Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Support

If you are from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, you may face specific issues relating to your BPD, and your mental health in general. Things such as stigma, fear, and a lack of culturally sensitive treatment can act as barriers to accessing mental health care.

There are options available to you, help is available. There are organisations that provide support services specifically to people from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background. We use BAME as an includive term for people who don’t identify as white – this includes people who are mixed race, asian or from a wide range of ethinc, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Here are some useful contacts for organisations offering support to those from a BAME background:

Black Minds Matter UK

Black Minds Matter’s mission is to connect Black individuals and families with free mental health services — by professional Black therapists to support their mental health. To make this happen, they want to make mental health topics more relevant and accessible for all Black people in the U.K., removing the stigma and remodelling the services to be relevant for the Black community.

The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network

BAATN is the UK’s largest independent organisation to specialise in working psychologically, informed by an understanding of intersectionality, with people who identify as Black, African, South Asian and Caribbean. Our primary focus and area of expertise is to support people from these heritages. However, they are open to other People of Colour who are affected by oppression due to the colour of their skin and global white power. One of the primary aims of BAATN is to address the inequality of access to appropriate psychological services for Black, African, South Asian and Caribbean people, which is a well-recognised reality.

Taraki

Taraki work with Punjabi communities to improve access to mental health awareness, education, social supports, and research through culturally safe activities to benefit individual and community-level care.Within Punjabi communities, those living with mental health difficulties can face stigma from family and friends, wider society, as well as within health care settings, which can sometimes lead to increased isolation and a lack of support.

National Union of Students Black students’ network

The National Union of Students (​NUS) Black students’ network represents students of African, Asian, Arab and Caribbean heritage. The network supports issues affecting Black students on a local, national and international level.

Nafsiyat intercultural therapy

Nafsiyat is a pioneering charity offering intercultural therapy in over 20 languages to people from diverse cultural communities. Nafsiyat offers short-term intercultural therapy to people from diverse backgrounds who live in Islington, Enfield, Camden and Haringey. They provide therapy in over 20 languages.

Nilaari

Nilaari is a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) led community-based charity. Their diverse staff team deliver culturally appropriate and responsive social care support and talking therapies. All services are designed to support our client’s emotional wellbeing and mental health. Nilaari is an AWP partner  providing community-based mental health care for people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.

BAME Mental Health Service (Wales)

BMHS is a not-for-profit organisation focused on education and advocacy to inspire a mentally healthy BAME community by providing support appropriate to their mental health and wellbeing.

Saheliya (Edinburgh and Glasgow)

Saheliya is a specialist mental health and well-being support organisation for black,  minority ethnic, asylum seeker, refugee and migrant women and girls (12+) in the Edinburgh and Glasgow area. Their staff are from a variety of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds and they all have an understanding of how race, gender and culture affects the mental well-being of black and minority ethnic women and girls. They offer:

  • Counselling
  • Complementary Therapies
  • Practical and Emotional Support
  • Groupwork
  • Outreach Work
  • Young Saheliya Groupwork and Counselling
  • Learning Centre
  • Gardening Project
  • Childcare for under 7’s to make sure women can access services