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.

The Psychologists Podcast featuring Dr. Isha Metzger

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!

Depression in Young Latinos and the Unique Stressors Behind It

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.

Future Human, Scientists Are Using Psychedelics to Help People Cope With Racial Trauma - Full article

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