The goal is to create a safe space for Black men to come together to openly discuss their mental healthA medical student in Fort Worth who wanted to do something good to support Black men is seeing his efforts pay off., started the Barbershop Talk Therapy Project back in 2021. Three years later, the program still exists and is still getting attention.
Igbokidi had a big Barbershop Talk Therapy event in New Orleans last month alongside the 60th Student National Medical Association Conference. SNMA is the oldest Black medical student organization in America, and Igbokidi served as president of the 4,000-member organization this past year. He partnered with 100 Black Men in America to pack Dennis Barbershop in New Orleans with residents and Black medical students from all over America for a discussion on mental health.
Funding from the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute on Alcohol and Drug Abuse allows Igbokidi to take histo barbershops nationwide. He’s done sessions in Dallas, Hartford, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., so far. The $14,000 in grant funding mainly covers the cost of the barber's services so the patrons can get free haircuts during the mental health discussions.
The session in New Orleans in March was one of his last barbershop events before he graduates from the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and leaves Fort Worth for Los Angeles to begin his residency in psychiatry at UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience.Every morning, NBC 5 Today is dedicated to delivering you positive local stories of people doing good, giving back and making a real change in our community.