MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – June is men’s health month, and a Memphis woman is trying to help men and women find therapists in Memphis the Mid-South and across the country.
Pametria Brown, a licensed clinical social worker, created an online database of mental health and wellness professionals, which will launch on Juneteenth.
Brown said she saw a need in her community and has been working on a solution for quite some time.
BlackTherapistsMatter.org will be a one-stop shop for people to find the person who best fits their mental health needs.
Mecca Memphis, a Whitehaven arts space owned by Memphis Artists for Change, sells African artifacts and will soon offer group therapy sessions there, as well as anger management workshops.
“We’ll have just a lot of amazing things going on this summer, including – tying into that mental health component. With offering group therapy sessions here, as well as anger management workshops and all types of goodies that we have in store, so Memphis Mecca is in the heart of Whitehaven and we are here to serve,” said Brown.
Brown, founder of the Black Therapists Matter Wellness Directory, says she wants to normalize mental health in the Black community.
“I’m not able to serve everyone,” said Brown. Everyone is not my target audience, and I’m not the target therapist for everyone and so I never take offense to that. I believe the therapeutic relationship is based off of your engagement.”
She notes, that one of the biggest success factors, is how well people connect with their therapists.
“That is something that people don’t think about all the time they don’t consider the personality of the therapist,” she said. And it’s like oh, you know that doesn’t matter, it matters.”
She said the personality of the therapists matters which is why she’s launching her online database to promote Black clinicians.
Although it’s not always necessary that therapists look like their clients, Brown says it’s imperative, that it’s an option.
“You need to be able to trust that if you’re coming to therapy and let’s say there is stress at work, and you are feeling discriminated against, you don’t want to feel minimized or not seen or comfortable even sharing that with your therapist if they are of a different ethnicity,” she said. “So I do think from a cultural component people should be able to feel seen.”
BlackTherapistsMatter.org will also provide information on massage, sound, and Reiki therapists.
Brown says it’s about all-around wellness.
Mecca Memphis is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 – 5 p.m.
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