All of these professions promote an understanding of mental illness, which may explain why all 3 departments contain students struggling with mental health disorders. By joining these departments, students may find themselves immersed in mental health concerns that encourage mental health concerns more and help-seeking behaviors.

Boston University

Black collegians struggling with mental health tend to struggle with help-seeking. They may pursue professions like social work, nursing, and psychology, because they are less likely to stigmatize help-seeking. This study looks into whether or not Black students with mental health concerns are more or less likely to pursue careers in certain professions as a result of racialized trauma.

The Role of Racialized Trauma in Pursuing Certain Professions

Val Livingston, Angela Bost & Alandra Copeland (2021) Exploring black students’ mental health characteristics by field of academic study utilizing a critical race lens, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, DOI: 10.1080/10911359.2021.1956394


Exploring black students’ mental health characteristics by field of academic study utilizing a critical race lens

The study reveals that the departments of social work, psychology, and nursing contained the most students seeking mental health counseling, suggesting students interested in the helping professions may be attracted to them because of their own mental health concerns. Black collegians pursuing helping professions reported many mental health concerns, indicating the unique, racialized experiences of students with certain mental health concerns could be a reason they pursue these professions.

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