The Daily Show: Ears Edition - If You Don't Know, Now You Know - Black Communities' Mental Health Treat-ment Crisis

Episode Date: July 26, 2021

Trevor investigates the major obstacles Black people face in receiving mental health services, and Roy Wood Jr. comes to Jaboukie Young-White's aid. Originally aired December 2019. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Do Nice Guys Really Finish Last. I'm Tim Harford, host of the Cautionary Tales podcast, and I'm exploring that very question. Join me for my new mini series on the Art of Fairness. From New York to Tahiti will examine villains undone by their villainy. Monstrous, self-devaring egos and accounts of the extraordinary power of decency. Listen on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You're listening to Comedy Central. There are few groups who could stand to benefit from therapy more than black people.

I mean, think about all the things black people have been through. Slavery, segregation, winter, all equally traumatic experiences. But unfortunately, even as therapy has become more mainstream, the black community has had a tough time getting the help that they need. It's hard enough to get mental health treatment in the US, but studies show that racial and ethnic minorities are significantly less likely to receive mental health treatment than white kids. Black and Hispanic children are less likely to get mental health care than white kids. And studies show that irritability and the average white teenager is often labeled as depression. That same behavior is more likely to be seen as disruptive in black or Latino children, and doctors say that can lead to feelings of hopelessness at a very young age.

Yes, one of the reasons many black people don't get the proper treatment is misdiagnosis. What is seen as depression in white people can be seen as disruptive behavior in black people. And this shouldn't be surprising, right? This kind of thing happens in medicine all the time, mixed diagnoses. It's like when a black person has a seizure, it's a medical emergency. But when a white person does it, it's called dancing. But it turns out, it turns out, even when black people are properly diagnosed with mental health issues, it can still be a challenge to find a therapist who's equipped to handle their needs.

Making the crisis worse, not enough African American therapists. Today, only 4% of psychologists are black. Kevin Durton says admitting he needed help was actually easier than finding it. He saw three different therapists, but felt that none of them understood the stress and emotions unique to black men. When Taraji P. Henson's own son, Marcell was struggling, she found it nearly impossible to find him one. Trying to find a culturally competent therapist was like looking for a purple unicorn with a gold horn. Do they understand the cultural context

from which I'm coming from? Do they understand the culture that I live in? That's right. It's extremely difficult for black people to find a black therapist. And it's been like this for a very, very long time. I mean, that's why Martin Luther King, Jr. was always describing his dreams to huge crowds. You know, it's just like, I had another dream

that I'm being chased by bears in my underwear. Does anyone here know what that means? Now, you may think, you may think that a therapist's race shouldn't mat at all. And that's true, but if you think about it, it does make sense. For many white therapists, no matter how good they are, it can be hard to understand the particular experiences of a black person. You know, just sitting there in a session, even if they're trying, it could be like, so you say people are following you around the store and you're invisible but only the taxi drivers? Hmm, paranoid delusions. So when it comes to mental health, there's a very real struggle for black people to access health care, get diagnosed correctly, and find a therapist who can relate to them.

But if that wasn't bad enough, there's another major hurdle stopping black people from getting therapy, and it comes from the black community itself. We have a stigma in the black community when it comes to dealing with mental health. Black students say where they come from, it's shameful to talk about anxiety, depression, and trauma. It's not okay to have mental health issues or like, that's a white people thing. I've heard all the time, black men don't go to therapy, they go to the barbershop. I told my own mother that I was seeing a therapist, and she said said, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you tho, you tho, you tho, you tho, you tho, you tho, you tho, you thi, and thi, you don't, and thi, and thi, and thi, it, it, it, it's not thi, thi, thi, it's not to to to to to to to to to tho, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's not th. th. th. th. th. thi. tho, it's not tho, thi. thi, it's not thi, it's not not thi, thi, it's not thi, it's not thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, not not not not thatea, thr-a' not throoooooooooooo, th know, just buck it up. Ah yeah, that's a line every black person knows all too well. You don't need therapy, you need Jesus. And my response is always, why can't we use both? Because church is a great place

for community. But therapy is great for one-on-one mental health needs. I mean I bet Jesus himself wish he could have gone to therapy at times, you know, just be like, so my best friend betrayed me and I was born in a freaking barn, plus my birthday always falls on Christmas, only get one set of presents, it's so shitty. So yes, part of the problem, part of the problem, is that there's a major stigma in the black community around therapy. And honestly I can understand why many black the the the the the the the the the thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thuuuu- thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thate the thi, thi, the the the the thoes, thoes, thoes, thoes, thoes, so, so, so, so, so, some, so thi, so thi, so, thoes, thoes, thoes, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thr-s, thr-s, throe, throan, throan, thean, thean, thean, thean, thro. And honestly, I can understand why many black people would rather deal with problems at church. It's a familiar place for us, right? You trust the people there.

And it's also a fun atmosphere. Like therapy doesn't seem fun. Church is cool. I get it. In fact, that's what I was thinking. Maybe that's one way we could try and help solve this this this this this thoe th like Black Church. And I think it would be pretty dope. I don't know, it's just really hard for me to let people in. And I feel like it's probably because every time I show affection, it just feels like weakness.

Uh-huh. Did y'all hear that? Did you all hear what Brother Jabuki just said right here? Brother Jabuki said that he can't show affection because it feels like weakness. But before we can understand what hurt us, you got to understand who hurt us. Who hurt your brother Jabuki?

Poohy. Wow, I would probably say my father. Because he was really emotionally distant, but then so was his father, which is probably where he got it from. The sins of the father passed down from generation to generation. And what will break this cycle, other than a reflective analysis of the egos hold on your psyche? I need to self-actualize. You need what?

Self-actualize? Self-actualize. Self-actualize. Self-actualize. He's going to empower himself. He's going to empower himself. Overcome his. Deal with his forgotten memories. Repression. Confront his dysfunctional avoidance of intimacy.

He didn't go to prom. He didn't go to prom. He didn't go to prop. He didn't go to prop. Hello. We're out of time. We can not pick this up next week. Right. Thank you so much.

I've just been going through a lot and it was really helpful to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to the to to the to the to the to the to the the to to the the the the pick this up next week. Right, thank you so much. I've just been going through a lot and it was really helpful to talk. Sorry. It should actually be covered. I have Blue Cross. Son, the only cross of my network is Jesus. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast. You may be tempted to skip this ad, but don't. Marketers want their audience to stick around.

And with Paramount Ads Manager, you can advertise your business on the biggest shows on TV for 30 unskippable seconds. Run your ads in premium content on Paramount Plus and over 15 major networks with hitshows, movies, sports and more, all on the biggest screen in the house. Put your business and show business with Paramount.com. Go to Ads Manager.Paramount.com to learn more. Do Nice Guys Really Finish Last. I'm Tim Harford, host of the Cautionary Tales podcast, and I'm exploring that very question. Join me for my new miniseries on the Art of Fairness. From New York to Tahiti will examine villains undone by their villainy, monstrous self-devaring egos and

accounts of the extraordinary power of decency. Listen on the IHart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.