Millennial Minority Mental Health With Dr. Amanda Long
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago Medicine
Millennials, minorities, and mental health all have Dr. Amanda Long in common. Dr. Amanda Long is a graduate of the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. Program at the University of Houston and currently employed as a Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Chicago Medical Center within the Adult Behavioral Track.
“As a clinician of color, it is very important to me to offer services that highlight the unique experience of ethnic minorities.”
What are you trying to change in your industry and why?
I am trying to change the conversation around mental healthcare by helping to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. Within my individual therapy work, it is important that I normalize the experiences of mental illness among my clients. I am also committed to addressing this stigma on a macro-level by curating community advocacy efforts aimed and educating others about mental health concerns and empowering those individuals to access mental health services.
Dr. Amanda Long
Dr. Amanda Long received her B.S. in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and M.A. in community counseling from Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Long was the 2015 recipient of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 52 International Research Student Award in 2015 for collaborative research highlighting the experiences of colorism among Black women in Australia, Bermuda, South Africa, and the U.S.
In 2016, Dr. Long was named APA’s Division 35 Psychology of Women/Section 1 Black Women Graduate Student Award recipient for her academic and research-related accomplishments. In 2017, she was awarded APA’s Division 17/Section for the Advancement of Women Dissertation and Thesis Award for her innovative dissertation research examining the relationship between social media usage and body dissatisfaction among Black women. Professionally, Dr. Long’s broad interest is focused on diminishing the stigma surrounding mental health treatment in the African American community by providing community-based psychoeducational outreach and programming.
Why do you do what you do?
I am extremely passionate about providing inclusive mental healthcare to men and women of color. As a clinician of color, it is very important to me to offer services that highlight the unique experience of ethnic minorities. I thoroughly enjoy helping my clients develop insight by encouraging them to explore a deeper understanding of the connection among their experiences, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The work that I do is challenging but extremely rewarding.
What got you into your line of work?
I became interested in psychology at an early age. I was particularly fascinated by human behavior and wanted to study this phenomenon in more depth. After receiving my bachelor’s degree in psychology, I became interested in exploring this field from a multicultural lens by highlighting how people of color experience the world and develop/maintain mental health concerns. As I continued in my studies, it became rewarding to identify and practice ways to address these concerns from a culturally inclusive framework.
What is the hardest part of being a working professional?
Within my field, I think the hardest part about being a therapist is learning how to find a balance between work and my personal life. Exposure to other people’s problems can be draining at times and can become emotionally taxing if I am not engaging in proper self-care. I have identified my personal signs of burnout and have also identified ways to take care of myself so that I can provide the best care to my clients.
What are 5 tips you would like to share?
- Feel it! In the words of the great poet Jay-Z, “You can not heal what you don’t reveal.” In order to reveal you have to be brave enough to feel those uncomfortable emotions.
- Exercise self-compassion. There are enough critics in the world, be kind to yourself and show yourself the same love and understanding that you would show to someone else.
- Ask for help! If you had a broken arm I am sure you would solicit the help of a physician, so do the same when you feel broken mentally and emotionally.
- Celebrate your own accomplishments – don’t wait for these accomplishments to be acknowledged by others.
- Incorporate things into your daily routine that genuinely make you happy!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I am looking forward to offering quality therapeutic services to the residents of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
