Suicide Prevention for Black Youth w/ Dr. Sherry Molock Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Dr. Sherry Davis Molock, is a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Dr. Molock teaches undergraduate and doctoral courses in clinical psychology and conducts research on the prevention of suicide and HIV in African American youth. Thirty years ago, she first discovered her calling was to help prevent suicide among Black people, as rates of suicide continued to rise in Black adolescents. Since then, she has been adamant that Black churches could lead the way on teen mental health and suicide prevention and has worked diligently to implement suicide prevention programs for Black youth in predominately Black churches. In addition to her work in psychology, Dr. Molock and her husband, Guy Molock, Jr., are the founding pastors and Pastor Emeriti of the Beloved Community Church – United Church in Christ in Fort Washington, Maryland. Their ministry focuses on “family healing” that is designed to bring spiritual, physical, and emotional healing to the community. She joins program host Dr. Chris Meek on Next Steps Forward to discuss a reluctance in the Black community to acknowledge mental health problems, how her work continues to challenge misconceptions about Black people and suicide, how faith leaders can recognize mental health issues within their own congregations and ensure their parishioners are comfortable speaking about them, and both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for her HAVEN Connect Workshops.