Art Therapy & Minority Mental Health Month
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (also widely referred to as BIPOC Mental Health Month) is observed every July in the United States to bring awareness to the unique mental health struggles, systemic barriers, and cultural stigmas faced by racial and ethnic minority communities
The Founder: The month was created to honor the legacy of Bebe Moore Campbell, an influential Black author, journalist, teacher, and mental health advocate. She fiercely championed the elimination of systemic healthcare barriers and campaigned for culturally competent mental health services
The observation focuses on tackling several deep-rooted inequities in healthcare systems:
- Addressing Systemic Barriers: Highlighting systemic hurdles such as the lack of health insurance, underinsurance, language gaps, and the severe shortage of diverse providers who understand different cultural backgrounds.
- Combating Mental Health Disparities: Spreading data showing that racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to receive care. For example, studies show minority groups are 20% to 50% less likely to seek outpatient services and significantly more likely to end treatment early or rely on emergency psychiatric care.
- Reducing Cultural Stigma: Breaking down the community-specific shame, stigma, and misinformation surrounding mental illness, while redefining seeking professional help as a sign of strength and resilience.
- Overcoming Provider Bias: Educating healthcare systems on conscious and unconscious clinician biases that historically lead to the misdiagnosis or lower quality care of minority patients (e.g., misdiagnosing mood disorders as schizophrenia in Black patients).
To help recognize and continue the important work that Bebe Moore Campbell started, Erica Reyes has coordinated a group to help understand and define healthy relationships and social identity through art. the group is open and ongoing, please email Erica for more info at
🖌️ Art Therapy Ideas for BIPOC Mental Health Month:
Art therapy offers a powerful, non-verbal outlet to process emotions, build self-esteem, and connect with your inner self. Here are some basic therapeutic activities.
- The Intergenerational Tree: Draw a tree where roots represent ancestors, the trunk represents personal strength, and leaves represent the future.
- Write names, values, or cultural traditions on the roots to ground yourself in collective resilience
- Resilience Collage: Cut images or words from magazines that represent your community’s historic strengths, survival, and joy.
- Arrange them on heavy paper to shift focus toward collective empowerment.
- Boundary Shield: Draw a large shield divided into quadrants to map out personal preservation.
- Dedicate each section to drawing things that protect your mental peace: unshakeable boundaries, trusted loved ones, safe spaces, and self-affirmations
💡 Important Note:
True art therapy is facilitated by a credentialed mental health professional. While doing art on your own is highly therapeutic and relaxing, working with a licensed art therapist provides clinical support for processing trauma and mental health conditions