Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability PDF
Preview Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability
BLACK WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH BLACK WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH BALANCING STRENGTH AND VULNERABILITY EDITED BY STEPHANIE Y. EVANS, KANIKA BELL, AND NSENGA K. BURTON Black Women’s Mental Health cover art by Tariq Mix. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2017 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production, Ryan Morris Marketing, Anne M. Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Evans, Stephanie Y., editor. | Bell, Kanika, [date]– editor. | Burton, Nsenga K., [date]– editor. Title: Black women’s mental health : balancing strength and vulnerability / edited by Stephanie Y. Evans, Kanika Bell, and Nsenga K. Burton. Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016035404 (print) | LCCN 2016051269 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438465814 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438465838 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Women—Mental health. | African American women—Mental health. Classification: LCC RC451.4.W6 B53 2017 (print) | LCC RC451.4.W6 (ebook) | DDC 362.1089/96073—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016035404 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicated to our mothers and daughters: W. Annette Edmonds Deborah Ann Bell Zuri Assata Thomas Beverly Agee Burton Kai Agee Burton Contents Foreword xi Linda Goler Blount, President of Black Women’s Health Imperative Acknowledgments xv Introduction: Learning to BREATHE: Toward a Balanced Model of Black Women’s Wellness 1 Stephanie Y. Evans, Kanika Bell, and Nsenga K. Burton Part I Balancing Vulnerability Sisters on Sisters: Inner Peace from the Black Woman Mental Health Professional Perspective 23 Kanika Bell When the Bough Breaks: The StrongBlackWoman and the Embodiment of Stress 43 Chanequa Walker-Barnes Representations of Black Women’s Mental Illness in HTGAWM and Being Mary Jane 57 Nsenga K. Burton Selfies, Subtweets, & Suicide: Social Media as Mediator and Agitator of Mental Health for Black Women 75 Joy Harden Bradford viii Contents Part II Balancing Strength From Worthless to Wellness: Self-Worth, Power, and Creative Survival in Memoirs of Sexual Assault 89 Stephanie Y. Evans The Travel Diaries: Excursions for Balance, Reflection, Healing, and Empowerment 123 Kami J. Anderson My Body Is a Vehicle: Narratives of Black Women Holistic Leaders on Spiritual Development, Mental Healing, and Body Nurturing 141 Rachel Panton Black Women’s Sexuality and Relationships: Embracing Self-Love through BREATHE-ing 161 Qiana M. Cutts African American Mothers’ Parenting in the Midst of Violence and Fear: Finding Meaning and Transcendence 183 Ruby Mendenhall, Loren Henderson, and Barbara M. Scott Part III Strategies for Balance Black Feminist Therapy as a Wellness Tool 201 Lani V. Jones and Beverly Guy-Sheftall Looking Through the Window: Black Women’s Perspectives on Mental Health and Self-Care 215 Maudry-Beverley Lashley, Vanessa Marshall, and TyWanda McLaurin-Jones Don’t Go Back to Sleep: Increasing Well-Being through Contemplative Practice 231 Veta Goler Contents ix Love Lessons: Black Women Teaching Black Girls to Love 245 Alero Afejuku, Sheila Flemming-Hunter, and Ayo Gathing Transformative Mental Health for African American Women: Health Policy Considerations 265 Daniel E. Dawes and Keisha Braithwaite Holden Afterword 287 Diane R. Brown and Verna M. Keith Contributors 289 Index 299
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