INSIDE: LIFE LESSONS / COMMUNITY
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WHAT MATTERS NOW IN THE CITY
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RWENSHAUN MILLER Therapist uses the memory of his own struggles to shape needed services for Black men and boys
HERMAN NICHOLSON
BY LAUREN LEVINE CORRIHER
RWENSHAUN MILLER is a licensed psychotherapist and a speaker who works primarily with Black men and boys—a demographic that historically has not received adequate mental health care. Only one in three Black adults who need mental health care get it, says the National Alliance on Mental Illness, despite their growing rates of emotional distress. Miller’s own experience led him into his career as a therapist. Miller, 34, grew up a star athlete and student in Bertie County. But he suffered from culture shock during his freshman year at UNC Chapel Hill, where he played defensive back on the football team and ran track. For the first time in his life, Miller struggled with his grades. Then, in his sophomore year, a knee injury sidelined him from sports. His sense of self disintegrated. He stopped eating, showering, and sleeping. He heard voices that told him he was a failure. Miller’s family checked him into a psychiatric hospital, where he was diagnosed with bipolar I disorder with psychotic features. He continued to struggle, and he attempted suicide three times. In his final attempt, he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger—and the gun jammed. He realized it was time to learn to live with his diagnosis.
SEPTEMBER 2021 // CHARLOTTE
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