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Tag: Taraji P. Henson

  • Taraji P Henson Talks Therapy, Feeling Helpless

    Taraji P Henson Talks Therapy, Feeling Helpless

    “I hope that one day we can all be free to talk about mental health and be okay with seeking help,” Henson said.

    Academy Award winner Taraji P Henson has become a fierce mental health advocate in recent years. Since launching the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in honor of her late father who lived with mental illness, the Empire actress has shared her personal story in an effort to get people talking about mental health and hopefully inspiring members of the Black community to reach out for help.

    In an interview with Self magazine, the recently engaged actress got candid about mental health issues, having to be strong in the midst of helplessness and finding a good therapist with the help of a friend.

    “I hope that one day we can all be free to talk about mental health and be okay with seeking help,” she said.“There are some times where I feel absolutely helpless. That’s human. Everybody feels like that. Just because I’m a black woman, don’t put that strong-superhero thing on me.”

    Henson recognized that with a dayjob that consists of sometimes channeling negative emotions and invoking trauma, self-care is paramount so she found a productive way to recenter herself.

    Art As Therapy

    “Art is therapeutic for me,” she shared. “A lot of times when I have to reach these emotional places, I have to use things in my life, and a lot of times I’ve healed myself.”

    While art therapy has helped her deal with things, there were still other areas where Henson felt she had an opportunity to grow so she opted to enter talk therapy. 

    “I had aligned all my chakras, and I still wanted to headbutt a bitch,” she joked. “The therapy came into play out of necessity. It was [a] time where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just not feeling like myself anymore,’ and my son was going through his issues with becoming a young black male in America with no dad and no grandad.” 

    In 2003, Henson’s son’s father was murdered and three years later her own father passed away.

    “It was like, ‘Okay, I’m not a professional. We both need help,’” she said.

    So Henson went in search of a therapist but like many, finding the right therapist for her needs was not as easy as she had hoped. But it would be her Empire co-star, Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe who would recommend the perfect therapist for Henson – one that just so happened to be her own.

    Sidibe’s Therapist

    Self reached out to Sidibe about her decision to recommend and share her therapist with her co-star and friend.

    “It was extremely important for me to find a therapist who is a black woman, just because black women live in a different world than everyone else,” Sidibe wrote. “Our problems, daily interactions, and expectations are different than most other people, so I wanted a therapist who I could cut through the societal foundation of who I am with, so that we could get to my specific issues. There’s a shorthand between us. We speak the same language because we’re from the same world.”

    For Henson, finding care for herself was necessary but so is helping others in the community access help as well, something she is able to do with her foundation.

    “I think my mental health foundation picks up where my art leaves off,” Henson explained. “We have to deal with these traumatic situations [children experience], and these teachers and therapists and social workers need to be trained in cultural competency to be able to pinpoint [when a] child is having an issue that’s deeper than just wanting to be bad in class.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Taraji Henson Takes Her Mental Health Advocacy To Capitol Hill

    Taraji Henson Takes Her Mental Health Advocacy To Capitol Hill

    The Academy Award-nominated actress says the lack of discussion and confrontation around mental health is dangerous. 

    On Friday (June 7), actress and mental health advocate Taraji P. Henson spent time on Capitol Hill speaking to members of the Black Caucus and encouraging them to join in the conversation about mental health. 

    Henson, the founder of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation and Empire star, tells People that the lack of discussion and confrontation around mental health is dangerous. 

    “The suicide rate has taken off,” Henson told People. “It amazes me that 5-year-olds are contemplating suicide. That’s a word you shouldn’t even understand at five years old.”

    Henson added, “We don’t talk about mental health, we don’t deal with it. For generations, we’ve been told it’s a weakness, to pray our problems away—and that’s just not gonna cut it.”

    On Friday, Henson also spent time talking to reporters and interacting with guests at a benefit dinner held prior to a conference called “Can We Talk,” which focused on mental health in the black community. 

    “I felt that if a face or a personality you could trust would come forward to say, ‘Hey, you know, I suffered too—that would make others feel safe. I’ve had a few friends call me and say, ‘Bravo, thank you so much, you have no idea what I go through,’” she told People.

    Henson says that she supports the idea of mental health being taught in schools. That way children are aware of it, but parents would also be encouraged to discuss it with their children more often.  

    “If we can teach children about sex education and physical education, why not mental?” she said. “That’s where we start attacking this issue: with the children.”

    Earlier this year, Henson opened up about her own struggles with depression and anxiety, as well as the mental health challenges facing the black community. 

    Henson began her own foundation in memory of her father, who struggled with PTSD and manic depression. Her father died in 2005, shortly after the father of her son was murdered in Washington, D.C. It was then that Henson began to search for a therapist. 

    “It was like looking for a purple unicorn with a 24-karat-gold horn,” she tells People. “I say that jokingly, but it’s serious. The reason why we don’t have many psychiatrists of color, or psychologists of color, or therapists of color, is because we don’t talk about it at home.”

    Henson says she now talks to her therapist about twice a week, sometimes with her fiancé. 

    “I want people to know it’s okay,” Henson said. “I don’t know what human is not suffering from some sort of anxiety or depression.”

    In the end, it’s OK to struggle, Henson says. She encourages people to reach out and ask for help. 

    “It’s okay not to be okay,” she said. “Just talk about it.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Taraji P. Henson Gets Emotional About Black Mental Health

    Taraji P. Henson Gets Emotional About Black Mental Health

    “The number of black children ages 5-12 who have died by suicide has doubled since the 1990s. This is a national crisis,” Henson said.

    During a speech for Variety’s Power of Women New York lunch, Taraji P. Henson of the critically acclaimed series Empire began tearing up while talking about the plight of black mentally ill youth in the U.S.

    “The number of black children ages 5-12 who have died by suicide has doubled since the 1990s,” she said. “This is a national crisis.”

    Henson was recently honored by Variety for the work she has done on and off the screen. In addition to becoming the first black woman to win the Critics Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, she launched the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in 2018 in order to battle the stigma against mental illness within black communities. The foundation is named after her father, who suffered mental health issues after returning from a tour in Vietnam.

    “I named the organization after my father because of his complete and unconditional love for me; his unabashed, unashamed ability to tell the truth, even if it hurt; and his strength to push through his own battles with mental health issues,” Henson said in September. “My dad fought in the Vietnam War for our country, returned broken, and received little to no physical and emotional support. I stand now in his absence, committed to offering support to African Americans who face trauma daily, simply because they are black.”

    One of the foundation’s goals is to support Black students majoring in mental health-related fields in order to increase the number of mental health professionals who intimately understand the difficulties of being black in America.

    According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), only about 25% of black Americans seek out mental health services, while white Americans do so 40% of the time. Much of this gap can be attributed to discrimination as well as barriers caused by racial wealth gaps.

    “Misdiagnoses, inadequate treatment and lack of cultural competence by health professionals cause distrust and prevent many African Americans from seeking or staying in treatment,” reads NAMI’s page on African American mental health.

    Henson also drew attention to cultural stigma within the black community and fears of being labeled as “weak” or “inadequate.” Due to the long history of racial oppression in the U.S. going back to slavery, black Americans have passed down what Henson’s foundation calls a code of silence through the generations. Because much of mental health treatment requires opening up about one’s issues, creating a group of “culturally competent” mental health professionals is key to ending the national crisis of black mental illness and suicide.

    “Often, we are asked to seek help from someone who does not look like us, who cannot relate to our stories. We fear we are seen, but not heard because the listener cannot relate to our problems. But, the ability to relate to one another helps us feel understood, helps us to heal. How does one do that if we are branded before we even speak?”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Taraji P. Henson Reveals Depression, Anxiety Battle

    Taraji P. Henson Reveals Depression, Anxiety Battle

    “When they yell ‘Cut’ and ‘That’s a wrap,’ I go home to very serious problems. I’m still a real human,” Henson said.

    Academy Award-winning actress Taraji P. Henson has opened up to Variety about her battle with depression and anxiety.

    ”I suffer from depression,” the Empire actress revealed. “My anxiety is kicking up even more every day, and I’ve never really dealt with anxiety like that. It’s something new.”

    Henson has had a prolific and successful career in Hollywood, but she admits that while the lives of the rich and famous may appear to be filled with non-stop glamour, they also deal with real-world problems. 

    “I think there’s a misconception with people in the limelight that we have it all together, and because we have money now and are living out our dreams, everything is fine. That’s not the case,” Henson explains. “When they yell ‘Cut’ and ‘That’s a wrap,’ I go home to very serious problems. I’m still a real human.”

    Last year, she launched a new foundation to help raise awareness for mental health in the African American community.

    ”We’re walking around broken, wounded and hurt, and we don’t think it’s OK to talk about it,” she says. “We don’t talk about it at home. It’s shunned. It’s something that makes you look weak. We’re told to pray it away. Everyone was always asking me, ‘Do you have a charity?’ Well, dammit, this is going to be my calling, because I’m sick of this. People are killing themselves. People are numbing out on drugs. Not everything is fixed with a pill.”

    As Inside Philanthropy reports, the organization is called the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, and Taraji named it after her late father. In a statement, the organization explained, “Silence for Black people must end. We want to provide a safe environment for African-Americans to discuss their concerns in a space where they will not be persecuted or misunderstood.”

    Henson was inspired to launch this foundation because of her father’s struggles with mental illness. Boris Henson was a veteran of the Vietnam War, and he suffered from alcoholism and PTSD.

    As Henson explains, “My dad fought in the Vietnam War for our country, returned broken, and received little to know physical or emotional support. I stand in his absence, committed to offering support to African Americans who face trauma daily, simply because they’re black.”

    One of the goals of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation is to provide more mental health support for African-American youths, as well as provide backing for re-entry programs for people coming out of prison. The Foundation also wants to increase the presence of African-Americans in the mental healthcare field in the hope that it will encourage more African-Americans to get the mental health help they need.

    The Foundation’s website reports, “One in five Americans suffer from mental illness. African-Americans are the least likely population to seek treatment. We were taught to hold our problems close to the vest out of fear of being labeled and further demonized as inept, weak, and / or inadequate. African-Americans also have a history of being misdiagnosed, so there is mistrust associated with therapy.”

    As the Foundation statement continues, “People trust who they know and what they know. Having an African-American or culturally competent therapist gives way to the idea of opening up.”

    Henson explains, “My white friends have standing appointments with their therapists. I was like, ‘Why aren’t we doing that?’ In our culture, it’s taboo.”

    Henson also had personal traumas of her own that inspired the launch of her foundation, including the murder of her son’s father. Henson and her son both went into therapy, and she hopes her presence will encourage more people to get help themselves.

    As she explained to the Chicago Sun Times, “I think people feel safe when they see someone they look up to, and can go, ‘Oh wow. She’s just like me!’ We’re all humans. And we’re all in this thing called life, together. I’m trying to use my platform to do some good. If you know someone or if you are someone suffering from mental illness, just know you are not alone.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Taraji P Henson Talks Breaking Mental Health Stigma, Therapy

    Taraji P Henson Talks Breaking Mental Health Stigma, Therapy

    “I go home to problems just like everybody else. I’m here to tell you, I have a therapist. I probably need to see her more often.”

    Actress Taraji P. Henson is continuing her campaign to create dialogue about mental health in the black community.

    In a recent appearance on GMA Day, Henson got personal with some strong words about mental health. “When I go to set and you see me as Cookie and they yell ‘Cut,’ I go home to problems just like everybody else. I’m here to tell you, I have a therapist. I probably need to see her more often,” she said on the morning show.

    In August, the Empire actress launched the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF) in honor of her late father. “My dad fought in the Vietnam War for our country, returned broken, and received little to no physical and emotional support,” Henson said at the time. “”I stand now in his absence, committed to offering support to African Americans who face trauma daily, simply because they are black.”

    Through her foundation, the actress is targeting the African American community specifically to eradicate the stigma around mental health issues, hoping to break the silence and encourage the community to be open about their struggles.

    “Why aren’t we embarrassed to talk about our thyroid problem but we’re embarrassed to talk about our mental [health]? As far as African Americans, we don’t include that in total health care and that’s a problem,” said Henson.

    The three main goals of the BLHF are to provide mental health support in urban schools, increase the number of African American mental health professionals, and reduce the prison recidivism rate.

    “We need psychologists in urban schools. These kids are coming to school every day trying to learn and they’re coming from really traumatic situations at home,” Henson said on GMA Day.

    By increasing the number of black mental health professionals in the US, and having a presence in schools, BLHF is hoping to build trust between the black community and mental health professionals.

    “You have to understand the culture,” said Henson. “If you go into a therapist session and you’re looking at the person and you feel like, ‘I can’t say this. What would they think about me if I say this?’ Then we’re not getting any work done.”

    Another barrier to mental health support in the black community is the perception of weakness. “We’re told to pray [mental illness] away. We’re told that it’s a weakness or we’re demonized because we express these feelings that have been bottled up for so long,” said Henson.

    By attacking the stigma with a multi-faceted approach, Henson is hoping to break the silence, and the cycle, of mental illness.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Taraji P Henson Launches Mental Health Foundation

    Taraji P Henson Launches Mental Health Foundation

    The “Empire” star launched the foundation in honor of her late father who battled mental health issues.

    Actress Taraji P. Henson has launched a foundation to promote mental health support for the African American community, in honor of her late father Boris Lawrence Henson, who she said struggled with mental health issues.

    According to its official website, the three main goals of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF) are to provide mental health support in urban schools, increase the number of African American therapists, and to reduce the prison recidivism rate.

    Through her foundation, Henson is targeting the African American community specifically to eradicate the stigma around mental health issues, hoping to break the silence and encourage the community to be open about their struggles.

    “African Americans have regarded such communication as a sign of weakness and our vision is to change that perception,” said Tracie Jenkins, executive director of BLHF, according to People.

    “One in five Americans suffer from mental illness. African Americans are the least likely population to seek treatment,” according to the BLHF website. “We are taught to hold our problems close to the vest out of fear of being labeled and further demonized as inapt, weak, and/or inadequate.”

    Henson launched the foundation in honor of her father, Boris Lawrence Henson, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 58 after battling liver cancer.

    “I named the organization after my father because of his complete and unconditional love for me; his unabashed, unashamed ability to tell the truth, even if it hurt; and his strength to push through his own battles with mental health issues,” said the Empire actress.

    “My dad fought in the Vietnam War for our country, returned broken, and received little to no physical and emotional support. I stand now in his absence, committed to offering support to African Americans who face trauma daily, simply because they are black.”

    The foundation will provide scholarships for African American students majoring in mental health, and work with urban school districts to support mental health therapists, social workers and counselors for African American children in need.

    “African American youth in this country are exposed to trauma daily. Issues like poverty, mass incarceration and violence plague the lives of many of our children, leaving them scarred and anxious,” according to the BLHF website. “Yet many of the children facing these problems rarely get the therapeutic help they need, carrying the effects of these issues into adulthood.”

    The website continues, “Instead of stigmatizing mental health issues, we must normalize the issue. We must learn to equate the importance of emotional health with the importance of physical health. Needing help is not a shame, the shame is in the inability and fear to do so.”

    View the original article at thefix.com