Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T15:40:29.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - Black Women’s Inner Healing and Resources for Thriving

from Part IV - Helping Black Women Recover and Thrive

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2023

Donna Baptiste
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
Adia Gooden
Affiliation:
Unconditionally Worthy, Co.
Get access

Summary

As discussed throughout the book, Black women experience racial trauma and discrimination and may internalize these messages and become highly self-critical. These experiences can lead to feelings of low self-worth, anxiety, and depression. In this chapter, we share the strategies of self-compassion, self-forgiveness, and self-love and acceptance to support Black women in emotional healing. We also discuss the use of the arts and religion and spirituality as resources for Black women’s healing and thriving.

Type
Chapter
Information
Promoting Black Women's Mental Health
What Practitioners Should Know and Do
, pp. 336 - 356
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Books

Angelou, M. (1993). Wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now. Random House.Google Scholar
Brown, A. M. (2019). Pleasure activism: The politics of feeling good. AK Press.Google Scholar
Elle, A. (2022). How we heal. Chronicle Books.Google Scholar
Hooks, B. (1993). Sisters of the yam: Black women and self-recovery. South End Press.Google Scholar
Hooks, B. (2000). All about love. Morrow.Google Scholar
Hooks, B. (2002). Communion: The female search for love. Morrow.Google Scholar
Hunt, K. (2020). Girl, gurl, grrl: On womanhood and belonging in the age of black girl magic. Amistad.Google Scholar
Taylor, S. L. (1994). In the spirit. HarperPerennial.Google Scholar
Taylor, S. R. (2018). The body is not an apology: The power of radical self-love. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.Google Scholar

Podcasts

Alfred, L. (Host). (2018–present). Balanced black girl [Audio podcast]. https://www.balancedblackgirl.com/podcast/Google Scholar
Ash, L. (Host). (2016–present). Black girl in Om [Audio podcast]. https://www.blackgirlinom.com/podcastGoogle Scholar
Bradford, J. H. (Host). (2019–present). Therapy for black girls [Audio podcast]. https://therapyforblackgirls.com/podcast/Google Scholar
Gooden, A. (Host). (2021–present). Unconditionally worthy [Audio podcast]. https://dradiagooden.com/podcastGoogle Scholar
Tubbs, S. (Host). (2019–present). Black girls heal [Audio podcast]. https://www.blackgirlsheal.org/podcast/Google Scholar

References

Aakvaag, H. F., Thoresen, S., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Dyb, G., Røysamb, E., & Olff, M. (2016). Broken and guilty since it happened: A population study of trauma-related shame and guilt after violence and sexual abuse. Journal of Affective Disorders, 204, 1623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.06.004Google Scholar
Amoloku, O. M. (2019). The mammy, the breeder and the race woman: Storytelling as subversion in selected novels by contemporary Black women writers. (Publication No. 13859120) [Master’s thesis, Middle Tennessee State University]. ProQuest Publishing.Google Scholar
Angelou, M. (1969). I know why the caged bird sings. Random House.Google Scholar
Au, T. M., Sauer-Zavala, S., King, M. W., Petrocchi, N., Barlow, D. H., & Litz, B. T. (2017). Compassion-based therapy for trauma-related shame and posttraumatic stress: Initial evaluation using a multiple baseline design. Behavior Therapy, 48(2), 207221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2016.11.012Google Scholar
Bacchus, D. N., & Holley, L. C. (2005). Spirituality as a coping resource: The experiences of professional Black women. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 13(4), 6584.Google Scholar
Bailey, E. R., Matz, S. C., Youyou, W., & Iyengar, S. S. (2020). Authentic self-expression on social media is associated with greater subjective wellbeing. Nature Communications, 11(1), 4889. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467–020-18539-wGoogle Scholar
Benton, H. (2017, February 2). Black history, culture told through dance. Citizen Times. https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/02/02/black-history-culture-told-through-dance/97103982Google Scholar
Brown, A. M. (2019). Pleasure activism: The politics of feeling good. AK Press.Google Scholar
Brown, C. A. (2016, June). A visual history of social dance in 25 moves [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/camille_a_brown_a_visual_history_of_social_dance_in_25_moves?language=enGoogle Scholar
Brown, N. (2017, July 30). I left Christianity for an ancient African faith. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/ywg9w5/i-left-christianity-for-an-ancient-african-faithGoogle Scholar
Burnett-Zeigler, I., Satyshur, M. D., Hong, S., Wisner, K. L., & Moskowitz, J. (2019). Acceptability of a mindfulness intervention for depressive symptoms among African-American women in a community health center: A qualitative study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 45, 1924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2019.05.012Google Scholar
Dill, A. (2020). I’m a Black woman in art therapy for 8 months! Here’s my experience. https://adannadill.com/im-a-black-woman-in-art-therapy-for-8-months-heres-my-experienceGoogle Scholar
Gay, R. (2017). Hunger: A memoir of (my) body. HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Gooden, A. S., & McMahon, S. D. (2016). Thriving among African‐American adolescents: Religiosity, religious support, and communalism. American Journal of Community Psychology, 57(1–2), 118128. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12026Google Scholar
Greene, B. (1997) Psychotherapy with African American women: Integrating feminist and psychodynamic models. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 67(3), 299322. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377319709517495Google Scholar
Griffin, F. J. (1996). Textual healing: Claiming Black women’s bodies, the erotic and resistance in contemporary novels of slavery. Callaloo, 19(2), 519536.Google Scholar
Hayman, J. W., Kurpius, S. R., Befort, C., Nicpon, M. F., Hull‐Blanks, E., Sollenberger, S., & Huser, L. (2007). Spirituality among college freshmen: Relationships to self‐esteem, body image, and stress. Counseling and Values, 52(1), 5570.Google Scholar
Hurston, Z. N. (1937). Their eyes were watching God. J. B. Lippincott & Co.Google Scholar
Ivory, D. [@thebodyahomeforlove]. (2019). Posts. [Instagram profile]. Retrieved November 2020 from https://www.instagram.com/thebodyahomeforloveGoogle Scholar
Jensen, A., & Bonde, L. O. (2018). The use of arts interventions for mental health and wellbeing in health settings. Perspectives in Public Health, 138(4), 209214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913918772602Google Scholar
Johnson, S. B., Goodnight, B. L., Zhang, H., Daboin, I., Patterson, B., & Kaslow, N. J. (2018). Compassion‐based meditation in African Americans: Self‐criticism mediates changes in depression. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 48(2), 160168. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12347Google Scholar
Kilgore, A. M., Kraus, R., & Littleford, L. N. (2020). “But I’m not allowed to be mad”: How Black women cope with gendered racial microaggressions through writing. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(4), 372382. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000259Google Scholar
King, A. (2020, January 19). How this organization is making space for Black women to heal from sexual trauma. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/how-this-organization-is-making-space-for-black-women-to-heal-from-sexual-traumaGoogle Scholar
Levin, J. (2010). Religion and mental health: Theory and research. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 7(2), 102115.Google Scholar
Lorde, A. (1988). A burst of light and other essays. Firebrand Books.Google Scholar
Menakem, R. (2017). My grandmother’s hands: Racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies. Central Recovery Press.Google Scholar
Morrison, T. (1970). The bluest eye. Holt McDougal.Google Scholar
Muncie, I. (2010). Black mothers and the nation: Claiming space and crafting signification for the black maternal body in American women’s narratives of slavery, reconstruction, and segregation, 1852–2001 (Publication No. 3403252) [Doctoral dissertation, Ball State University]. ProQuest Publishing.Google Scholar
Phifer, H. (2017). Black, woman and alive: Black women’s practices of nontraditional healing and freedom (Publication No. 1) [Master’s thesis, Lesley University]. Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/1Google Scholar
Shange, N. (1974). For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Shulman, J. L., & Horne, S. G. (2003). The use of self-pleasure: Masturbation and body image among African American and European American women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27(3), 262269.Google Scholar
Stanton, A. G., Jerald, M. C., Ward, L. M., & Avery, L. R. (2017). Social media contributions to Strong Black Woman ideal endorsement and Black women’s mental health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 41(4), 465478. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684317732330Google Scholar
Stephenson, K., & Rosen, D. H. (2015). Haiku and healing: An empirical study of poetry writing as therapeutic and creative intervention. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 33(1), 3660. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276237415569981Google Scholar
Taylor, S. R. (2018). The body is not an apology: The power of radical self-love. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.Google Scholar
Thomas, T. (2016, February 11). The legacy of women in the Black Church. Christianity Today: Women Leaders. https://www.christianitytoday.com/women-leaders/2016/february/legacy-of-women-in-black-church.htmlGoogle Scholar
Turman, E. M. (2019, February 28). Black women’s faith, Black women’s flourishing. The Christian Century. https://www.christiancentury.org/article/critical-essay/black-women-s-faith-black-women-s-flourishingGoogle Scholar
Vance, L. (2020, February 24). Creative healing spaces: Healing from racial wounds. American Art Therapy Association. https://arttherapy.org/blog-creative-healing-spaces-healing-from-racial-woundsGoogle Scholar
Walker, A. (1982). The color purple. Pocket.Google Scholar
Wiggins, D. C. (2004). Righteous content: Black women’s perspectives of church and faith. New York University Press.Google Scholar
Williams, C. B. (2005). Counseling African American women: Multiple identities – Multiple constraints. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83(3), 278283.Google Scholar
Williams, M. I. (2020, February 19). Mariam I. Williams on Black woman writing for self-knowledge. Nick Virgilio Haiku Association. https://www.nickvirgiliohaiku.org/blog/2020/mariam-i-williams-on-black-women-writing-for-self-knowledgeGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×