Four mental health apps created by and for people of colour
Image: 123RF/Aleksandr Davydov
It’s safe to say that as people of colour we have gone through the most in just a short space of time.
With the current socio-economic state of our country, the Black Lives Matter protests, and the global pandemic weighing heavily on our minds, taking care of our wellness has become a necessity.
Self-reboot from within with these applications that will begin to realign your spiritual and mental wellbeing.
SHINE
The black-owned app was created by Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi, driven by the purpose to create a self-care app that promotes rest, healing, and growth through difficulty.
The app features morning inspirational devotionals that help frame your mindset and guided meditations to keep you focused throughout the day.
The best feature of the app is that it has a customisable mental-health toolkit for personal users, as well as for corporations and employers to offer to their staff.
MINDS OF THE CULTURE
At the height of racial prejudices against and gender-based violence within the black community, Dr Chanda Reynolds, a mental-health clinician, launched The Minds of the Culture app in June.
It integrates therapeutic and mental-health practices into a faith-based lifestyle, which Reynolds believes complement one another. The app seamlessly merges the two disciplines through informational blogs and videos, Bible scripture, a therapist directory and a mood journal.
The app is currently only available for Apple users.
THE SAFE PLACE
Suicide survivor and mental-health advocate Jasmin Pierre created this app to bring awareness, education and acceptance on the topic of mental health for her community and as a toolkit for mental healthcare practitioners of other races.
The Safe Place app is a well of knowledge on all things mental wellness where users and can get access to wellness resources, definitions of mental-illness diagnoses and self-care assessments to check on their progress. It also features an open forum for discussions with other users.
ELEVATE
Elevate is focused on the mental wellbeing of black men. Founders Aaron Warrick, Greg Wilson and Dante’ Wade set out to build an app that would be a personal guide and information hub for men seeking psychological, physical, and emotional success.
Users are equipped with tools for overcoming adversity, such as daily inspirational quotes, interactive videos, podcasts, and self-improvement challenges to assist them in taking steps to becoming their best selves.
Users are encouraged and supported by the community of other men using the app who share testimonies and inspire one another. The app also monitors and gives updates of the user’s progress.