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OUR MENTAL HEALTH Collective
Pictured in Banner (L-R): Dr. Carlos Brown, LMSW, Hilda Martinez-Gutierrez, LLPC, Josue Guillen, LLMSW, Cheyanna S. Green-Molett, LLC
GRANT PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: OUR MENTAL HEALTH COLLECTIVE
Our Mental Health Collective, previously known as Mental Health Clinicians of Color in Grand Rapids, strives to provide culturally responsive and affirming mental health care resources for communities and professionals of color. Within five years, Our Mental Health Collective has created a supportive network for mental health clinicians and a directory of providers to increase access for individuals seeking care.
We interviewed Rebecca Spann, OHMC founder and executive director, to learn more about how the collective builds connection and community.
What is OMHC’s model of service?
Rebecca: We aim to assist Black, African, Asian, Latine, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized communities in finding mental health providers who are also BIPOC. We have created a directory of healthcare professionals and providers to achieve this goal. This directory can help people find the right therapist or healthcare provider based on their needs. In addition to this, we organize community events to promote mental health awareness and support. Last year, we organized our first BIPOC mental health fair, which was a huge success.
Another important aspect of our work is to provide support to clinicians and mental health providers who identify as BIPOC. We understand that pursuing a career in this field can be challenging and often comes with various barriers. Therefore, offering support to these providers along their journey is crucial. Furthermore, we have established a safe and inclusive space exclusively for BIPOC clinicians and mental health providers. This space allows them to share resources, network with others, and celebrate each other's educational and professional accomplishments.
What inspired you to start OMHC?
Rebecca: I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Jackson State University and working as a therapist for the Black community in Jackson, Mississippi, I returned to Grand Rapids in 2017. At that time, I was looking for other BIPOC therapists in the area. As a parent of neurodiverse children, I also personally understood the challenges of navigating the mental health space and wanted to find BIPOC providers to help with that. This curiosity led me to connect with several local BIPOC clinicians and eventually pursue the idea of creating a collective. We started as a Facebook group in 2019 and became a 501c3 by 2020. After constantly receiving inquiries from community members about locating therapists, we developed the vision for the directory, and the first version was released in 2021.
Why is a racial match important for mental health services?
Rebecca: Due to many historical events, trust has constantly challenged our communities. The lack of trust is rooted in various factors such as racism, cruel mental and healthcare experiments and abusive psychiatric stays. The communities that have experienced this treatment have learned to internalize and cope with the emotional and mental impact of these experiences. Historically and still today, they often seek refuge and support from our families, communities, and higher belief systems to cope with our mental and emotional needs. However, we also recognize that relying solely on these areas may be not be enough. Therefore, we need to have more conversations about the existing stigma and continue creating safe spaces outside our families and close communities to talk about our experiences. Having a therapist with an in-depth lived or cultural awareness and who one can relate to helps break down that layer of mistrust. If one has a story they need and want to share that will promote healing, they need to feel safe doing so.
What needs to happen for our community to continue focusing on wellness?
Rebecca: We’re in a society that sometimes does more retroactive care instead of implementing proactive measures to foster true wellness for communities. We must constantly check ourselves to ensure both are happening to care for our communities effectively. We must be honest and ask hard questions. We must be willing to get uncomfortable. More than that, we must care, even if it's not impacting us individually.
