How to Find a Black Therapist in Toronto
So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and start your therapy journey, but you’ve done hours of research and can’t find exactly what you’re looking for. It can be challenging to find someone who looks like you, or has some shared experiences and can empathize with you. This is especially the case for black and brown communities.
At KMA Therapy, diversity in mental health has always been important to us, so we’re working on putting together tips for finding therapists for different minority groups.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear path forward to finding a Black therapist in Toronto.
Clarify Who You’re Looking For
First things first, you’ll want to know exactly who you’re looking for. You’re searching for a Black therapist, but what other factors might help narrow down your search?
You might be looking for things like:
1. Gender
How does this person identify? Do you have a gender preference?
This is a great place to start when it comes to searching for a psychotherapist.
2. Sexuality
Are you looking for someone who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community? Intersectionality plays a huge role in our life experiences and our mental health.
Finding a therapist who can not only identify with one community but multiple that you’re a part of can make for a great therapeutic relationship!
3. Age
Some people prefer a psychotherapist who is closer in age, while others might want the opposite. It’s all about comfortability. Finding someone the right age can really make for a positive experience.
4. Therapeutic approach
Depending on how much research you’ve done, you might have found some approaches such as CBT, DBT, or other therapeutic approaches that you want to try out or feel might be right for you.
Most therapists specialize in one or a few different approaches that they often list in their bio’s. If you aren’t sure, don’t fret! After your initial intake session, they will figure out what the best approach for you is.
3 Ways to Find a Black Therapist in Toronto
You’ve figured out some essential things for your psychotherapist to be, now to figure out exactly who they are. There are a ton of great black therapists available in the city, but finding them can be daunting.
Here are a few great places to search:
1. Psychology Today
Psychology Today is a great website to find psychotherapists, psychologists, and social workers alike. You can also use it to find different support groups and treatment centres.
When you visit the website, you’ll see a little search bar with the option to hit the dropdown menu and filter through either therapists, support groups, or treatment centres, and then a space to fill in the city or postal code you’d like to search within.
This will take you to a list of mental health workers, and provide you with their bio’s, specialties, degrees, websites, and any other information they can provide.
You’ll also notice a small globe with “CA” next to it. If you tap that button, you can search for psychotherapists globally.
Right up top before the list begins you’ll notice different filter options like “issues, age, gender, etc.” this is where you’ll want to pop in whatever you’re looking for to narrow down your search.
2. Black Therapist List
Black Therapist List is another great resource for finding a Black psychotherapist.
Similar to PsychologyToday, Black Therapist List allows you to search for therapists in whatever city you’d like.
Unlike Psychology Today, you can only search within Canada and the US, but this is still super helpful if you don’t need someone who practices in a different part of the world.
When you get to the therapist page, you’ll notice some filter options on the side. This is great to filter out issues, as well as online vs. in-person therapy, and insurance vs. non-insurance covered psychotherapists.
3. Black Therapy
Finally, there is Black Therapy, a website that will help connect you with therapists, psychologists, and counsellors in the city.
Unlike Psychology Today, Black Therapy and Black Therapist List are exclusive to black mental health workers, so filtering through people you aren’t looking for becomes a whole lot easier.
Also, keep in mind you can only use this resource to find Black mental health workers in Canada.
The interface here is also sleek and super user-friendly here, and as a bonus, they are working on their own blog!
Next Steps to Finding a Black Therapist
In this article, you learned to clarify who you want to find, and 3 websites to use to search for a Black therapist in Toronto. It can be challenging, but these resources will help.
If you try those options and still don’t find what you’re looking for, a few other ways would be:
- ask your family doctor for resources
- utilizing different google search options
- checking out reviews from trusted sources
- ask your friends or family members that you know who attend therapy
It might take a little extra work (even though it shouldn’t!) but finding the right Black psychotherapist in Toronto is within reach!
If you’d like to learn more, book a call with one of our qualified specialists here. Some other useful articles to read are:
- How To Find A Psychotherapist In Toronto
- How Often Do I Need To Attend Therapy?
- How Much Does Psychotherapy Cost?
About the Author
Tre is KMA's rockstar recruiter. As a podcast host and entrepreneur, he’s learned to utilize both creativity and charisma to help remove walls between employer and employee, while creating a space for transparency and authenticity.
