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This past week Chirlane McCray, the wife of NYC mayor Bill de Blasio, announced plans to initiate a comprehensive review on mental health issues in New York City. The focus would be on identifying the mental health needs of our communities as well as the disparities in therapeutic care that are available to people. These are very important issues. We welcome this invitation to support an in-depth conversation with all New Yorkers.
As the director of a community therapy center in Brooklyn for over thirty years, the Social Therapy Group has been committed to creating conversations in our local communities as well as our international community on a variety of issues regarding emotional growth and development. Our staff of committed social activists, mental health professionals and volunteers have spent many hours on street corners interviewing our communities about what they think would support the mental health of the people in their neighborhoods. I would like to share some of that with you in support of this new initiative.
As social therapists, along with other progressive therapists, we know that issues of mental health have everything to do with the social/cultural realities of how we live our lives together. How we feel is not in our heads. We think that community building is the collective, humanistic activity of creating something new together!
The questions that we have added to the ongoing dialogue on mental health are:
How do we create our mental health together?
Can building community impact our emotional well being? If so, how?
Here’s an excerpt of what people had to say about the role of community building and mental health when interviewed at Atlantic Antic, one of Brooklyn’s largest street fairs:
“Getting involved with something is so important. It combats gentrification. Reaching out to others and having a space where they can reach out to you. That would make us all feel better.”
“Community is the only context we have to learn from people other than ourselves and families. Building community is critical.”
“Diversity matters to me. I can learn how to be caring and go beyond myself as I am walking down the street.”
“Community allows us to have support systems in times of crisis and need. It breaks isolation and can produce healthier people.”
“Building community is building mental health. You feel more connected, less alone. You have more resources.”
“Building community combats stereotypes.”
“Getting involved in your community gives experience to the inexperienced, makes us feel helpful and increases our self esteem.”
“If you see things that aren’t right, you are more likely to feel you can do something about it if you build community.”
What questions would you like add to the call for dialogue on mental health?
The Community Therapist 
The world may be able to be better if more communities adapted this way of living. I wish mine were like this because how we feel is truly not in our heads but in our whole being. To have more kinder, caring conversations with our peers, elders, and youths to see how they are feeling and what they are going through can help those that need it!!!!
Building a community is a great way to decrease the population of people with mental health issues because I too believe our surroundings play an important role in our upbringing. Having a support system is necessary for people to not feel alone when experiencing permanent or temporary life stressors. I believe that these communities can become a support system that will bring people closer together and soon terminate behaviors of segregation. Additionally, people tend to care more if they have built a relationship with someone, thus, if people start caring more, it can eventually change the dynamic of people as a whole.
I think this is a good initiative to create conscience about mental health and how people with mental illness have been treated. As a community our voices are heard if we get together,then people can be aware of the resources available to them. Some of the people with mental disorders don’t need psychotropics medications, they just need more attention, and all the support they can get from formal and informal helpers as well.
I really like your comment that we can get help from formal and informal helpers. Thanks
I think is a good idea. There are a lot of people in our community who are suffering from mental depression and need the help of the community. This idea it will create a connection between society, so we will able to come together to support those who have mental issues .
Mental Health is one of the topics people do not really talk about.I am glad you brought it up. Most people who suffer from mental health do don’t talk about it to their friends and family because of the stigma attached to it. The society can help with mental health such as volunteers in suicide prevention and also shifting care from the hospitals to the community. We can all share our experiences and voices which can help eliminate stigma and reduce social barriers that prevent people from getting treatment.
I think is a great idea. There are a lot of people in the community who are suffering from mental depression and need someone to talk to. This will a create way for the community to connect with one another help to solve the problem others are facing. it will also help to inform others what is going on in the community. There is a saying that ” unity is strength”.
I think is a wonderful ideal talking to the community about mental issues. This will help alleviate the stigma attached to mental health issues and better create awareness to what can be done about mental health problems.
I agree 100% with this humanitarian initiative made by Bill de Blasio’s wife for our community and the comprehention of mental health. In addition, this is an issue that covers NYC. Many people think this is not an important and revelant problem to worry about. Mental health is a huge problem!! Our society is trying to isolate this problem many times without knowing it is not stop growing without stopping. We the people are the ones who are causing this issue with our social deficits, without seeing that does people are just different and at the same time are like every human !!.
Thanks for your post. Yes you are calling it as it is –mental health is a huge problem. I do think it is not as simple to say that we are causing the problem. It turns out what kind of mental health services are available is a political issue.
It is often the powers in charge control that dictate what is going to be made available to our communities. We need community voices to advocate for and work to support positive new breakthroughs in the field of mental health. For example, a world wide movement is building that questions the whole issue of diagnostics. Can you get help without being diagnosed? We think so.
Thanks for this piece – so important for us to see how community health and one’s so-called internal mental health are not separate. A question to add to the mix: How is the medical/illness/diagnosis -based model or mental health that is so dominant keeping us from creating our mental health together?
Jenn ,
Thanks so much for your reply . I appreciate your raising the question of various models that utilized in community therapy. Our communities need to have choices– whether to be diagnosed or not, to be in a therapy that focuses on what’s wrong with you or to be in therapies that include the client as co-creator. Thanks for your comment
This initiative made by Bill de Blasio’s wife it is very important being that there are many mental health needs in our communities. Also, it is good that the director of the community therapy center is trying to know the folks’ opinions in order to find out the root of the issues.
Thanks Andreina. We want everyone to join us in finding out what are communities want in the area of mental health. Do join us. You could do a survey of students to find out what it is they would find supportive and what they think we need to create our mental health together.
Being in a good mental health definitely starts from our surroundings, our community has an impact on the way we think,our mentality and the way we see things. If we are in a environment surrounding by risk factors such as abuse, bullying, poor housing and economic disadvantage which are all bad factors that can have a negative impact on our emotional well being, as oppose to an environment where your surrounded by positivity. Building our community in a positive way will definitely have a tremendous impact on our emotional well being.
The community is a great place to interact with people and gain other points of view on topics that may be helpful to you. We all need somebody no mater what it is, you cannot live in this world depending solely on yourself. Something as small as listening could be of tremendous help to someone who just simply needs you to listen to them.
This article is very true because working together as a whole in a community can make the community better and friendlier for the people. One question is what else can we possibly do besides interviewing others to help build a better community and create more mental health?
I believe that Mayor De Blasio is doing a smart idea in helping the people with mental needs.
Getting involved with the community impact our emotional health in a good way because as part of the same community we can help an support one another, you feel more connected and emotionally better as a group.
I agree with Chirlane McCray, we should be unified as a whole instead of just being apart and judging others. When everybody is connected and working together things are more better than just working along. And they are many people out there who needs help , because perhaps they do not have a family or somebody to help them or take care of them, but if we have a community that really care for each other we can actually make this world a better place!.
I believe that this is a great way to get a community informed about mental issues in New York City. This can also serve as a way for people to express their feelings and get the support from others
This is so amazing
Building a community keeps us informed as indiviuals and keeps us aware. The more we know about the situation the more we want to be involved to make a change.I know that as an individual,I am always concerned to know in what ways I can be able to help my community. The more support we have means the lesser isolation people will feel.
I think this is a good idea, because nowadays a lot young and adults people suffer of depression and some other mental problem that sometimes end with that people suffering from emotional conditions.
I think it’s great to help out the community. They say ” it take a whole village to raise a child”, and that’s what you are doing. Keep up the GREAT work!!