Dispatches from the field: In conversation with Dr. Barbara Prempeh
Hi everyone, check out my interview with The Burke Foundation on supporting students through the impact of the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and social and racial injustice, breaking down barriers around seeking mental health care for the BIPOC community, and better support for youth involved in the justice system. Thank you The Burke Foundation, this was truly an honor.
How will you deal with grief and loss, given the high number of students you’ll have in classrooms that lost a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, or a community member to this COVID pandemic? What about the classrooms where teachers aren’t there because they passed away from COVID-19? How are we addressing that? I really want to see schools emphasize their emotional support for students. I get it that some schools just don’t have the capacity, or don’t want to add anything else to the school day, but we have to become creative in how we’re supporting students” – Dr. Barbara Prempeh
“For communities of color, there’s the acknowledgment that there aren’t enough therapists and psychologists of color because there’s a privilege in having a therapist that looks like you. We have to acknowledge that communities of color don’t have that privilege all the time. That’s something they have to consider: ‘Yes, I want to go to therapy, but how long do I have to wait to find to find a therapist of color who has an opening, who takes my insurance, and whose office I can get to easily?’””
