Psychiatrists Discuss: The State of Mental Health in the Black Community

Psychiatrists Discuss The State of Mental Health in the Black Community pt. 1

For season six, we are working to curate panels with expertise on specific topics. We are always trying to bring more, and we are truly delivering. Tune in the next two weeks to hear an incredible discussion about mental health in the Black Community. Drs. Danielle Hairston, Kevin Simon and Amanda Calhoun are each highly prolific, dynamic writers, speakers and educators within this space. We were very fortunate that they took the time to answer questions and share their experiences as Black Psychiatrists.

We start with a conversation about the burden Black physicians carry in contrast with our colleagues. We talk about experiences with patients, co-workers and supervisors. We talk about burnout and how it is manifested and overcome by those in medical training, and those that have graduated and are practicing.

The views discussed in this episode MUST be taken in context and do not reflect upon our employers.

• How do we deal with burnout?
• How does the experience of Black medical students and physicians differ from our counterparts?
• How can we help our underrepresented patients navigate a health system that was not built for us?

This episode features:

Dr. Danielle Hairston a double-board certified Psychiatrist and the youngest Black, female residency program director in the US. (Dr. Hairston was my resident when I was a medical student at Howard University College of Medicine). She is also a young APA Black Caucus President and Black Psychiatrist of America Scientific Program Committee Chair and has written extensively about bias in Psychiatry. She has consulted with companies like Google, and Youtube.

• Origins of Racism in American Medicine and Psychiatry 
• Sociodemographic and clinical correlates of the frequently hospitalized African American patients with severe and persistent mental illness 

Dr. Kevin Simon the inaugural Chief Behavioral Health Officer for the City of Boston. He is a Harvard-trained Board Certified Psychiatrist. Dr. Simon serves as an Attending Psychiatrist at Boston Children's Hospital, an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Health Policy at Harvard University, and the Medical Director of Wayside Youth & Family Support Network. Clinically, he practices as a Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist and Addiction Medicine specialist caring for youth, young adults, and families through the Adolescent Substance Use & Addiction Program (ASAP).

• Daughters’ Keeper — The Care and Treatment of Black Girls in America 
• Adolescent Substance Use Disorders 

Dr. Amanda Calhoun an Adult/Child Psychiatry Resident . Dr. Calhoun is also the assistant editor of the Connecticut Psychiatric Society Newsletter and an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal.  Dr. Calhoun seeks to expose and eradicate racism in the medical system using a direct and heartfelt approach.  Dr. Calhoun’s anti-racism work spans from writing anti-racism curriculum, standing up for her patients in real-time, public speaking, research, and writing.  She believes that all doctors should be activists, and that social justice should be integrated with medical education.