional connections for the rest of their career. A common characteristic many of these hopefuls share is that they are not African American.
Affirmative Action is said to have died many years ago as more minorities entered psychology graduate programs. Is the best place to advocate for the consideration of more Blacks in the selection process? It is commonly known that once the interview process has begun it is too late to consider providing opportunities to minority students.
Perhaps there is a kernel of truth in this statement. According to national statistics only 2% of all psychologists are Black. In trying to increase representation of minority students to compete in doctoral level internships, the problem may well be that there are not enough in the pool to choose from.
It can be inferred that the next logical step is to become involved with recruiting Black students in college and high school who are interested in careers in psychology to develop a curriculum similar to what is known as 'pre-med'. Where do we start? Perhaps by joining organizations like the Association of Black Psychologists is a great place to begin planting the seeds for our students and in turn increasing racial diversity in top psychology internship programs.
Affirmative Action is said to have died many years ago as more minorities entered psychology graduate programs. Is the best place to advocate for the consideration of more Blacks in the selection process? It is commonly known that once the interview process has begun it is too late to consider providing opportunities to minority students.
Perhaps there is a kernel of truth in this statement. According to national statistics only 2% of all psychologists are Black. In trying to increase representation of minority students to compete in doctoral level internships, the problem may well be that there are not enough in the pool to choose from.
It can be inferred that the next logical step is to become involved with recruiting Black students in college and high school who are interested in careers in psychology to develop a curriculum similar to what is known as 'pre-med'. Where do we start? Perhaps by joining organizations like the Association of Black Psychologists is a great place to begin planting the seeds for our students and in turn increasing racial diversity in top psychology internship programs.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Suicide and Soul Train
We are so saddened by the death of our cultural icon Don Cornelius two weeks ago. People were calling into radio stations to share their fondest memories of Soul Train. Cornelius was our fabulous version of Dick Clark and American Bandstand. Even more than that, he helped usher in new generations of African American artists on national television.
Behind the distinctive bass tone of his voice and a calm veneer was a man suffering from severe depression. His mental illness was so crippling that he ended his brilliant life by shooting himself. Just as tragic as his death was, so are the many missed opportunities to talk about the dangers of suicide, a taboo topic in the Black community.
Not many accounts in Black Los Angeles newspapers related the circumstances surrounding his mental health and a previous suicide attempt. Truth be told, he was a "walking 5150," which would warrant immediate hospitalization to prevent someone from hurting themselves. Word is that his son was afraid to leave him alone. My question is: Why aren't we talking about this?
My concern is that we continue to ignore the warning signs of mental illness. Suicide is one of the leading causes of preventable death in African American men. And we don't talk about it. We ignore it. Because of stigma, many are suffering in silence, especially people in the limelight. We cannot continue to sweep these topics under the rug.
If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide, call 911, a 24-hour crisis hotline such as the Suicide Prevention Center at (877) 727-4747, or go to your nearest hospital emergency room.
Behind the distinctive bass tone of his voice and a calm veneer was a man suffering from severe depression. His mental illness was so crippling that he ended his brilliant life by shooting himself. Just as tragic as his death was, so are the many missed opportunities to talk about the dangers of suicide, a taboo topic in the Black community.
Not many accounts in Black Los Angeles newspapers related the circumstances surrounding his mental health and a previous suicide attempt. Truth be told, he was a "walking 5150," which would warrant immediate hospitalization to prevent someone from hurting themselves. Word is that his son was afraid to leave him alone. My question is: Why aren't we talking about this?
My concern is that we continue to ignore the warning signs of mental illness. Suicide is one of the leading causes of preventable death in African American men. And we don't talk about it. We ignore it. Because of stigma, many are suffering in silence, especially people in the limelight. We cannot continue to sweep these topics under the rug.
If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide, call 911, a 24-hour crisis hotline such as the Suicide Prevention Center at (877) 727-4747, or go to your nearest hospital emergency room.
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