Supporting the Emotional Health of Black Lives

For many Black Americans, Juneteenth can cause a wide range of emotions, such as a mix of sadness and rage due to the reality that slavery didn't end all that long ago, or joy for becoming their ancestors' wildest dreams, and questions such as why is it just now being nationally celebrated?

Generational trauma, known and unknown, is one of the many concerns of Black and other marginalized communities. And, given all these different emotions, you may be wondering what is that right thing to say to your patients and families.

The most important thing you can do is listen to and validate the experiences of your patients and families. Dr. Erica Sood's Normalize-Ask-Pause-Connect technique remains a good strategy to use when opening up conversations related to emotional health, and The impact of being Black while living with a chronic condition: Inpatient perspectives is an informative resource for understanding the emotional hurdles facing patients and families of color.