The Sekhem Institute for Holistic Healing is a 501(c)(3) public charity that champions health equity work centered around improving Mental Wellness in the African American community.
Payments accepted via Cash App or Credit Cards
Sekhem (pronounced: “Seh-Kem”)
has African origins and it means “healing”. It is the Ancient Egyptian equivalent of ki (Japanese culture), chi (Chinese culture), and prana (Indian/Vedic culture), indicating essential life force.
The Problem:
The mental health status of African Americans has significantly worsened over the last several years.
The Solution:
Holistic interventions are proven to be reliable as preventative measures and effective coping mechanisms to stress and trauma.
Why Mental Health work is important to us:
Client care approaches need reform as evidenced by the disparity statistics. The U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world yet we have some of the worst health outcomes. Indiana health statistics rank very low in comparison to other US states...35th in the nation overall.
Despite rates being less than the overall U.S. population, major depressive episodes increased from 9% to 10.3% in Black and African American youth ages 12-17, 6.1% to 9.4% in young adults 18-25, and 5.7% to 6.3% in the 26-49 age range between 2015 and 2018.
We believe taking a more holistic approach to client care, focusing more on prevention as primary, and attacking true root causes will lead to better outcomes. We need a new way of thinking and doing, and we are happy to be a catalyst for change leading in this space.
Self-Care is Self-Love
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Self-Care is Self-Love ⋆
Taking care of your mind, body and soul.
Did You Know?
16% (4.8 million) of Black and African American people reported having a mental illness, and 22.4% of those (1.1 million people) reported a serious mental illness over the past year.
Research indicates that Blacks and African Americans believe that mild depression or anxiety would be considered “crazy” in their social circles. Furthermore, many believe that discussions about mental illness would not be appropriate even among family.
Black and African American people are more likely to experience chronic and persistent, rather than episodic, mental health conditions." (due to systemic racism & oppression)
Because less than 2% of American Psychological Association members are Black or African American, some may worry that mental health care practitioners are not culturally competent enough to treat their specific issues.
Black and African American people living below poverty are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress than those living over 2x the poverty level.
Adult Blacks and African Americans are more likely to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than adult whites.
Suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts are also rising among Black and African American young adults. While still lower than the overall U.S. population aged 18-25, 9.5% (439,000) of Black and African American 18-25-year-olds had serious thoughts of suicide in 2018, compared to 6% (277,000) in 2008. 3.6% (166,000) made a plan in 2018, compared to 2.1% (96,000) in 2008, and 2.4% (111,000) made an attempt in 2018, compared to 1.5% (70,000) in 2008.
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health