February is a short month bursting with activities to mark three key celebrations each year. The month is launched with homage to Black History and the stories of historical achievements and the injustices endured and overcome by Black trailblazers.
This is also a time when people devoted their attention to their loved ones by celebrating Valentine’s Day. Then, there is a third celebration that was created to signify the importance of mental health education, except few Canadians are aware that this third celebration exists. I am here to share that in addition, February is National Psychology Month.
The purpose of designated month is to inform Canadians and others about the impactful role that the field of psychology plays in their daily lives.
It is a moment too, to honour the contributions made by Canadian psychologists who have excelled in their respective disciplines.
Psychology is a science of the mind and study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours within different contexts such as school, work, community and family.
When we think of the word ‘psychology’ the first names that come to mind are Sigmund Freud, who was Austrian and Carl Jung, who was Swiss.
In school, I was taught that these male European psychologists were two of the key founding fathers of the modern psychology that all health therapists and I use today.
This always left me wondering, who were the Black psychologists who had also made significant contributions to the field of psychology, especially here in Canada? Were there any?
A quick online search revealed that indeed, there were some influential African American men and women psychologists that were recognized such as Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of the book “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Joseph L. White who died in 2017 and was known as the ‘godfather’ of the field of Black Psychology.
These founders have and are continuing to produce instrumental work in their respective fields of psychology, to consult the full list visit https://www.activeminds.org/blog/10-african-african-american-psychologists-you-should-know/.
As insightful as this list is, all the psychologists are American, so I furthered my internet search and the list of Black Canadian psychologist was almost impossible to find however, I invite you to visit the Canadian Psychological Association’s website as they have selected to feature Dr. Maya Yampolsky this month and celebrate her work on anti-racism psychology during the pandemic.
In her profile interview she states, “A lot of research showed that Black Canadians of Caribbean origin or African origin, populations that are descendants of enslaved peoples from previous centuries, these groups have continuously been targeted. As a result there’s stress and there’s illness that builds up in the body.
So a lot more of these members of our population have chronic illness, which makes them more vulnerable to COVID, and to having a more intense experience with it. This means they have worse cases and a higher mortality.” https://cpa.ca/psychology-month-profile-maya-yampolsky/ .
The month of February has most certainly left me reflecting upon how Black History Month, National Psychology Month and Valentine’s Day may all be intertwined.
I think this short, yet powerful month is a time in the year for each one of us to take a moment to pause, reflect, and reminisce about all of those people we have loved, all those who have cared for us and celebrate all the trailblazers who have paved the way for each one of us.
In honour of Black History Month, I participated in an English Montreal School Board (EMSB) Podcast entitled, “Healing and Change” on Tuesday February 16th, hosted by Mr. Vince Lacroce with special guests Mr. Andrew D’Anna, Mrs. Veronica Johnson, and Mr. Dwight Walton. In it we discussed the importance of healing, change, and moving forward towards a better tomorrow. The recording will be posted online as of February 22nd. So, listen in.
Be well!