When people are struggling, turning to someone they trust is key. Registered counselling therapist Stacy Darku believes she’s helping in that way.
“I'm noticing there's a lot of people of colour coming through,” Darku said from her office in Lower Sackville, N.S.
Some of the clients haven't felt comfortable sharing before.
“Because cultural reasons, generational trauma, sometimes we don't think it's good to talk to strangers about our problems,” Darku said.
At Esinam Counselling Inc,. Darku helps counsel people of all races and backgrounds. But since she opened to in-person counselling in 2021, she’s noticed more racialized clients walking through her doors.
“There’s lots of layers, but I think it's more comfortability. I think it’s also they see me as them. It’s familiar,” Darku said.
“Oftentimes people say, ‘I don't have to explain my racism, I don't have to explain the micro-aggressions."
Robert Wright, a sociologist, social worker and director of The Peoples' Counselling Clinic pointed to reviews by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and Nova Scotia’s mental health system.
“They found that Black people are dramatically underrepresented among those who seek out mental health services,” Wright said. “Folk who have been historically been discriminated against in society who have been the victims of this very unique nature, anti-Black racism they encounter in all institutions, it's quite a barrier for someone to overcome to actually seek help from that same system.”
Wright notes the problem particularly exists when a health system isn’t showing it has the capacity to help a Black person with their mental health problems.
“Because of course race and racism will be an important aspect of providing mental health services to Black folk,” he said.
Wright said one positive step has been the Nova Scotia Brotherhood Initiative (NSBI), a Nova Scotia Health (NSH) program to help Black men to access health care.
The group is hosting its fourth annual Nova Scotia Black Men’s Health conference on Nov. 19.
“Year after year, the conference has grown,” said Devon Bundy, a health services manager with NSBI. “Obviously, that just displays the need for Black men to access and services.”
The conference focuses on all aspects of health and not just mental health, Bundy said. The ultimate goal is to provide access to resources where people live.
“That means they’re going to access the services more frequently and they’re more apt to share and they’re more apt to be preventative,” Bundy said.
When it comes to mental health, Bundy believes NSBI and NSH have made huge strides.
“We work closely with some culturally aware providers to expedite the process for our Black men to have access to services,” he said.
