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Honoring Women’s History Month
Honoring Women’s History Month
Every March, we collectively pause to celebrate Women’s History Month, a time to honor the achievements, resilience, and leadership of women throughout history. For BIPOC mental health professionals, this month holds profound significance, as it offers a chance to uplift the stories of women, especially Black, Indigenous, and women of color who have shaped the fields of healing, social justice, and community care. This celebration is not just about the past; it’s a call to action for how we show up today and envision the future of mental health and wellness for marginalized communities.
Why Women’s History Month Matters to BIPOC Mental Health Professionals
The narratives most often highlighted during Women’s History Month tend to center white, Western feminists and their contributions. Yet, women of color have always been at the forefront of healing justice, grassroots mental health advocacy, and community wellness often without formal recognition. For BIPOC mental health professionals, Women’s History Month offers an opportunity to reclaim these hidden stories and celebrate the brilliance of our ancestors, our mentors, and ourselves.
For many BIPOC clinicians, social workers, and community healers, the work we do today stands on the foundation built by generations of women of color who were midwives, herbalists, caregivers, activists, and freedom fighters. Recognizing their contributions helps us deepen our understanding of holistic, culturally relevant care and affirms the value of indigenous and ancestral knowledge within our professional practices.
Highlighting BIPOC Women Trailblazers in Mental Health
As BIPOC mental health professionals, we inherit the legacy of extraordinary women who fought tirelessly for equitable healthcare, racial justice, and community wellness. Here are just a few who deserve their flowers:
- Mamie Phipps Clark (1917-1983): A Black psychologist whose groundbreaking research on racial identity and self-esteem in Black children laid the foundation for Brown v. Board of Education, showing the psychological impact of segregation.
- Dr. Martha Bernal (1931-2001): The first Latina to earn a PhD in psychology in the United States, Dr. Bernal was a fierce advocate for culturally responsive care and the inclusion of Latinx voices in psychology.
- Dr. Lillian Comas-Díaz: A trailblazer in multicultural psychology and feminist therapy, Dr. Comas-Díaz continues to advocate for integrating cultural identity into therapeutic practice, emphasizing that healing for BIPOC communities requires understanding the systems of oppression that shape our lives.
- Dr. Beverley Greene: A pioneer in intersectional psychology, her work addresses the mental health needs of Black women, LGBTQ+ communities, and other multiply marginalized populations.
These women, and so many others, remind us that our work as BIPOC mental health professionals is deeply political, inherently communal, and always shaped by the histories we carry.
The Emotional Labor of Representation: When You Are the First or the Only
As BIPOC women and femme-identified mental health professionals, many of us know the experience of being “the first” or “the only” in academic programs, clinical teams, or leadership roles. This month is a powerful time to reflect on the emotional labor that comes with representation and to ask ourselves what healing, sustainability, and joy look like for us, not just our clients.
The imposter syndrome so many of us wrestle with is not a personal failing; it’s a consequence of operating in systems never designed with us in mind. Women’s History Month invites us to rewrite that narrative. We belong not because we have something to prove, but because our unique insights, lived experiences, and cultural wisdom make the field richer, more just, and more effective.
Centering Intersectionality in Mental Health Practice
As BIPOC mental health professionals, we are called to embody intersectional practice, a framework coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw that acknowledges how systems of oppression overlap, shaping each client’s lived reality. During Women’s History Month, we can use this lens to reflect on how gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, and more intersect in the therapeutic space.
For example, consider how:
- A Black woman survivor of IPV (intimate partner violence) may be hesitant to seek support due to the criminalization of Black men and distrust in law enforcement.
- A Latina immigrant navigating postpartum depression may struggle with language barriers, immigration stress, and the pressure to uphold cultural ideals of motherhood.
- A queer Indigenous youth seeking therapy may want care that affirms both their sexuality and cultural identity, yet they may not see either reflected in mainstream mental health spaces.
Women’s History Month is an invitation to critically examine our own practices, are we creating space for these complexities? Are we honoring the full humanity of BIPOC women and femmes? Are we decolonizing the mental health field in real, actionable ways?
Healing Ourselves While Healing Others
One of the most radical acts we can embrace during Women’s History Month is the commitment to our own healing. Many of us enter this field because of our personal experiences with trauma, racism, and systemic violence. We become the healers we needed when we were younger. But that journey is often accompanied by burnout, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue.
This month, let’s ask ourselves:
- How am I caring for myself while caring for others?
- What ancestral practices can I reclaim for my own healing?
- Who are my healing partners, mentors, and co-conspirators?
- How do I celebrate my wins, not just my labor?
Women’s History Month is not only about looking back; it’s about crafting a vision forward where BIPOC women healers can thrive, rest, and reclaim joy.
Call to Action: Celebrate, Advocate, and Build
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, let’s commit to:
- Uplifting the voices of BIPOC women pioneers in mental health.
- Advocating for systemic change that reduces barriers to care for BIPOC women and femmes.
- Building spaces of joy, rest, and community care for ourselves and each other.
Women’s History Month is a time for celebration, yes, but for BIPOC mental health professionals, it’s also a call to action: to honor our history, embody our power, and shape a future where healing is truly liberatory.
Conclusion: Honoring Ourselves is Revolutionary
To every BIPOC woman and femme in the mental health field: You are history in the making. Your work, your voice, and your existence within these systems is part of a larger legacy of radical healing and community care. This Women’s History Month, honor yourself as both healer and history-maker. Your presence is proof that our ancestors’ dreams live on and our liberation is still being written.
