Guest Contributor: Taylor Bass
Perinatal Mental Health Therapist, Social Worker, Public Speaker, and Full Spectrum Doula
What does Black Mental Wellness mean to you?
What Black Mental Wellness means to me is peace, equitable access to care, and REST. I pray that my people have the choice to rest and prioritize rest if they do have the ability to. Our ancestors prayed to rest, please do so out of respect of their legacy and how far we've come!
Tell us about your educational and/or professional training, and current area of expertise related to mental health and wellness?
I am a provisionally licensed social worker. Currently, I am a perinatal mental health therapist within an outpatient OBGYN clinic. I am also a full spectrum doula. I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts at Rhodes College in 2020. I graduated with my Master’s of Social Work from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2022. I received my doula training from Jamaa Birth Village in January 2023.
What are some ways that you promote mental health and wellness through your area of expertise (yoga instructor, clergy, mental health professional, etc.)?
Mental health professional, full spectrum doula, and yoga instructor in training.
What are some things that we should know about your area of expertise?
Black women are more likely to develop perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) and symptoms than white women. PMAD matters in our community, and we should be more knowledgeable about what symptoms to look out for.
What are your recommendations for ending stigma in the Black community?
I always tell my clients to think of your health holistically. Your physical is impacted by your mental and vice versa. How can you go to the doctor frequently to check on your body, but you don't think your mind needs the same kind of treatment? Be kind to your mind. Don't take it for granted.
How do you make time for your own wellness and self-care?
I exercise 5 out of 7 days, I see my therapist biweekly, I spend time with family and friends, but I also schedule solo time to intentionally have time for myself. I have set hard boundaries between work and my personal life as well so that the work life doesn't bleed over.
Guest Contributor
Taylor Bass is a perinatal mental health therapist, social worker, public speaker, and full spectrum doula. Taylor graduated from Rhodes College with her Bachelor of Psychology in 2020 and then pursued her Master of Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis, where she graduated in 2022. Since then, Taylor has been providing therapy within the outpatient OBGYN clinic of Barnes Jewish Hospital with a service called the Perinatal Behavioral Health Service of Washington University School of Medicine. Taylor pursued her doula certification from Jamaa Birth Village in 2022 and has been providing sliding scale doula services to the Saint Louis community since then with her business called The Wellness Center. Taylor is passionate about ensuring that patients have equitable access to health care, making patients feel safer in spaces that have historically hurt our communities, and helping to remove barriers to care.
