How to Find a Culturally Responsive Therapist
Therapy can help people of color cope with the stress of racism and microaggressions, but only if it’s done right
In high school, I went to see a psychiatrist to discuss options for treating my depression, anxiety, and inability to concentrate. I was nervous about going alone, but my parents assured me I had nothing to worry about.
I arrived at the small, private practice early and waited in a nondescript reception area — and waited, and waited. The doctor called patient after patient to come back to his office, but he never called me, despite the fact that I had an appointment. Maybe he saw a black teenager sitting in his waiting room and assumed I couldn’t possibly be his patient. Or maybe he just didn’t see me even when I was the only person there. I was too embarrassed to ask what was going on, so eventually, I just got up and left.
To this day, I still can’t quite wrap my head around what happened. That’s exactly what’s so insidiously slippery about microaggressions — you’re never 100% sure they actually occurred. I held it together until I got home and my dad asked me how it went. Then, I burst into tears. My father was furious — and he does not get furious — and called the psychiatrist. I remember hearing him yell, “You didn’t see…
