Dr. Cheyenne Bryant, Legitimacy & The Black Therapist
Watching the recent discourse surrounding Dr. Cheyenne made me reflect on the complicated relationship many people now have with legitimacy, trust and healing professions. On one hand, I understand why people care deeply about credentials and safety mechanisms within mental health spaces. People have been harmed by institutions before. Many people distrust medical systems, therapeutic systems and authority itself, sometimes for very legitimate reasons. That distrust can then
4 days ago3 min read
What Amy Winehouse Understood About Pain
It has been nearly 20 years since Back to Black was released, yet the album still feels emotionally current. Most music ages with trends. Amy Winehouse’s music aged with human pain. When I listen to Amy Winehouse, I do not hear someone trying to impress the public or chase what was cool at the time. I hear someone processing heartbreak, loneliness, addiction, longing, shame, fear, and emotional confusion in real time. Her music feels less like performance and more like emotio
5 days ago4 min read
Positive Affirmations for Black Christian Men
I am never alone. The Lord Jesus Christ walks with me in every season. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 As a Black man, I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator of the heavens and the earth. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14 My life is purposeful, meaningful, and important. Even when I do not see the full path, God is ordering my steps. “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights i
Mar 242 min read
Digital Detox: Will You Join Me?
There is something I have been learning, both as a social worker and as a man of faith. My attention is not neutral. It is being shaped, pulled, and, if I am being honest, taken. During my MSW at York University, I took a course with Dr. Renita Wong called Mindfulness and Just Relations. One of the practices that stayed with me the most was the digital detox. I came to understand it as a way of reclaiming my attention, my body, and my spirit. If I am honest, I have often used
Mar 242 min read
