Community & Ecological Lens in Addressing Black Men's Suicidal Ideation

From 1991-2017, black adolescent suicide attempts rose 74%. In 2014, 80% of suicide deaths came from men in the Black community. One in ten black men experience incarceration before the age of 32. Students of color with mental health challenges or disability are more likely to experience adultification bias and receive punishment versus mental health support. Systemically, for many Black men this may imply that they do not have permission to express relational and emotional needs. Because of these realities, its imperative counselors challenge current attitudes and methodologies in reaching Black men in the counseling field. 
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Signs of Suicide: 

1. ​Becoming withdrawn 
2. Difficulties with sleep
3. Difficulty in school
4. Decline in work performance 
5. Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed 
   
6. Hopelessness 
   
7. Substance Misuse 
   
8. Preoccupation with death/morality
   
9. Mood Swings 
   
10. Obtaining Means/Plan for taking life 
    

Cultural & Historical Impact 

• Archetypes:
  • In examining American history, Black men have a long relationship of being told how to exist based on the fear of threatening continued prosperity of white supremacy. Some tactics to control black men aimed at projecting the following archetypes: docile, aggressive and hypersexual.
  • Promoting this image that black men were unintelligent, lazy, and malleable leaves black families without a protector. Promoting the idea that Black men are aggressive, robs them of their humanity and stresses urgency to control their bodies from larger systems. Being hypersexualized again promotes the inhumanity of Black men and discourages any opportunity to see them beyond monetary value or entertainment.
  • Somehow over time, these archetypes have been distorted, repackaged and internalized in the Black community. As a result, it manifests in maintaining a perception of masculinity that was never obtainable, practiced or mastered by white supremacist in the first place.
  • Moreover, Black men may struggle in reframing or existing outside of this perception of masculinity projected onto them. Hence difficulties in counseling that may present itself with communicating emotions, tenderness and vulnerability.
• Masking:
  •  In alignment with the archetypes of Black men in US history listed above, typically the only outlet for Black men to cope is substance use, work, and sex. These outlets are known as masking behaviors as they provide pseudo and brief escapes from stressors.
• A limitation in counseling research includes the lack of psychoeducation on the continuum of drug use. This continuum of use for persons outside of counseling can be viewed as the development of use. Unfortunately, the encouragement in male culture continues to underestimate how even small consistent use changes brain functioning which can lead to severe cases of depression.
• As we continue to undermine how embedded masking behaviors are promoted in culture for Black men, we may continue to see statistics rise in suicide attempts. Validating the use of masking behaviors as a form of protection while exploring alternative coping skills minus the emotional, social, and financial consequences can be a start at maintaining retention of Black men in counseling relationships. 

Academia & Community
Some Black men may discontinue services for the fear of being unable to relate based on seen/unseen identities of the clinician. We know representation matters, and not being able to see yourself in the counseling profession may create challenges for Black men to feel safe and begin their wellness journey. This issue challenges the gate keeping that occurs in academia and the need to recruit more heterosexual BIPOC men in counseling training programs. Currently, majority of literature on black men’s mental health come from Black women. While this research brings huge value to the community, receiving support from other black men may provide a corrective experience that they also can be held in community by other Black men as well. A testament to this power is displayed in dialogue of Black Men’s mental health among individuals like Chicago’s very own, Chris LeMark founder of Coffee Hip Hop & Mental Health, Chicago Rapper Vic Mensa, and  State Rep., Lamont Robinson of IL. 

Another missing component from Counseling research is the benefit in revamping Community Psychology Competencies. Its current limitations appear to miss the importance of building trustworthiness and access for marginalized communities. Part of the reason for climbing numbers in Black men suicide is because there isn’t adequate programming in neighborhoods Black men live in. Trying to persuade individuals to commute far from their neighborhoods and receive help can be problematic. Organizations like Sista Afya providing mental health to Black women in Chicago understand this mission. Lastly, there is some emphasis in the competencies on building working relationships with policy makers to support access. Perhaps community programing that is supported by state and grant funding can address the sustainability issue Black men face. This way, maintaining mental wellness is possible regardless of their financial standing.

Given these considerations, Black men may have improved opportunities to preemptively address their mental health needs. 

Resources:

• American Association of Suicidology: www.suicidology.org
• Brother You’re On My Mind Toolkit: https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/docs/byomm_fulltoolkit.pdf
• Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America: https://theactionalliance.org/resource/ring-alarm-crisis-black-youth-suicide-america
• National Suicide Crisis Hotline : https://988lifeline.org/help-yourself/black-mental-health/

References:
Douglas, P. (n.d.). Black Boys, Black Men, and Suicide. Health.maryland.gov.  https://health.maryland.gov/bha/suicideprevention/Documents/Session%201A%20-%20BLACK%20BOYS,%20BLACK%20MEN,%20AND%20SUICIDE.pdf

Kendi, I. X. (2016). Stamped from the beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas in America. Nation Books.

Leblanc, D. (2022). Black indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Fact Sheet.  Rtor.org. https://www.rtor.org/bipoc-mental-health-equity-fact-sheet/?gclid=CjwKCAjwiOCgBhAgEiwAjv5whAj_4l4ZIlJ_VzcTBZ7VYwuCzH2sC71JgsDJiLB-9CVe4STKep0ZTBoCIBkQAvD_BwE

Society for Community Research and Action (2023). Competencies for Community Psychology Practice. Communitypsychology.com. https://www.communitypsychology.com/competencies-for-community-psychology-practice/

- By Dr. Marcus D. Smith, PhD, LCPC