Welcome back to Savvy Psychologist. I'm your host Dr. Jee Boo.

Every week I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research,

a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

Last week in the first of our three-part series on racism and mental health, we took an unflinching look at how racism negatively affects

black and African American mental health. It's not pretty. Racism not only adds day-to-day

stress, but it also affects the way a person sees themselves and the world

over the long run. Its damaging effects on the brain can even be passed on through generations.

And on top of it all, those who suffer racism

also have less access to quality mental health care.

Today we talk about some things that we might be able to do about this bleak situation.

So what can we do about the toxic effects of racism on mental health?

Well the tough news is that there is much difficult work to be done

and no amount of well-meaning movies, TV shows, articles, or podcasts will be enough.

The encouraging news is that we're increasingly doing more research and giving much needed

attention to ways to protect the mental health of minorities affected by racism.

One shortcoming of this research is that it mostly focuses on coping with interpersonal

racism.

In other words, what each person who experiences racism can do for themselves.

So before we go on, I want to acknowledge that this is not enough.

We cannot place the full burden of coping with racism on the people who are oppressed by it.

Everybody has to be involved and we need to make much bigger changes at every level of society.

This is why we will dedicate the next full episode to steps that white and other privileged

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