Mental health care for all | University of Minnesota Skip to main content
Wordmark of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
News and Events

Utility Menu

  • MyU
  • One Stop
  • Jobs

Common Search Terms

  • Housing
  • Libraries
  • Bookstore
  • Tuition Cost
  • Academic Calendar

News Section Menu

  • Topics
  • Story Archive
  • For Journalists
  • Events

Task List

  • MyU
  • One Stop
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Agriculture & Environment
    • Architecture & Design
    • Arts & Humanities
    • Business & Management
    • Campus Affairs
    • Education
    • Health
    • Law & Policy
    • Science & Technology
    • Social Sciences
    • Sports & Recreation
  • Story Archive
  • For Journalists
  • Events

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. News & Events
  3. Mental health care for all
Feature

Mental health care for all

May 25, 2022
Vanessa Anyanso

As a doctoral student in counseling psychology, Vanessa Anyanso is learning to be a clinician while counseling a wide variety of clients. Some are University students with mental health challenges, while others are community members grappling with issues like addiction or anger management.

Anyanso often notices a palpable sense of relief when BIPOC patients see that she is Black, knowing that she likely has similar life experiences because she is a Nigerian American woman. Often it confirms Anyanso’s perspective that the academic and clinical sides of psychology need more practitioners from underrepresented communities.

“I think there are a lot of people who don’t look at Black and Brown people’s experiences as valid until there is some research they can turn to,” says Anyanso, who majored in psychology at Columbia University. “With my research knowledge, I can provide that language to people that their experience is valued. It can be studied and then put into language that people have to listen to.”

Anyanso is finishing the third year of her PhD program and has two more to go in the Twin Cities, then a final internship year. Though she is still weighing how she will use her degree, Anyanso aims to unite her loves of helping people and doing research. She already has been an active researcher since arriving in Minnesota in 2019, earning a highly competitive graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation.

Wellness during COVID and beyond

Anyanso’s initial research proposal involved studying Black mental health, especially the role of social media in perpetuating trauma in African American communities. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she pivoted to conducting a wellness survey that regularly assessed the health and wellness of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff at the University.

Conducted seven times over two years with 565 participants, the COVID-19 Wellness Survey tracked mental health as the pandemic and other historic events unfolded, including the murder of George Floyd and ensuing civil unrest, the Derek Chauvin trial, the murder of six Asian women in Georgia, and the fraught presidential election.

“It’s been a very time-consuming and exhausting experience, but it’s also very rewarding to be able to track people in the University community over time,” Anyanso says. “Every time we sat down to do a new survey, we would add questions about what was happening in the world with the pandemic and these huge social events.” 

Anyanso’s research has been ambitious, but it speaks to her persistence and resilience in the face of personal and community trauma, says her faculty advisor Richard Lee, Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Psychology.

“We need more scholars and practitioners like Vanessa who are willing to study the things that most others ignore and serve the communities that are most underserved, and then educate our students around these issues,” Lee says. 

Serving the community and being a resource to others are ways that Anyanso puts her goals into action. She raised more than $20,000 and bought and donated items to support protestors, residents, and organizations across Minneapolis. Anyanso also started her PhDiversity podcast to demystify graduate school for others. By sharing encouragement and information she has learned along the way, Anyanso strives to diversify the field of psychology.

As she continues learning, researching, counseling, and teaching, Anyanso is gaining more perspective on how she might share her talents in the future. She knows her work will involve ensuring that the field of psychology focuses on the perspectives and experiences of all people while reducing the mental health stigma in the Black community.

“I want a lot more attention and care given to the Black experience and the Black experiences of mental health,” she says, observing that there hasn’t been enough focus on differences within diverse communities. “The experience of a cis Black woman is vastly different than a trans Black woman or a Black man. I want to make sure all of those experiences are considered when we’re thinking about mental health treatment.

“I love mentoring and teaching and bringing other people into the field to be able to think about these things and help people grow in these ways.”
 

Excerpted from the original College of Liberal arts story.
  • Categories:
  • Social Sciences
  • Education practice and theory
Share this story
  • Link to share current story on Twitter
  • Link to share current story on Facebook
  • Link to share current story via email

More stories in Social Sciences

Joan Blakey smiling in a chair next to a book in the foreground partially showing the title "Social Work"
Feature

A lifelong journey leads her home

Joan Blakey graduated from the University of Minnesota more than 25 years ago with an undergraduate degree in social work. Two more degrees and more than two decades later, Blakey now leads the School of Social Work as its director. She is the first African American woman in that role.

Ahmed Amin
Feature

Education as an arena for social justice

Ahmed Amin unexpectedly found his career come full circle with his education.

Editor's picks

Maroon and gold M flags waving in the wind.
Feature

Gophers reach new high for academic success

University of Minnesota student-athletes have recorded the highest team grade-point averages in school history.

The national champion dance team poses with a banner and trophy.
Feature

Two more national championships for dance team

The University of Minnesota dance team has claimed two more national titles—in Division 1A Jazz and Division 1A Pom. 

 

David Haynes shows a screen displaying the Smart Community Health logo.
Feature

Changing healthcare, one neighbor at a time

A U of M health geographer is creating a mobile app that better connects patients to nearby social services, and integrates key info into their electronic health record.

Madeline Weinkauf
Feature

Researching menstrual health in the Dominican Republic

Madeline Weinkauf’s research has led to corporate aid, media attention, and legislative discussion.

 

See all stories
UMN Crookston UMN Morris UMN Duluth UMN Twin Cities UMN Rochester

System Campuses

  • System Website
  • Crookston
  • Duluth
  • Morris
  • Rochester
  • Twin Cities

For Journalists

  • Find an Expert
  • For Journalists
  • Guidelines for Journalists
  • Meet the PR Team

Contact

[email protected] 612-624-5551
Do you know what
the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
does for you?
Driven to Discover Campaign

Connect with us

  • Link to U of M's Facebook page
  • Link to U of M's Instagram page
  • Link to U of M's LinkedIn page
  • Link to U of M's Tiktok account
  • Link to U of M's Twitter page
  • Link to U of M's Youtube page
Wordmark of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  • Crookston
  • Duluth
  • Morris
  • Rochester
  • Twin Cities
© Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Privacy Statement | Report Web Disability-Related Issue
Website Feedback