Culture and community: Impacts on BIPOC mental health
Join Mental Health America in celebration of Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month for the first of a two-part webinar series on culture, community, and mental health. During this panel-style discussion, speakers will discuss the importance of community on their mental health journeys. We will explore how cultural practices, language, community spaces, tradition, family, and connection to heritage all play a role in supporting mental health, especially for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) individuals.
During this free 60-minute webinar we will:
- Hear about what community and culture looks like for different BIPOC individuals
- Identify the positive impacts strong community and culture have on mental health
- Discuss how to stay connected to culture and community to improve mental health
Meet the speakers
Dr. Lisette Sanchez is a bilingual and bicultural licensed psychologist, writer, coach, and speaker. She founded Calathea Wellness, a virtual practice providing individual therapy, coaching, and speaking services. Growing up in Southern California with immigrant parents from El Salvador and Mexico, she developed a passion for working with BIPOC folks and first-generation professionals. As a psychologist, she helps individuals heal from intergenerational trauma and overcome the impostor phenomenon. In addition, she contributes to publications like Hip Latina, Well + Good, and Wondermind and runs mental health workshops for Fortune 500 companies across the country – supporting their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts and employee resource group programming.
Melody Li (they) is a queer Asian therapist, speaker, and activist. They embody a number of structural privileges (e.g., education, non-disabled, skin color). They founded Inclusive Therapists, a social justice-oriented mental health directory and community that celebrates the power and centers the needs of marginalized communities. They also founded Mental Health Liberation, a nonprofit bridging BIPOC individuals with free, quality therapy and empowering clinicians of color. Li offers collective care and education focusing on decolonizing mental health and healing racialized trauma. As a colony-born migrant and settler on Turtle Island, they advocate for Landback, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Black Liberation as a priority.
Sinclair Ceasar is a speaker and consultant dedicated to crushing the stigma surrounding mental health. Since 2012, he has collaborated with 30+ organizations, such as Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), St. Peter's University, City Year, and the San Antonio Junior League. Ceasar has partnered with Apple award-winning wellness company Shine, and his audio meditations have been experienced over 15,000 times. His articles and social media content with The Mighty have garnered hundreds of thousands of views.