Asase Ba Podcast - S1E4: Ghanaians and Mental Health
Transcript
[Asase Ba Theme Music]
Michelle: Hello and welcome to Asase Ba, a podcast that honours oral tradition and shines light on Ghanaian culture and stories that are often untold or silenced. I'm your host, Michelle, and my pronouns are she and her.
Wow, so this is episode four of Asase Ba, and it's just exciting and it's also strange because it's like one more episode until the finale of season one. And it's strange because I've been working on it for a long time, pretty much since the beginning of the year.
So it's interesting that it's almost over, but I'm so glad that I put it out now, you know, and it's out there for everyone to listen to and to learn from and to find solace in, to relate, you know, all that good stuff.
Anyways, it's still strange that it's episode four out of five, but, yeah, I'm super excited about that. And again, thanks to everyone who has supported the podcast, everyone who has subscribed and shared it and tweeted about it, you know what I mean? I really, really see that and I really appreciate that.
My hope is for more people to listen and engage and just kinda build that community. If you know anyone that would be interested in Asase Ba, tell them about it, share it with them, open up your text message, whatever, and just say, “hey, I'm listening to the super cool Ghanaian podcast. Listen to it. Here is the link.”
Or on your Twitter, share the link. Share the link to an episode or episodes that you've enjoyed, retweet Asase Ba @AsaseBaPod on Twitter, by the way, or just tell people about it. Spread the word. So if this is the first time you're listening to an episode of Asase Ba, listen all the way, this is a great episode.
And also go back and listen to the other episodes, share with people and let me know if it resonates. #AsaseBaPod on social media. I'm looking out for that hashtag so share your opinion, let me know you're listening and definitely engage.
Alright so this brings me to episode four of Asase Ba and it's a great conversation as well. Every episode is a great conversation as I said in episode three. I stan this podcast. This is definitely something I would listen to, you know what I mean? Because I am having really great conversations and interviewing some really cool people who are really candid and honest and are just raw and open and knowledgeable and all of that. So I really appreciate that.
And this episode is all about mental health. Now, mental health is very, very important. Important to care for our own mental health and to make sure that others around us at least have the resources to be able to seek mental health help. But first, we really should be taking care of our own mental health and that's something that within the past couple of years I've tried to do that for myself.
For me, self care and just looking after my own mental health involves journaling. I've tried meditation, also just being present, trying to be more present. I find that that helps me with my mental health and also seeking help, you know?
It's not a shameful thing. It's not embarrassing to seek help. It's not embarrassing to seek the help of a trained professional, a therapist. With this episode, we talk about that and I'm gonna link some mental health resources in Toronto and in Ghana.
If you have any mental health resources, you know anything, just hashtag #AsaseBaPod and let us know because, you know, it's kinda hard sometimes to find this information. And we have to talk to each other and find out these different resources because I know they're out there and stuff.
So, yeah, I'm going to have that in the show notes so check out those mental health resources there. But again, therapy, looking after your mental health is very important. I know it can be expensive, depending on where you go and stuff like that. That's why I really want us to share free or low cost mental health resources.
So in this episode, I interview Amma Gyamfowa, pronouns she and her, and Amma, my girl, she's a Ghanaian Canadian feminist, social worker and social justice advocate. So during my conversation with Amma, which was a really great one, we discuss mental health as it relates to Ghanaian Canadian people. And we also discuss the state of mental health conversations in the Ghanaian Toronto community, stigma surrounding therapy, alternative ways Ghanaians can approach mental health counselling, addressing elders, people in the family who are experiencing mental health challenges, the role of spirituality and religion in mental health, and much, much more.
So this, again, like all the other interviews, is a great, great conversation. Amma is a social worker. She's obviously trained in this field and knowledgeable so I thought it was important to have someone who is within the mental health field to come and talk about mental health.
So without further ado…I feel like I'm always saying it wrong. Ado or adieu, whatever, but here is episode four of Asase Ba, all about mental health, and this is my conversation with Amma.
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Michelle: Alright, so today I have with me Amma. Amma, do you want to introduce yourself?
Amma: My name is Amma Gyamfowa and I am a Ghanaian Canadian feminist, social justice advocate.
I've worked in the field of social work in the Greater Toronto Area for about the last seven years. And more specifically, my work has supported women and queer-centred organizations in many different ways. So I'm excited to be a part of Asase Ba.
Background in Mental Health
Michelle: Alright, let's get started. What is your background in mental health?
Amma: So my background and kind of connection to mental health comes from social work, you know, social work is all about supporting folks who are being marginalized in many different aspects and as a result, I work with people in very vulnerable positions and that means a lot of things.
It could mean that they're experiencing trauma, whether that means that they've experienced violence, that they're refugees here in the country and are dealing with displacement, but also maybe some violence that they experienced back home. Whether it means that folks are homeless, all of those things have a deep impact on your day-to-day life and on the resources you have access to, but on your mental health and on your well-being.
And so as a result, I've been connected to the field of mental health vis-à-vis social work. So I began my undergraduate ten years ago now almost, which is kind of weird to say. But the way in which it was brought to us was oftentimes that mental health was one aspect of the field of social work and that just isn't the case.
As long as you're working with people, you're working with their wellbeing and their mental health. And we have to be intentional about what that looks like. I run a mentorship program and despite it being a mentorship program, we also have to think about what is the current wellbeing and the mental health of young women and how can we best support them in those positions.
Otherwise, we're doing folks a disservice. So much of my mental health experience comes from the fact that I work with people and that it's about supporting people and their wellness in many different ways.
Michelle: Have you had any direct experience counselling folks?
Amma: For sure. For sure. I mean, I think more so in my last role. I used to work at a violence against women's shelter and it was about supporting women who are very much in crisis. So these are women who have no other option but to come to a shelter for housing. But it's specifically because of experiences of violence.
So what does that mean? That's familial violence, that their brother or their uncle or even a sister was abusive towards them or that they experienced intimate partner violence or violence from a roommate.
So those women are in a state of crisis and as a result, are experiencing challenges to their mental health and their wellbeing because they're uprooted from the situation they were in, that they were experiencing violence and experiencing trauma and now being placed into a position where they have to very much begin anew and survive all over again. And on top of that, having children and having no access to resources.
So my role in the shelter was really through a lens of crisis support, through a really solution-focused way of counselling somebody and through a feminist lens. And allowing the space and holding space for folks to talk about the experiences of violence that they've been through. And I did that on an individual level, one-on-one with case management and supporting women individually. But we also did a lot of group therapy and counselling.
Especially because it's a feminist organization, I find sometimes that they're a little bit more willing to have the structure of what other counselling therapies and modalities might look like, but at the same time be a little bit flexible, so you're able to bring more of yourself into the space.
And you also can find ways that really touch upon the experiences of violence and the identities of women in a very unique way that I think that sometimes specific agencies or mental health-focused agencies won't do those. Specifically focused on cognitive behavioural therapy.
But we're recognizing that we can have an aspect of that but also talk about “what is the power dynamics in relationships in our lives and how is that impacting us?” So that's pretty much what it looks like in terms of my direct experiences with clients in the violence against women field.
I mean, I very much still remember some of the really hardline cases and oftentimes, those women would go back. And I think those were the situations often times where you would be fearful for their lives in many ways, but also seeing how deeply it impacts them, but also their children.
You know, children and as young as they are, they know what's going on. They feel that and so it was one of the difficult things, just to see the impact that violence has on children's mental health as well.
So my experiences have been very diverse in some ways, but now in my role, I support young Black women in many different ways. And one of the things that I've noticed is the constant dismissal of Black pain specifically. So a lot of the young women that I've worked with have said that “I feel depressed, but my doctor says I'm not” or, you know, that “nobody cared” or that nobody has merged them to support services.
You know, one of the things is that they've told other folks in their lives, whether it be guidance counsellors or other people, about certain situations that are happening for them. But still, there's no link to care. There's no link to “these are the supports that are available to you.”
And that's so concerning because oftentimes, these young women then have no space for them to be able to process what's going on. And especially as young Black women, we’re supposed to just kind of carry it on and move through it and be placed in a position where there's so much pain and hurt that is put onto us, but we have no space where we feel comfortable and safe enough to explore that, but also to truly be able to move forward in our lives.
Michelle: Right. Yeah. Have you had any Ghanaian women come to you?
Amma: In the current program, absolutely.
Michelle: For counselling services or anything like that?
Amma: So there's Ghanaian young women in my program. In the shelter that I was working at, I didn't have any Ghanaian women specifically, but I had other African women, so Nigerian, East African.
Mental Health Discussions in the Ghanaian Community
Michelle: What are your observations of mental health discussions within the Ghanaian community?
Amma: So my experiences around mental health within the Ghanaian community have more so I feel like come from the more grassroots work that I've done. So I'm a part of an organization here in Toronto. I got connected to them because they actually had a mental health event, specifically for Ghanaian people.
And this was a couple of years ago. And so I remember they, I guess, went to my church one day when I wasn’t there, and my mom had come home and said, “oh, my god these people are social workers. They're doing something about mental health.”
I was like “wow, this is dope.” So I went, and that's how I got connected to them. They were trying to educate the community about mental health, about what it is about, you know, the manifestations of mental health illness.
And so in terms of what it looks like in the Ghanaian community, it varies. So I think for a lot of young people, as a result of being educated in Canada, we are exposed to mental health, we’re exposed to the ideas of what that looks like. We're exposed to, you know, people talking about it openly, about anxiety, about depression and more so nowadays.
But even when I think about when I was in high school, the fact that we knew people that had committed suicide is a way in which we had to begin thinking about mental health. In terms of our parents, I think it's complicated, I think depending on who your parent is, what they're open to…some of our parents are in working environments where mental health is a conversation and some of them are not.
I know for my mom, she's a PSW, but she also…you know, when I was younger, like, began watching Dr. Phil. And so that was her exposure to mental health as well and beginning to have conversations with us as her daughters.
And so I think it varies. One of the other things that I've noticed, though, is we can't deny the fact that we are impacted by mental health challenges and mental health illnesses. And so I remember a couple years ago now, there was one person that my mother knew that their child attempted to commit suicide. And so that in itself allowed people to begin having a conversation.
But I think it's a slow change. And I think the ways that we thought about mental health in Ghana were different than here, obviously. And I think in Canada, the way mental health challenges manifest is different.
In Ghana, we're surrounded by our community. We're surrounded by resources. We're surrounded by so many different things. And I think in Canada, that shifts dramatically. So, you know, your grandmother isn’t in the house that you're in and there's a deep sense of isolation. There's also a deep disconnect to our cultural realities and so I think that also kind of impacts the ways that mental health manifests, if that makes sense.
Mental Health Stigma in Ghanaian Networks
Michelle: I don't know if you've noticed this, but within even my family or conversations with other folks, there is this stigma attached to seeking help, seeking professional help for mental health issues. Have you noticed it within, I guess, your community, your network? And why do you think that exists?
Amma: For, sure. The stigma around mental health persists everywhere. And we have to be clear that we're not the only community that has stigma around mental health, you know? And stigma, no matter what field it's coming from, or area it's coming from, it's coming because people are not educated about it.
And so the stigma around being “crazy” and what that means for us, some people connect it to “oh this person cursed me or cursed my family however many years ago.” Some people connect it to the fact that the parents themselves are “not good parents” and so this is why this is happening.
And then we also have those ideas of we are very much family-oriented folks and so the idea that our issues should not go outside of this house is very persistent within our community.
What other stigmas are there? I think the deficit, that there's something innately wrong with that person, that they've done something wrong, that there's some sort of deviance within them, you know?
But I truly think that all of that stigma comes from the fact that people are not educated about what mental health is and what mental health challenges are and mental health illness. We all have mental health. Just like we all have our physical health, we all have mental health. And then mental health illness is just like any other sickness.
So let's say I had arthritis. That's a physical ailment, but you can have a mental one. There's chemical imbalances that, you know, cause depression, that cause things like schizophrenia so we have to take out the deviance or the fact that there's something individually wrong with this person.
It's much bigger than that. And then we have mental health challenges. So you could just be going through a really tough time, a really tough time. And as a result, your well-being and where you are mentally is in a place that it normally wouldn't be. It means that you know, you may not have an appetite for food. It means that you may not want to be around other people. It means that your thoughts are going in a place that often question you and your existence in a way that becomes unhealthy for you.
And I think the more and more that we have conversations around education is the more that we're able to destigmatize mental health. Because we all have mental health and support our mental health and wellbeing in different ways.
Michelle: I don't know if you've experienced this, but I've experienced this where, you know, if I have an issue and I bring it up, a common, I guess, statement that I get is “pray about it”, which is nice and everything. I mean, I can pray about it, I know there's space for prayer in mental health and addressing mental health issues, but sometimes it seems like that's the only solution for some Ghanaian folks.
Why do you think that's the only solution that's often told to us?
Amma: I mean, I think the only thing that many of our parents were taught about life was religion. You know what I mean? In the sense that folks grew up with Christianity, the majority of Ghanaian folks. I know there's a lot of Muslim-identified people but like our country is, what, 70 percent Christian?
And so there's a church on every corner in Ghana everywhere you go. And so the idea that God is going to save you is very entrenched into day-to-day life. And so no matter what it is that people are going through, people find hope in God and hope wherever you can find it is so necessary.
But I think it doesn't serve folks that are really going through those illnesses like I mentioned, you know, when you have that chemical imbalance or other things that are happening in your life or maybe you've experienced some real trauma and you're really, really struggling with your mental health on a daily basis.
So I think for our community, oftentimes, because there was no other resource, we turn to God, but now that there's other resources and there's things that are coming up, we have to take advantage and tap into those resources.
But I think for so long, there was nothing else except God, that we were taught or that we thought was available to us. And as a result, any time anything happens, no matter what it is, “I'll pray for you. I'll pray or you should pray about this or we'll pray about you at church.”
Like you're saying, there's space for prayer in any aspect of our lives but we have to be mindful of the fact that, okay, God has also created a space where there's therapy now. There's people that are willing to support you.
There's medication if you require it. So we have to think about the full spectrum of what we need individually in regarding our health. And just like how you’ll go to a doctor when your leg is hurting, there’s psychiatrists, there’s counsellors, like you have to think about it in that same way.
Otherwise, you're just going to always think that praying is gonna answer that. And sometimes maybe it will, but sometimes there's nothing wrong with tapping into other resources.
A Ghanaian-centric Mental Health Approach
Michelle: So are there currently any alternative ways you've seen Ghanaians approach mental health or seek mental health?
Amma: In terms of community development and, you know, when I think of social work, I do think of the fact that there's Afrocentric practices that we can include in our work with people. So opening up with a circle and decolonizing social work in that way. Have I specifically seen spot-on ways that Ghanaian social workers are practicing counselling? Not necessarily. But I think that's because many of us, especially those of us who are in Canada, I'm not sure about what it looks like in Ghana, but we are going into an education system that's Eurocentric.
So as a result, we're gonna be taught cognitive behavioural therapy, we’ll be taught narrative therapy, all of these ways of looking at therapy that are not necessarily fully connected to us as Ghanaian people. And so I think it's a matter of us creating what it is that we feel like is necessary for our communities.
And you can implement that. And I know Black social workers, therapists, implement ways of looking at our identity and looking at ourselves through our own lens. But I haven't seen a specific modality of counselling that is towards Ghanaian folks. But I think there's room for it and I think there's ways for it. I think one of the things that we can think about is the principles that we have in our community. One of the things that I will say about Ghanaian people that are just accessing care as a whole, is that oftentimes a family member will be with them.
People may not necessarily be going to appointments on their own, which is in itself an amazing thing because it displays the amount of support that you may have.
Michelle: What is your vision of a Ghanaian-centric mental health, I guess, program or whatever? How would you approach that?
Amma: It already feels so beautiful. At the same time, I don't know fully what that can look like. One of the things is that people's families or caregivers or people that they're living with had access to the education piece as well. So you could be going to therapy one-on-one and get really triggered when you go back home and I mean in the context of your family.
So what are the ways that the family members are also gonna be supporting this person? So I think having an education for those folks to understand that there's not something deviant or wrong with this person or that they're “crazy” and really breaking those things down in a way that is practical for folks.
I think in terms of the one-on-one client interactions, it's talking about the ways in which they see their culture that's empowering and how you can infuse that. What are some other ways? I really think a lot about the Adinkra symbols and how they in so many ways represent the principles that we have as Ghanaian people, and so I think about how potentially that could be broken down to counselling modalities.
So one of the counselling therapies is a strength-based perspective. So let's say there was, you know, a fawohodie perspective on counselling and, you know, what does freedom look like for you? What does X, Y and Z look like for you? And breaking it down in that way. But I think it requires also elders as well and them supporting people's health and mental wellbeing.
I think it requires a lot of folks, both that were born here in the diaspora and back home to be able to create because it needs to look at different things. You know, the therapy that may be needed in Ghana may look a little bit different here in Canada. And so I think also thinking about the context of geographically where we're located is important as well.
But I think it's a utopian dream that we can make happen. It just requires people that are ready to activate that dream.
Michelle: Yeah, people like you, right?
Amma: Yes, hopefully. Hopefully.
Ghanaian Elders and their Mental Health
Michelle: So we're speaking a lot about mental health from the perspective of, you know, a young Ghanaian person. But what about older Ghanaians? Have you had any experience with that or how would you urge them to seek mental health counselling?
Amma: I think it's tricky because, like, for example, what do you think the Twi name is for therapy or for counselling in our language? Like it doesn't even exist almost. So I think, one, we have to break it down in a way that makes sense for them, so that they would feel like there's some sort of appeal. I think you would obviously also need a Ghanaian counsellor, because the language aspect. I'm such an advocate of the fact that if people can't say what it is that they need to say in their mother tongue, then there's so many things that will get lost in translation.
And how are you gonna have a full conversation with somebody unless they're able to express themselves the way they know how in their heart? One of the other things I think about when I think about older Ghanaian people is the vast difference for older folks here compared to back home. Like my grandmother would never come to Canada because she says she's gonna die here. She thinks that the idea of being in the cold, not only in the cold, but just so disconnected from everything that she knows is really difficult. And I think a lot of other older Ghanaian people here probably experience that as well.
I think a lot of them end up being caregivers for their family members and I think that causes a lot of issues as well, in the sense that obviously many of them want to be caregivers. But at the same time, that's also a big burden and a weight to carry, to constantly be the sole caregiver for children that are coming up. Like, how does that allow them time for themselves, to allow them time to take care of themselves?
Whether it does mean going to church for themselves or, you know, exercising and all these things. So I think we also have to think that despite our elders not being born here and maybe not having the same language we have around mental health, that they have mental health needs and ways to support their wellbeing and that we need to be mindful of that as well. And not only feel like, “oh, they're here to, you know, make me good fufu and bofrot,” like really take into account the fact that they have ways of taking care of themselves and that it's not only by being around, you know, your grandchildren that you can feel satisfaction in the world.
Michelle: Parents, you know, some might have mental health issues. Let's say you notice that a parent might have a mental health issue, like how do you even address it? How would you personally address it if you noticed that?
Amma: I think one of the very important things to recognize is that when people are having challenges to their mental health, it's such a sensitive topic. It's such a sensitive thing. And as we talked about stigma and what that looks like in our community. So I think one, it’s really reiterating the fact that “I am somebody that cares about you. I'm somebody that loves you. I'm somebody that has seen you in many different ways. And I wanna make sure that you are okay, that you are living in a way that feels good to you. And there's, you know, things I have noticed that sometimes concerns me.”
“It concerns me when you sleep for days on end. It concerns me when you drink to the point of you not being able to get up for work or what have you.” You know, mental health challenges are persistent in so many different ways. And so I think it's about saying that you care about that person, that you love them, but you also are noticing things that concerns you and you wanna support that person because you know that this other aspect of them is not fully who they are. I think that's one of the ways that you can begin that conversation. I think you need to be mindful sometimes because, you know, folks in their want to help say “this hurts me when you do this.”
But sometimes it's difficult for people to even hear that. So how do you slowly find that entry point of, like, “I just care about you and I just want you to be as well as you possibly can be” and “how can I support you in that journey?” Because it's very important that people don't feel like you are dictating their life… If I tell you every day “you're not doing this, you're not doing this, you're not doing this,” eventually you're gonna shut down in the conversation. So it's about opening a space where you are there with that person.
Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health of Ghanaians
Michelle: We kinda touched on this, but I wanted to ask this again: do you think spirituality or religion can play a role in addressing mental health?
Amma: Absolutely…Everyone has their way, once again, of being able to care for themselves. And I know for me personally, like when I go to church sometimes and the rhythms of the music, because I obviously go to a Ghanaian church, that impacts me and I feel a shift in me. And so when some people read the Bible or read the Quran, they feel a shift in themselves. They feel that those words impact them in a deep way.
I think when people are experiencing challenges to their mental health and for me, meaning that they're going through certain difficulties, that they could have experienced something traumatic, they could have experienced violence, they could have experienced a loss of a loved one. Do I think that the structure of spirituality and religion and church and mosque and holy places can support in that? Absolutely. Absolutely. Because we all need hope, like we said earlier.
We all need a space where we feel that somebody is caring for us, that there's a bigger picture, that there's power and that, you know, a greater being and a holy power has a deep impact on our lives, whether we know it in this moment or not.
But that being said, when people have chemical imbalances, when they are depressed, when they've been diagnosed with schizophrenia, when they've had very clear mental health diagnosis, I think that we have to go beyond thinking about religion and spirituality as a way to impact those things.
And even sometimes when people have…Like mild depression is different from obviously more advanced forms. So medications for some people is necessary for them to be able to live their lives on a daily basis. And, you know, medication, obviously, like anything, has side effects. But oftentimes the good, in terms of what that medication is able to provide you, outweighs the bad.
And so it's very important that people have access to that information and that education and can make the informed decision about what it is that they need. I do once again think that spirituality is necessary. We all need to be connected to ourselves. We all need to be connected to our bodies and to everything and every aspect of ourselves.
But we have to be very careful to not replace religion with what we know can support and is evidence-based at this point in terms of medication or therapy or what have you when it comes to mental health.
Michelle: Let's say a church is not a safe haven for someone. If a church is something that is, I guess, even accelerating some mental health issues that some folks may have because, you know, sometimes churches are not supportive of everyone. So definitely having alternative ways of addressing mental health issues is so important.
Amma: For me, spirituality is completely different from religion and from church and from anything. Spirituality is your ability to connect with the deeper parts of yourself so I completely agree.
Making Space for Our Emotions
Michelle: Is there anything that you would like to tell the audience or let them know about mental health? Is there anything else you want to share?
Amma: For many of us, we grew up completely disconnected from the idea that we each have a way to take care of ourselves, you know, in the sense that many of us saw our parents just work really hard and not make space for emotion or make space for vulnerability in different ways. And so I think for us all, my generation and the elder generation and also the generations coming up behind us, I think it's really important that we make space for our emotions and are really honest with ourselves about the things that we're experiencing.
I think we need to make more time to process some of the things that happen, because I think sometimes, especially in Canada, you kinda just jump from one thing to the other and as a way of survival. But I think we at this point in our lives, need to do more than survive. We need to really think about wholeness for ourselves. And many of us are making homes here in Canada. And I think as a result, we need to really think about the community and not just our immediate circles. So we have to make more intentions of stabilizing ourselves here.
For me, I hate when people kind of say, “oh, compared to this community, this…” I hate people doing that because our stories and our lives as African people, in particular, are so unique and so different. But what I will say is that sometimes we can make a better and bigger effort in terms of developing our community here, right? So I remember the mental health event that I went to for Ghanaian folks, there's probably, what, 20 people there? And most of us service providers. And so I think we all need to have really intentional conversations about “how do we support our community” and as a result, supporting ourselves.
Why don't we have a Ghanaian community health center? You know, there's a Jamaican Canadian centre. There's a centre for East African folks. Like we have to really be clear that if we're gonna make this place our home, that we need to have whole ways of looking at ourselves and our health so that our grandparents are able to go to a centre and be able to speak their language and get the health services that they need.
And that can only happen when the entire community is behind initiatives like that. And so I know GCAO (Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario) is doing a lot of work in trying to create spaces for Ghanaian people. And I know GSSN which is Ghanaian Social Services Network, is also trying to do a lot of work to support creating social services here. But my last words would really be to encourage Ghanaian people to get connected to these organizations and to these efforts and to volunteer if they can. We all have so many different ways of supporting initiatives like this.
I used to think that the revolution was coming, but we are the revolution. We create the revolution, you know what I mean? So whatever it is that we wanna change and impact in our generation, we have to do today.
Making Mental Health Resources Accessible to Ghanaians
Michelle: Binging it to the older Ghanaians, it's all about making it accessible. You know, we can say like we can Google it and find information. But what If they don't know how to use Google, they don’t know how to use a computer, blah, blah, blah. So how do we make it accessible to older Ghanaian folks?
Amma: In terms of, like, mental health information?
Michelle: Yeah.
Amma: Any given Sunday you can go to how many Ghanaian churches in Toronto? I know GSSN in the past has like went to Ghanaian churches and tried to create education that way. People that are service providers or their advocates are speaking about these issues are going into the spaces as opposed to always expecting people to come to us, because that's typically not gonna happen, you know?
Our community is very much a working class community. We're working really hard Monday to Friday. So the time that we have off, what are people doing? They’re grocery shopping, they’re taking care of their kids, they’re doing all these other things. So I think people that are engaged in this field have a responsibility, really, to go into the community and educate folks.
In terms of us who may be speaking to our parents or our grandparents about this, I think there needs to be two things that happen. I think sometimes when we're speaking to our parents, we already feel that there's a wall and so it's difficult to have a conversation. And I get that. And there's a lot of frustration. And it could be really triggering to have conversations with certain parents.
But that being said, if you are in a space where you're able to have a little bit of a door open between your parents or just elder people in your life, have the conversation. I always come home and I be like, “oh, mom, this was what happened” or whatever, or, you know, just bring up a certain topic and see what their reaction is and just find little ways to make it a teachable moment. And their experiences are also teaching us as well but if we can find those little moments where we are able to have that conversation, so the next time they're talking to their friend on the phone, that they might bring that conversation up as well. And then it has this domino trickle effect.
Michelle: Or even sharing things via WhatsApp cause we know they stay on WhatsApp.
Amma: Yes! And so having maybe somebody that's like wanting to talk about that. Yeah, that's one way that it’ll just flow through the whole community.
Michelle: They're all on WhatsApp. Certain things that I've seen my mom do on WhatsApp, I’m just like “wow.”
Amma: Oh my god. My mom will literally watch it until she goes to bed at night. Like it's her CP24, you know!
Michelle: Yeah! So thank you Amma for this important conversation on mental health. I think this is something that like, you know, we obviously need to discuss more in the Ghanaian community. And I'm glad that you're bringing the conversation to a larger audience, hopefully people who are listening. Thank you for joining me!
Amma: I think it's so dope that you're doing this and specifically from such a Ghanaian lens. I'm so excited to hear everyone's interviews and, you know, have you blow up and go to your live shows.
Michelle: Alright, thanksss!
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Michelle: So Amma’s information is in the show notes, check it out there. And again, you can find some links to mental health resources in the show notes as well.
Alright, so thank you so much for listening to episode four of Asase Ba. If you enjoyed that conversation, the interview, let me know on social media #AsaseBaPod. And we also have a Twitter page. I should say “I” because it's me hosting, editing and producing this. So Asase Ba has a Twitter page and the handle is @AsaseBaPod.
So follow on there and also, share the episode, subscribe on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts, Google Play, all the cool, trendy podcast platforms. We’re on most of them so yeah, subscribe. And stay tuned for the last episode of season one, episode five, which will premiere in two weeks. And that is an amazing ass episode. Stay tuned for that. Also, feel free to email asasebapod@gmail.com for any feedback or anything like that. I will see you in two weeks and thank you so much for listening. Bye!
[Asase Ba Theme Music]
Episode Notes
Amma Gyamfowa joins Michelle to discuss mental health as it relates to Ghanaian Canadian people. They also discuss the state of mental health conversations in the Ghanaian Toronto community, stigma surrounding therapy, alternative ways Ghanaians can approach mental health counselling, addressing familial elders who are experiencing mental health challenges, the role of spirituality and religion in mental health, and much more.
Join in on the conversation! Use the hashtag #AsaseBaPod.
SUPPORT
E-transfer or via PayPal to asasebapod@gmail.com. Thank you so much for your support.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AsaseBaPod
GUEST
Amma Gyamfowa (pronouns: she and her) is a Ghanaian-Canadian, feminist, social worker, and social justice advocate. Engaged in the field of social work for last 7 years, her work has been rooted in supporting women and queer-centered organizations within the Greater Toronto Area. Amma holds a Master of Social Work from Ryerson University, and currently leads the netWORKING: Young Black Women’s Mentorship Project at Women's Health in Women's Hands.
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmmaGyamfowa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womanisthealing
RELEVANT LINKS
Mental Health Resources - Toronto
Therapy for Black Girls Toronto: https://bit.ly/2k6onAh
Women’s Health in Women’s Hands: https://www.whiwh.com/
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists
Mental Health Resources - Ghana
HOST
This podcast is produced, edited and hosted by Ghanaian Canadian Michelle (pronouns: she/her). She is also the creator of the theme music.
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