The Black State of Mind: Building Support for Black Mental Health

What happens at the intersection of mental health and one’s experience as a member of the Black community? While the experience of being Black in America varies tremendously, there are shared cultural factors that play a role in helping define mental health and supporting well-being, resiliency, and healing. Join us for an enriching, culturally sensitive discussion of information and resources about mental and behavioral health from a Black perspective with our esteemed panelists Dr. Tabitha Ball, Dr. Carla Cooke, and Sis. Nafisah Muhammad.

Dr. Tabitha D. Ball is a licensed clinical psychologist.  She earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Binghamton University in 2009. Post-residency, via Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews Air Force Base, she continued her military service with U.S. Air Force for an additional five years as a clinical psychologist. She was medically retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2014 at the rank of O-4 (Major). Following her military service, Dr. Ball worked for the Department of Veteran Affairs for two years performing disability evaluations in the Compensation and Pension Department. While working for the Department of Veteran Affairs, in 2016. She currently functions as the owner and primary mental health provider for the practice. Unique and Innovative Solutions provides individual psychotherapy, couples/marital counseling, psychological assessment, disability evaluations along with consultation services to the local Atlanta community. Outside of her professional domain, Dr. Ball is also a wife and mother of two (soon to be 3). Dr. Ball is the Managing Partner for the Freedom Georgia Initiative and a Black Achievement Fund Board Member.

Dr. Carla J. Cooke is a licensed psychologist in the state of New Jersey.  She is a certified trauma professional who specializes in conducting psychological evaluations with children and families involved with Child Protective Services.  Dr. Cooke also has expertise in providing trauma-informed psychotherapy and maintains a small private practice.  She has a passion for going beyond the therapy office to share information about mental health with the Black community. The calling led her to create an initiative around public speaking that included hosting a radio program about On Being Well.  The initiative challenged listening audiences to think critically about behaviors and thoughts that are disruptive in life and use challenges as opportunities for growth and change.  Dr. Cooke is the author of the On Being Well Workbook: Foundations of Positive Emotional Health which equips people with reliable information that promotes growth and change. She brings her background, expertise, and experience to the table in ways that ignite, inform, and transform those that have ears to hear. Dr. Cooke is also an ordained minister who God is continuing to develop and one that has been called to address wholeness as a biblical truth.  She enjoys family, loves children, and has a deep appreciation for sisterhood.

Sis. Nafisah Muhammad is a mental health advocate who is passionate about reducing stigma, particularly in the Black community and helping individuals heal from past trauma. Nafisah obtained her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins University and is currently serving as a practitioner at the Heart Nest Wellness Center in Maryland. She has completed certification through the Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington, DC, allowing her to facilitate multiple healing groups for African-American women (Black Blossoms), Muslim women (Majestic Muslimahs), and members of the Black community (Melanin Minds). In addition to providing therapy services and psychoeducation to her community, she also runs a candle business centered around mental wellness and self-care practices.  Nafisah was born and raised in New Jersey.  Her future goals are to obtain her professional license and running her own private practice.