In this episode of Critical Reads, we will be discussing The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve by  Rheeda Walker, PhD. Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the author/publisher:

"An unapologetic exploration of the Black mental health crisis - and a comprehensive road map to getting the care you deserve in an unequal system.

We can’t deny it any longer: there is a Black mental health crisis in our world today. Black people die at disproportionately high rates due to chronic illness, suffer from poverty, undereducation, and the effects of racism. This book is an exploration of Black mental health in today’s world, the forces that have undermined mental health progress for African Americans, and what needs to happen for African Americans to heal psychological distress, find community, and undo years of stigma and marginalization in order to access effective mental health care.

In The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health, psychologist and African American mental health expert Rheeda Walker offers important information on the mental health crisis in the Black community, how to combat stigma, spot potential mental illness, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in system steeped in racial bias.

This breakthrough book will help you:

It’s past time to take Black mental health seriously. Whether you suffer yourself, have a loved one who needs help, or are a mental health professional working with the Black community, this book is an essential and much-needed resource."

To purchase the book, visit: The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health via Amazon

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To find out more about me or to consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In part two of our Modern Love episodes, we will be discussing an episode entitled, Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am, from season one of Modern Love (Anthology TV Series) directed and produced by John Carney. Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the producers: "An unlikely friendship. A lost love resurfaced. A marriage at its turning point. A date that might not have been a date. An unconventional new family. These are unique stories about the joys and tribulations of love, each inspired by a real-life personal essay from the beloved New York Times column "Modern Love." It is directed by John Carney, Sharon Hogan, Emmy Rossum, and Tom Hall."

This week's "Musings of Tired Black Social Worker" segment topic is: What song can be used to depict your happy mood or your down mood?

To watch Modern Love, login to Amazon Prime. For more information about the show, click here.

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To learn more about me or consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In part one of our Modern Love episodes, we will be discussing an episode entitled, Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am, from season one of Modern Love (Anthology TV Series) directed and produced by John Carney. Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the producers: "An unlikely friendship. A lost love resurfaced. A marriage at its turning point. A date that might not have been a date. An unconventional new family. These are unique stories about the joys and tribulations of love, each inspired by a real-life personal essay from the beloved New York Times column "Modern Love." It is directed by John Carney, Sharon Hogan, Emmy Rossum, and Tom Hall."

This week's "Musings of Tired Black Social Worker" segment topic is: What song can be used to depict your happy mood or your down mood?

To watch Modern Love, login to Amazon Prime. For more information about the show, click here.

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To learn more about me or consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In this episode of Critical Reads, we will discuss The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the author/publisher: "Ignorance is bliss―except in self-awareness. What you don't know about yourself can hurt you and your relationships―and even keep you in the shallows with God. Do you want help figuring out who you are and why you're stuck in the same ruts?

The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system with an uncanny accuracy in describing how human beings are wired, both positively and negatively. In The Road Back to You Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile forge a unique approach―a practical, comprehensive way of accessing Enneagram wisdom and exploring its connections with Christian spirituality for a deeper knowledge of ourselves, compassion for others, and love for God.

Witty and filled with stories, this book allows you to peek inside each of the nine Enneagram types, keeping you turning the pages long after you have read the chapter about your own number. Not only will you learn more about yourself, but you will also start to see the world through other people's eyes, understanding how and why people think, feel, and act the way they do.

Beginning with changes you can start making today, the wisdom of the Enneagram can help take you further along into who you really are―leading you into places of spiritual discovery you would never have found on your own and paving the way to the wiser, more compassionate person you want to become."

To purchase the book, visit: The Road Back to You via Amazon

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To learn more about me or consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In this episode of Critical Reads, we will be discussing Are u ok?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health by Kati Morton LMFT. Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the author/publisher: "Everyone struggles with mental health issues from time to time, but the greatest level of misunderstanding comes from knowing the difference between mental health and mental illness, figuring out whether we need professional help and, if so, how to find it. Are u ok? walks readers through the most commonly asked questions about mental health and the process of getting help. From finding the best therapist to navigating harmful and toxic relationships and everything in between, licensed family therapist and YouTube sensation Kati Morton clarifies and de-stigmatizes the struggles so many of us go through and encourages readers to reach out for help. What are the red flags of a mental health issue? How do you go about making a first therapy appointment? How do you know if your therapist is a good fit for you? What are the best ways of talking about mental health with your family, friends, and colleagues? There are so many questions and concerns, and in the down-to-earth, friendly tone that makes Kati Morton so popular on YouTube, Are u ok? informs and reminds us that we can get through the difficult times and we are never alone."

To purchase the book, visit: Are u ok?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health via Amazon

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To learn more about me or consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In this bonus episode of Critical Reads,  I wanted to take some time to provide you all with more updates about my life. I know I tried to relaunch the podcast last year and that was an EPIC FAIL. This episode is the start of "Take Two." Like the last time, I figured it would be nice to let you know what is happening behind the scenes before sharing new episodes again. I really hope you enjoy this listen! 

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To learn more about me or consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In this bonus episode of Critical Reads,  I wanted to take some time to provide you all with a few updates about my life. I will answer questions including: Where have you been? How are you doing emotionally and spiritually? Where are you at in your career? What are you wrestling with? Since I haven’t been able to post content in a while, I figured it would be nice to let you know what is going on behind the scenes before launching this podcast again. I really hope you enjoy this listen!

Source mentioned in this episode:

Dean, W., Talbot, S., & Dean, A. (2019, September). Reframing Clinician Distress: Moral Injury Not Burnout. Federal Practitioner.

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To find out more about me or to consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph, or email me at [email protected].

In this episode of Critical Reads, we will be discussing Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith by Rev Dr. Monica A. Coleman. Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the author/publisher: "Monica A. Coleman’s great-grandfather asked his two young sons to lift him up and pull out the chair when he hanged himself, and that noose stayed in the family shed for years. The rope was the violent instrument, but it was mental anguish that killed him. Now, in a gripping fashion, Coleman examines the ways that the legacies of slavery, war, sharecropping, poverty, and alcoholism mask a family history of mental illness. Those same forces accompanied her into the black religious traditions and Christian ministry. All the while, she wrestled with her own bipolar disorder. Bipolar Faith is both a spiritual autobiography and a memoir of mental illness. In this powerful book, Monica Coleman shares her life-long dance with trauma, depression, and the threat of death. Citing serendipitous encounters with black intellectuals like Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Angela Davis, and Renita Weems, Coleman offers a rare account of how the modulated highs of bipolar II can lead to professional success while hiding a depression that even her doctors rarely believed. Only as she was able to face her illness was she able to live faithfully with bipolar. And in the process, she discovered a new and liberating vision of God."

This week's "Musings of Tired Black Social Worker" segment topic is #restinpiss, Rush Limbaugh, Kevin Samuels, and the legacies we leave behind.

To purchase the book, visit: Bipolar Faith via Amazon

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To find out more about me or to consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph, or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In this episode of Critical Reads, we will be discussing the Musical Drama Film, Rent, directed and produced by Chris Columbus. Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the author/publisher: "Set in New York City's gritty East Village, the revolutionary rock opera RENT tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. 'Measuring their lives in love,' these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness, and the AIDS epidemic. RENT is based on Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning musical, one of the longest-running shows on Broadway. The raw and riveting musical stars Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, and Tracie Thoms and is directed by Chris Columbus."

This week's "Musings of Tired Black Social Worker" segment topic is the activist to white spouse pipeline (thoughts on interracial dating).

To watch Rent, log in to your preferred streaming platforms like Amazon Prime or Apple TV to rent or buy it.

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To find out more about me or to consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph, or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support! 

In part two of our Stamped From the Beginning episode, I continue my discussion about Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by  Ibram X. Kendi. (As a refresher) Here’s a brief summary of the book courtesy of the author/publisher: "Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America - more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.

In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Stamped from the Beginning uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to offer a window into the contentious debates between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and antiracists. From Puritan minister Cotton Mather to Thomas Jefferson, from fiery abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison to brilliant scholar W.E.B. Du Bois to legendary anti-prison activist Angela Davis, Kendi shows how and why some of our leading proslavery and pro-civil rights thinkers have challenged or helped cement racist ideas in America.

Contrary to popular conceptions, racist ideas did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Instead, they were devised and honed by some of the most brilliant minds of each era. These intellectuals used their brilliance to justify and rationalize deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and the nation’s racial disparities in everything from wealth to health. And while racist ideas are easily produced and easily consumed, they can also be discredited. In shedding much-needed light on the murky history of racist ideas, Stamped from the Beginning offers us the tools we need to expose them—and in the process, gives us reason to hope."

To purchase the book, visit: Stamped From the Beginning via Amazon

To check out the CR podcast content calendar, visit: https://soulsessionswithneph.com/critical-reads-podcast

To find out more about me or to consume more of my content, visit soulsessionswithneph.com. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook using the handle @soulsessionswithneph, or email me at [email protected]. Thank you again for your time and support!