I focus on what the individual or couple would like to work on. I believe that the individual or couple knows a lot of what they need to know to heal, feel better, grow, and/or deal with the issue or problem. It is my job to help them access the hope, belief, and skills they may need to cope with the issues at hand. I learn what their strengths are and we build on them together. Issues around ethnic/racial identity, parenting, relationships, and second generational dynamics are at the forefront of my practice.

I started our last blog post "The Top 10 Best Rappers of all Time" by stating that I am a big hip hop fan.  I am actually a  huge fan and I have much respect for the artform and thus I tried to keep the article focused on the celebration of the best of hip hop.  I think we succeeded, but now its time to talk about the other side.

The current state of "mainstream" hip hop is in a shambles, largely due to media influences that are forcing rappers to make (and forcing us to listen to) the worst that hip hop has to offer.  

There are as many flavors of hip hop as there are flavors at Baskin Robbins.  People rap about love, war, politics, partying, drug use, sex, and religion.  They also rap about everything in between.  To listen to radio today however you would never know it.

When you're feeling extremely crabby and frustrated and you just want to stab somebody in the neck with a fork, try putting on some soothing music to calm you down.  My personal choice: "Unforgettable With Love" by Natalie Cole.  30 minutes of that soulful and peaceful voice will put you in a whole different mental space.

Freedom is not the simple state of not being in chains on a slaveship or a plantation.  Freedom is both mental and physical, and the barriers to freedom are often not so easily seen by the naked eye.  Freedom is definitely essential to happiness, and likewise a lack of freedom often leads to misery, boredeom, sadness and unproductive behavior.   Today we digress from discussions of black history and instead start a discussion on the basics of freedom.  Have a positive day and be inspired!

There are many reasons why we have created The Black Man Survival Guide, but the bottom line is that this website and this blog exist to help and inspire people to be the best they can be.  To have the best life available you need Knowledge, Love and Inspiration.  As you acquire Knowledge you can learn to do things for yourself and for others that make your life and the world a better place.  With Love you can do these things with compassion, caring and humility.  With Inspiration you can do things with zest and live life to the fullest.  Combining knowledge, love and inspiration is often more difficult than it seems, for at times we spend time in a state of 1 of the three areas, but rarely all 3 at the same time.  When one seeks knowledge to an excess it is easy to lose sight of love or to lack inspiration for anything else.  Without inspiration it is almost impossible to find love or to pursue  knowledge and self-fulfillment.  From my own life and the stories shared from others I find that these 5 inspirational sources can give an incredible power and strength so I share them with you today.

To see one way they have misused their power, read this article on black men and schizophrenia.

Psychiatry, the DSM, and the Black Power movement

Once upon a time, a strange thing happened at the Ionia State Hospital in Michigan: A diagnosis of schizophrenia exited the body of a white housewife, flew across the hospital, and landed on a young Black man from the housing projects of Detroit, burrowing into his body and stubbornly refusing to leave.

As you probably know, Black men in the United States (as well as in the United Kingdom) are disproportionately diagnosed with schizophrenia. But what you may not know is when this pattern emerged, or why.

Up until the 1950s, the overwhelming majority of those diagnosed with schizophrenia were white. They were the delicate or eccentric - poets, academics, middle-class women like Alice Wilson in Jonathan Metzl's The Protest Psychosis, "driven to insanity by the dual pressures of housework and motherhood."

Then, in the mid-1960s, the Long Hot Summers hit urban America. Smoldering anger over racism and poverty erupted into rioting, fires, and harsh repression. In Detroit, a police raid on a party triggered an uprising that left 43 dead, 1,189 injured, and more than 7,000 arrested. Convinced that they would never win civil rights through sit-down strikes, a nascent Black Power movement became increasingly militant.

Depression is definitely a real illness although mental health experts agree that there is no single cause.  There are several types of depression to include Major Depressive Disorder (very common), Post Partum Depression (occurs in women after childbirth), and Psychotic Depression (feelings of sadness accompanied with hallucinations and/or breaks with reality).

Everyone feels sad from time to time but if those feelings have not gone away after a few days you might want to examine other symptoms. 

• Persistent sad, anxious or "empty" feelings


• Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism


• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness and/or helplessness


• Irritability, restlessness

ADD stands for attention deficit disorder and is often referred to as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).  It is a biological brain condition very common among children and can continue unto adulthood.  The primary symptoms are lack of focus, fidgeting, hyperactivity and poor impulse control.  If a child has ADD it could affect how they function in school and or social interactions. 

Everyone (including you and your children, wife or girlfriend) will have feelings of sadness at times during thier lives.  There is no clear answer for when normal sadness can be diagnosed as clinical depression but these are some of the signs that a person may have a problem:

• loss of appetite


• excessive sleeping (sleeping all day, every day)


• significant weight loss and/or disinterest in eating


• feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness


• irritability and/or restlessness


• talk of suicide