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The Association of Black Psychiatrists-UK Culture Club: The Experience So Far and Proposed Future Directions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2023

Olufemi Talabi ,
Oluwafunminiireayomi Shonibare ,
Abisola Ogundalu ,
Olukemi Akanle ,
Mosun Fapohunda ,
Akeem Sule ,
Toyin Omojuwa ,
Mona-Lisa Kwentoh ,
Isioma Nwokolo  and
Allison Edwards
...Show all authors
Olufemi Talabi*
Affiliation:
Essex Partnership University Trust, Essex, United Kingdom
Oluwafunminiireayomi Shonibare
Affiliation:
University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
Abisola Ogundalu
Affiliation:
Chesire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust, Chester, United Kingdom
Olukemi Akanle
Affiliation:
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
Mosun Fapohunda
Affiliation:
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust., St Albans, United Kingdom
Akeem Sule
Affiliation:
Essex Partnership University Trust, Essex, United Kingdom Wolfson College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Toyin Omojuwa
Affiliation:
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
Mona-Lisa Kwentoh
Affiliation:
Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom
Isioma Nwokolo
Affiliation:
Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust, Dorset, United Kingdom
Allison Edwards
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
Olamide Orimoloye
Affiliation:
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
Fejiro Ofovwe-Onwusi
Affiliation:
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Kent, United Kingdom
Elohor Ijete
Affiliation:
Kings College, London, United Kingdom
Adeyinka Medubi
Affiliation:
NHS, Southport, United Kingdom
Chinwe Obinwa
Affiliation:
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, United Kingdom
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

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Aims

Media coverage and representations in popular culture can positively and negatively impact wider social attitudes to mental health and illness.In the light of the George Floyd and Tyre Nichols murders and the discussion about racism and its legacy on Black mental health, it has become especially important to discuss the effect of popular culture on Black mental health and vice-versa. The Culture Club was formed in 2021 as an offshoot of the Association of Black Psychiatrists-UK (ABP-UK) with the aim of analysing popular culture and black mental health with a view towards finding recurring themes about Black mental health and our lived experiences of racism and racial trauma. The Culture Club comprises doctors at all levels and medical students affiliated with ABP-UK. We initially started off reviewing films as the cinema offers an accessible and enjoyable way to explore the link between popular culture and mental health. The proposed future direction is to further incorporate other media to offer a more holistic experience and to further support public education efforts.

Methods

Media from across the world featuring the intersection of racial trauma and black mental health are selected. The feature is watched individually, with a club discussion occurring virtually. Discussions are centred on the plot, characters, mental health correlations, and themes relative to our own lived experiences. We then note major or recurring themes for further exploration.

Results

To date, we have discussed “Thirteenth”, a documentary by Ava DuVernay, “Da Five Bloods” by Spike Lee, “Red, White and Blue” by Steve McQueen, The Nollywood blockbuster series “Blood Sisters” created by Temidayo Makanjuola and “Queen and Slim” by Melina Matsoukas.

The emerging critical themes from the screenings and our lived experiences are systemic racism, differential attainment, vicarious trauma, stigma and its impact on mental health, and the law.

Conclusion

Key themes underpin black mental health and racial trauma. These themes, if studied further, could potentially be targeted to improve the lived black experience and, in turn, black mental health.

Popular culture remains an important tool in understanding Black mental health.

We welcome further ideas towards improving the culture club experience.

Type
Education and Training
Information
BJPsych Open , Volume 9 , Supplement S1: Abstracts from the RCPsych International Congress 2023, 10–13 July , July 2023 , pp. S37
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NC
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This does not need to be placed under each abstract, just each page is fine.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

Footnotes

Abstracts were reviewed by the RCPsych Academic Faculty rather than by the standard BJPsych Open peer review process and should not be quoted as peer-reviewed by BJPsych Open in any subsequent publication.

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