More BIPOC therapists are needed in N.L, says this MUN student

A Memorial University student is calling for more racialized mental health practitioners and increased cultural diversity training in the province's mental health field.

"It would just make the process a little more easier and a little more comfortable for people like myself out there," said Fahmida Ahmed in a recent interview with CBC News.

"When I go to a place and I see someone who looks like me, it makes me feel like I'm part of that community."

Ahmed movedfrom Bangladesh toSt. John's to attend Memorial University four years ago and sought out therapy last year after losing her mother. While the practitioners she's seen in St. John'sare doing great work, she said, she finds there are cultural differences that need to be explained and worked through.

BIPOC therapists 'critical'

Kafui Sawyer, an Ottawa-based psychotherapist and the founding chair of the Black Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, saidfor racialized people, having BIPOC therapists therapists who are Black, Indigenous or people of colour is "critical to understanding the lived experience of clients or patients who utilize mental health services."

"If someone is struggling with racism, struggling with harassments in the workplace or even depression or anxiety, they may struggle with accessing services through a white professional because they may have an underlying belief that that person may not understand where they are coming from with regards to their race, their lived experience and even their immigration status."

Watch the video above for more of Ahmed's thoughts on the issue and how she connects diversifying mental health services to immigration and retention in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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