BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month and ACPE Psychotherapy

In 2008, the US House of Representatives announced July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (also known as BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month). While growing up, Campbell was one of my mom’s favorite authors and a regular feature in her book club. I often waited patiently for her to finish reading a new book by the New York Times bestselling author before I quickly absorbed it into my own little library. Campbell’s first four novels, “Singing in the Comeback Choir,” “Brothers and Sisters,” “Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine,” and “What You Owe Me,” held me captive for days even after I finished them. Equally as captivating, however, was Bebe herself. She was beautiful and a staunch advocate for mental health due to her support for a family member. Bebe was a founding member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Urban Los Angeles, which was among the first affiliate organizations to prioritize the needs of communities of color. Bebe departed this earth in 2006 after a battle with brain cancer. Her incredible legacy in literature and mental health advocacy continues to thrive today.

According to the American Psychiatry Association, this month honors Campbell’s legacy by serving as “a call to action and reminder of the mental health inequities affecting communities, and in particular, young people of color.”

Why is this observance important to the world and work of ACPE?

First and foremost, our commitment to being an anti-racist association by upholding anti-bias practices and creating a safe community for all connects squarely to Bebe’s work on behalf of health equity and eliminating disparities faced by the most vulnerable among us. Ensuring we all have what we need to thrive as care professionals and colleagues is an essential obligation we must tirelessly work to fulfill. A huge thanks is extended to the Anti-Bias Task Force that continues to lead us in this effort. 

Secondly, mental health is at the core of CPE. Anton Boisen, the progenitor of CPE, was a minister who struggled to sustain mental health for a period of life. It was from his experiences in psychiatric treatment that the methodology for clinical pastoral education was essentially birthed.  Boisen always acknowledged how this journey informed his approach to theology and care.

“Central to Boisen's intention was that the depth experience of individuals, in the struggles of their mental and spiritual life, demanded the same respect as do the historic texts from which the foundation of the Judeo-Christian faith are drawn.”
– Charles Gerkin

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with ACPE Psychotherapists Carol McGinnis and Russell Siler-Jones. Both are contributing immensely to the insightful work of ACPE Psychotherapy. From introducing spiritual and pastoral care professionals to psychology to training licensed psychotherapists in the specialty of spiritual care, they are among the many within ACPE who are helping to expand our knowledge base via research and ongoing professional development.

Lynnett R. Glass

ACPE Executive Director/CEO