Dr. Isha W. Metzger
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
2022
October 2022 - Washington Post article: What does bipolar disorder feel like? Can it explain Kanye's behavior?
- “The rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has a history of commenting on mental illness through his art. On a 2018 album cover, West included a telling quote: “I hate being Bi-Polar it’s awesome.” In the song “Yikes,” he called bipolar disorder his “superpower.” The Washington Post spoke to psychiatrists, therapists and people diagnosed with bipolar disorder and asked them what it feels like to live with the condition, how it is treated and how much it can affect a person’s behavior.
Washington Post article: What does bipolar disorder feel like? Can it explain Kanye's Behavior?
October 2022 - Red & Black article: Athens Observes World Mental Health Day
- World Mental Health Day (October 10) was started to raise awareness of global mental health issues and help increase efforts in support of mental health. The day provides an opportunity for those working on mental health issues to talk about their efforts and improvements still needing to be made in order to make mental health care a reality for people globally, according to the World Health Organization. On July 16, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline went live and is now active across the United States via text and phone call. Dr. Isha Metzger said that a big question people have is how the hotline will be utilized to inform police. Black youth and said minority students are more likely to face a higher risk of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. These students are also more likely to face consequences such as being penalized for missing class if they do have mental health problems.
Red & Black article: Athens Observes World Mental Health Day
August 2022 - White Table Talk; TRAUMA, TRIGGERS AND TREATMENT: A Candid Conversation
- With so many issues going on in our world today with mental health, public outburst, mass shootings, senseless killings and the list goes on...Dr. Isha Metzger will be with us WTT along with Eugenia Buie and co-host Jacqueline Stevens to help us resolve some of the trauma and triggers by giving us some choices of treatment. Let's have the conversation because the truth is a lot of us have TRAUMA and have been TRIGGERED!
July 2022 - C.A.R.E. Package For Racial Trauma is available in print!
- The C.A.R.E. Package you know and love PLUS over a dozen additional handouts and resources for you to use! This guide can be a tool for therapists and clinicians working with Black youth! It’s also useful for caregivers who want support in having conversations about racism and how to respond in proactive ways! We even got feedback from teens who say it’s useful for them in talking to their friends and peers! The C.A.R.E. Package for Racial Healing is a must for anyone wanting to help Black youth heal from racial stressors! The C.A.R.E. Package helps Black teens explore racial identity, racial socialization, relaxation, emotion regulation, cognitive coping, and behavioral strategies for overcoming experiences with racial stressors. Learn how racial socialization can help protect you, and about other evidence-based strategies that can help you heal from stressful experiences!
Visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble to purchase:
April 2022 - Livestream Series, Confronting Anti-Black Racism and Promoting Social Justice: Applications through Social Media
- Discussion with Dr. Earl Turner, Dr. Maryam Jernigan- Noesi, and Dr. Isha Metzger, Moderated by Dr. Ifetayo Ojelade
- Students, scholars, psychologists, and community activists joined together to offer diverse perspectives on confronting systemic racism rooted in Anti-Blackness through the book "Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black Racism." A Healing Paradigm (@ahealingparadigm) will host a 7-month Facebook Live series February through October 2022 based on this book. In addition to attending the virtual discussions, participants have the opportunity to engage in our small group Deep Dive sessions facilitated by mental health professionals and Mbongis (community gatherings to discuss an issue) that include thought leaders such as Dr. Mawiyah Kambon, Dr. Thomas Parham, and student-scholar-activists of the next generation.
Here is the link to download a free digital copy of the book!
tinyurl.com/makingblacklivesmatter
January 2022 - Psych Mic Podcast, Healing communities from racial trauma with Dr. Isha Metzger
- This episode is especially great for students considering going deeper into academic pursuits around psychology and/or getting into clinical practice. The episode opens with a laugh — visit spotify, apple podcasts, or PodBean.com to hear more!
2021
December 2021 - Peace of Mind with Taraji
- 2021 was one of the deadliest gun violence years in decades. Did you catch this episode of Peace of Mind with Taraji? Rapper G Herbo talks about his struggles with PTSD and community activist Harry Bell shares how witnessing multiple shootings left him struggling with alcohol and suicidal thoughts. In this episode, Dr. Isha Metzger discusses impacts of gun violence on individuals and communities, and how these life-threatening experiences specifically cause harm to the Black community. Find the episode exclusively on Facebook TV!
Peace of Mind with Taraji - PTSD with Rapper G Herbo: Not Just from Combat
November 2021 - Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black Racism
- It is finally here!! The book "Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black Racism" is available to you online for FREE! Are you interested in doing some anti-racism reading? This book is edited by Dr. Kevin Cokley and features a chapter authored by friends of The EMPOWER Lab, Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi and Dr. Earl Turner, as well as our very own Dr. Isha Metzger! Visit cognella.com/making-black-lives-matter and start reading so you don't miss out on the excellent content from Black scholars, activists, and students like you!
Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black Racism
September 2021 - The 8 Unique Stressors Behind Depression in Young U.S. Latinos
- Depression rates for young Latino people are some of the highest among all communities in the U.S. Racial trauma, struggles with ethnic identity, and learning a new language/having an accent are a few of the many barriers contributing to the greater level of mental health issues in the Latinx communtiy. Many of these stressors are ehnicity-related, so our treatment for them should be ethnicity-related too. Andrea Vargas, Dr. Gabriela Livas Stein, Ivette M. Gómez, Dr. Teresa Yanez, and Dr. Isha Metzger discuss what is needed and culturally competent counseling! Read more at https://tinyurl.com/depressionpsychcentral
The 8 Unique Stressors Behind Depression in Young U.S. Latinos
September 2021 - KBLA Talk 1580, featuring Dr. Isha Metzger
- Tavis Smiley owns and operates the first Black-owned talk radio station in Los Angeles, KBLA 1580. He hosted Dr. Isha Metzger and they discussed racial stress and trauma in the Black community, her research in this area with the EMPOWER Lab, and more!
Tavis Smiley's KBLA 1580 episode featuring Dr. Isha Metzger
September 2021 - The Cohort Sistas Podcast, featuring Dr. Isha Metzger
- Did you catch the latest episode of the Cohort Sistas Podcast? Listen in to this wonderful conversation between host Dr. Ijeoma Kola and our very own Dr. Isha Metzger! Together, they discuss how to establish expectations and boundaries in mentoring and balancing academic & community work. Hear about Dr. Metzger's journey, including the role that mentors have played in her success, securing funding for her studies, why she decided to work in such a transdisciplinary way. Dr. Metzger also leaves us with some words of encouragement for Black women who are thinking about pursuing doctoral studies.
Cohort Sistas Podcast featuring Dr. Isha Metzger
September 2021 - The Psychologists Podcast, featuring Dr. Isha Metzger
- The Psychologists Podcast (hosted by Julia & Gill Strait) featured Dr. Isha Metzger! She discussed racial stressors, racial socialization, and racial trauma; she spoke as a professor/researcher/psychologist, but also got personal! If you're wondering how we should be talking about race with our kids, what to do as a clinician working with people with different backgrounds or beliefs, or how to just stop saying/doing things that hurt other people, listen in for some research-backed tips.
August 2021 - The Reec Radio Show, featuring Dr. Isha Metzger
- Reec Radio is an innovative digital broadcast platform that was created to entertain, inform and electrify its listeners! Dr. Isha Metzger was interviewed
Reec Radio Show LIVE with Dr. Metzger
August 2021 - PsychCentral, Depression in Young Latinos and the Unique Stressors Behind It, by Lacey Muinos and Sandra Silva Casabianca
- Depression rates for young Latino people are some of the highest among all communities in the U.S. Racial trauma, struggles with ethnic identity, and learning a new language/having an accent are a few of the many barriers contributing to the greater level of mental health issues in the Latinx communtiy. Many of these stressors are ehnicity-related, so our treatment for them should be ethnicity-related too. Andrea Vargas, Dr. Gabriela Livas Stein, Ivette M. Gómez, Dr. Teresa Yanez, and Dr. Isha Metzger discuss what is needed and culturally competent counseling!
June 2021 - VoyageATL Local Stories, Meet Isha Metzger: Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Owner, by Erika Smith
- Academia or Business? Why not both? Dr. Metzger founded Cultural Concepts, LLC in the summer of 2020, seamlessly transitioning her academic experience in racial trauma and healing to consultations for improvements in the way that other businesses and organizations interact with the community. Dr. Metzger has over a decade of expertise in researching positive development for Black youth and in working with clinicians to deliver better care for minority populations.
Meet Isha Metzger: Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Owner
April 2021 - MedPage Today, Treating Ethno-Racial Trauma With Cultural Humility, by Kara Grant
- Dr. Metzger trains mental health providers to be aware of racial stressors like unfair policing and racially motivated hate crimes. These stressors often occur in addition to the interpersonal stressors that require help from mental health professionals. Confronting the topic of race in therapy is critical for engaging and efficacious treatment for ethnic minorities. In this article, Dr. Metzger discusses the utility of cultural humility for clinicians from majority populations to connect with, engage, and validate the experiences of BIPOC clients so that they benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy.
Treating Ethno-Racial Trauma With Cultural Humility - Full article
March 2021 - Future Human, Scientists Are Using Psychedelics to Help People Cope With Racial Trauma, by Emma Betuel
- Dr. Metzger notes that there is no magic drug for racial trauma or PTSD; furthermore, while psychedelics may have enhancing effects for therapy, which is deserving of more research, they do carry risks and side effects like panic attacks. Even without drugs, therapists have a variety of techniques at their disposal, such as Prolonged Exposure Therapy or Cognitive Processing Therapy. By using therapy to help clients explore the way trauma has affected them, Dr. Metzger suggests that they can then restructure the way they view their own trauma.
March 2021 - American Psychological Association CE e-Newsletter, Six Things Psychologists Are Talking About, Communicating with Teens During COVID by Zara Abrams
- Dr. Isha Metzger and Dr. Riana E. Anderson discuss the development of the EMBRace—Engaging, Managing, and Bonding through Race intervention, the Racial Trauma Guide, and provide suggestions for parents and caregivers talking about race and racism with teens.
Six Things Psychologists Are Talking About, Communicating with Teens During COVID - Full article
January 2021 - APA Monitor on Psychology, How to Discuss Race with Black Teens and their Families by Charlotte Huff
- Dr. Isha Metzger discussed how to help Black teens and families process and problem solve racial dilemmas and how mental health professionals can incorporate race into therapy.
APA Monitor on Psychology, How to Discuss Race with Black Teens - Full article
January 2021 - Journal of School Psychology (2020), Parenting profiles of academic and racial socialization: Associations with academic engagement and academic self-beliefs of African American adolescents, research spotlight
- Drs. Isha Metzger, Shauna Cooper, Charity Griffin, Alexandrea Golden, Ijeoma Opara, and Tiarney Ritchwood detailed the different ways that parents utilized academic and racial socialization. In this study, the researchers identified different parenting profiles that are associated with academic outcomes for African American youth.
Parenting profiles of academic and racial socialization - Full article
