Mental Health Support
Soothe Your Nerves Anxiety Support Groups
Soothe Your Nerves is a no-cost virtual anxiety support group that draws upon the strength, courage, and culture found in Black Women’s friendship networks. We have adapted this support group from the Soothe Your Nerves book and curriculum that was created by a Black psychologist; Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett, to provide Black women with a space to speak their truth, to be heard, embraced, and received in a loving, relatable way that supports, encourages, and empowers. Our current Soothe Your Nerves Anxiety Support Groups are led by Starla Simmons, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and mom of two, along with, Itania Njei a new mom and doula in training.
The Soothe Your Nerves Anxiety Support Group application is now open.
- Black pregnant and postpartum (up to 18 months) community members are eligiable
- Active participants also get 8 sponsored individual therapy sessions with Black therapists
- The opening and closing sessions are in-person.
- Childcare is provided at in-person sessions.
Apply for the upcoming Soothe Your Nerves Anxiety Support Group Here
Sponsored Therapy
Black Mamas ATX sponsors confidential psychotherapy & counseling with Black therapists for: trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, parenting & relationships, family dynamics, intimate partner violence, spirituality and other concerns. This therapy is available to all Black Mamas ATX clients and to Black clients of other Maternal Health Equity Collaborative (MHEC) organizations, including:
- Healing Hands Community Doula Project
- Giving Austin Labor Support
- Mama Sana Vibrant Woman
- Partners In Parenting
Resources & Downloads
Brochures
Prenatal Care Tips
Benefits of Doulas
Reading
California bills would train nurses, judges and police to spot their own biases
Jazmine Ulloa | The Los Angeles Times California saw a decrease in the number of women who died giving birth in 2013, as the maternal mortality rate climbed across the country, according to state officials. But expectant black mothers across the state are still three...
Silenced by fear: Women of color are less likely to get treatment for postpartum depression
Aneri Pattani | The Philadelphia Inquirer This story is a collaboration between The Inquirer and WHYY Health + Science. Portia Smith’s most vivid memories of her daughter Nelly’s first year are of tears. Not the baby’s. Her own. “I would just hold her and cry all...
Healthy MOMMIES Act Introduced to Tackle ‘Unconscionable’ US Maternal Mortality Crisis
Jessica Corbett | Common Dreams The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Cory Booker, follows a CDC report revealing that black and Native American women are three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes. A group of congressional Democrats on...