InnoPsych — Ending Therapy Stigmas For People Of Color

Bringing healing to communities of color by changing the face of therapy

The Problem

Despite recent efforts to improve mental health services for African Americans and other historically disadvantaged groups, barriers remain regarding access to and quality of care. The barriers include stigmas associated with mental illness, distrust of the healthcare system and a lack of providers from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Issues also persist concerning the lack of culturally competent providers and lack of insurance.

What The Organization Does

Dr. Charmain Jackman, a licensed psychologist of Barbadian heritage, noticed these challenges and vowed to change the norm of therapy for people of color. InnoPsych allows people looking for therapists to get matched with their ideal therapist of color through the site’s directory and easy filtering options. The site also gives people access to resources designed and created for therapists and therapy clients of color. Therapists can join the network and get their profile featured in the site’s directory. The mission of InnoPsych is to bring healing to communities of color by changing the face and feel of therapy. It strives to make therapists of color more visible in the community by creating a path to wellness-themed business ownership. The organization also strives to make it faster and easier for people of color to match with a therapist of color and to create a major shift in how communities of color view therapy.

History of the Organization

InnoPsych was born from Founder and CEO Charmain F. Jackman’s own experiences and challenges during her search for a therapist. She knew she wanted a therapist who was a woman of color but the process proved to be a challenge. As she searched through website after website there were either too few therapists listed to choose from, and there was no way to filter lists by ethnicity. The process then became lengthy and cumbersome. Whenever she did find someone that she liked who fit the criteria, they were either “not taking new clients” or they did not take her insurance. She knew that there needed to be a simpler and faster way for people of color to find therapists of color and she was going to create it. Not only did she want to create a directory of therapists of color, but she also wanted to facilitate the process for therapists of color to launch their own private practice in order to increase the pool of therapists of color in the field.

Founding Team Background

Founder and CEO Charmain F. Jackman, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist of Barbadian heritage. Growing up in a culture where the stigma of mental health was pervasive, but images of therapists of color were not, she decided that she was going to change that. Dr. Jackman has spent the last 20 years working with people of color in hospitals, clinics, courts, and schools, and one consistent point that she has observed is that people of color long for therapists who look like them, who understand them and who will do right by them.

Upcoming Events

InnoPsych plans to officially launch in early 2020, with their website launching today. A complete list of all of their events can be found here including a coveted workshop titled “Launching Your Private Practice in Seven Days” that is being held on Jan. 25 in Watertown.

How to Get Involved

InnoPsych is eager to continue growing its community of partners, and you can stay connected by subscribing. Their goal is to get to more than 350 therapists by March 2020 and joining the community is completely free. If interested, you can connect with the InnoPsych team here.

Subscribe To The Buzz To Get More Startups In Your Inbox