The Daily Show: Ears Edition - If You Don't Know, Now You Know - The Black Community's Mental Health Treatment Crisis

Episode Date: October 10, 2021

Black people face major mental health obstacles, including a stigma that favors church over therapy, 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.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. 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 whites. 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 children children th children th children th children th children th children th children th children th children th th th th th th th th th th black th black thi black thi black thi black thi black thi black thi black thi black thi black thi black thi, black thi, black thi thi, black and black and black and black and black and black and black and black and black and black and black thi, black thi, black thi, black thi, black thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi th. Black th th th th th th th th th th th th th. Black th th. Black th. Black th. Black thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. Black and black and black and black and black and black and black and black and tea. Black and tea. Black and thia. Black and thia' thia. Black and thia. Black and thi. Black and th 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. 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, Marcel, 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 thir.. And. And. And. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. I. I. I. I. I. I. I's thea thea their their their their 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 matter 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, you don't need to see a therapist, what you need to do is see a preacher. You got Jesus. You don't need Jesus. Right. 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 so 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 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, maybe that's one way we could try and help solve this therapy throe theee theaupe thrown. 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 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've got to understand who hurt us. Who hurt your brother Jabuki? Oh, wow. Wow.

I would probably say my father. 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. Pass 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. You need what? Self-actualize? Self-actualize. Self-actualize. Self-actualize. Self-actualize. He's going to empower himself.

Overcome his demons. Deal with his forgotten memories. Repression. Confront his dysfunctional avoidance of intimacy. He didn't go to prop. He didn't go to prop, he didn't go to prop, he didn't go to prop. Well, uh, we're out of time. We cannot 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, uh, it should actually be covered out of 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. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17th. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.