Want your family to try therapy? 6 ways to open the door

Introducing therapy in Black families often collides with stigma, distrust shaped by history, high costs, and a shortage of clinicians who share lived cultural experience. HHS data reviewed by the Office of Minority Health shows Black adults are about 20% more likely than white adults to face significant psychological distress, yet only about one in three who need mental health care receive it. The piece urges families to start small by reframing therapy as a mind “health checkup,” not evidence of failure, and by using language focused on shared growth. It also highlights provider representation—only 4% to 5% of U.S. psychologists are Black—and recommends directories, teletherapy, and faith-anchored referrals and community programs as gateways to care.