Almost everyone is on social media. Trends over time show that the use of social networking sites such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook has continued to increase (Turner et al., 2021). However, the reasons for this increased use vary by individuals—especially with regard to demographics. For millennials and older generations, the use of social media may be primarily for staying connected with family and updated on current events. On the other hand, teens may use these platforms for different reasons. For example, the Pew Research Center notes about 46 percent of teens say they use social me ..read more

THERAPY 4 BLACK KIDS IN 2023 Dr. Earl Turner (Psychologist and Founder of Therapy for Black Kids) Photo from panel discussion at Meta/Instagram Well-being Retreat (August, 2022). We've been away for a while but our Therapy for Black Kids (T4BK) blog is returning for 2023! First, I want to personally thank everyone for visiting our website and supporting our content. Since T4BK was founded, the majority of our work has been posted on Instagram. If you are not connected with us there, feel free to follow us here.   ​This year, we are getting back to the basics. There is so ..read more

Decades of research have explored how racism affects the mental health and functioning of Black children. In an article published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, the authors discuss that Black youth may experience discrimination and racism but still be resilient and experience positive outcomes (Jones & Neblett, 2017). The question that may come to mind is “how can someone experience racism and not have negative effects such as depression or low self-esteem”? Psychology researchers have discussed the importance of having the “race talk” or engaging in racial-e ..read more

Photo by Yingchou Han on Unsplash The doors of communication are open! If not, here are some reasons why communication with teens is so important.  As a psychologist, I’ve often worked with families and some parents have expressed how difficult it is to get their teenager to talk with them. Sometimes parents express they get short answers to simple questions such as “how was school”. Often teens may reply “good”. Of course as a parent that is not sufficient. In today’s world when more kids are struggling with mental health challenges it is even unnerving when teens don’t want to open up ..read more