Mental Health Visionary, Author Supports Black Women on Therapy Journeys 

January offers a dedicated time to discuss mental wellness during Mental Wellness Month. The conversation of mental health and unique needs among Black women should not be missed now or in the coming months.

 Dr. LaNail R. Plummer, CEO/founder of Onyx Therapy Group, and author of “The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women,” has been a therapist for 20 years. Her dedication to the topic of mental health is noteworthy. Her company is a mental health organization with a team of over 40 BIPOC counselors and consultants serving Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, with an international footprint in South Africa, in 2013.

“This is my career anniversary, and I’ve been supporting Black women on their therapy journeys for 20 years. I’ve been a mental health visionary though for my whole life,” the Bowie, Maryland resident said. 

Dr. Plummer stated that there are no less than six areas of self-care, including physical, mental, emotional, social, workplace, and spiritual categories. 

“Each category has a specific focus that has a neurological, biological, or self-worth foundation. My experiences illuminate that Black women are focusing more on our physical, mental and social self-care. Physical self-care advances are demonstrated by messages about ‘drinking more water,’ walking, and workout groups for Black women, yoga and dance classes that play a lot of R&B and Hip Hop, and more athletic wear for Black women.”

 However, Dr. Plummer explained that Black women are focused on mental and social self-care through race/gender book clubs, engaging in conversations around needs, wants, and boundaries in friendships, creating vision boards and being intentional about their futures, and choosing to break cycles that no longer fit in their lives. Additionally, there is still a lot of room for growth in self-care areas such as the workplace, spiritual and emotional aspects. 

“Many Black women do not feel safe in their workplaces. As mentioned in the book, many Black women are still the ‘first’ or ‘only’ Black women in a role and have to serve as the representatives of themselves, their race, their gender, and their intersections while also trying to pave paths for others and open doors, too,” she continued. “It’s a lot of pressure and they do not always know how to create self-care in places where they are still invisible or have the curse of over competence.”

Dr. Plummer noted that while spiritual self-care is often misunderstood as religious, many Black women are trying to take time to dissect and explore how their religion is different from their spirit and which aspects of their religion is based in oppression of their race, gender, and cultural experiences. Sometimes, the dissection is overwhelming, so Black women remain consistent in religious practices but feel conflicted. It would be ideal for them to have space to explore without statements of judgements, condemnation, and sin. 

“Lastly, as most connected to the work I do, is emotional self-care. While more Black women are entering therapy, many of them are leaving therapy, too, particularly because their therapists do not know how to show up for them or treat them as clients. Many Black women find themselves being the educator in the therapeutic relationship instead of simply being the client. So, they are in another space where they have to wear two hats just to get treated properly, and that’s unfair,” Dr. Plummer stated.

She wrote “The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women” so that students and clinicians will have an effective guide, filled with Therapist’s Tips; Catalyst Questions; Client Insights; Therapist’s Introspection; the Therapeutic Guide; and Journal Prompts to enable clinicians to learn and immediately apply the knowledge in their sessions. 

“Additionally, I wrote the book so Black women could have the understanding, knowledge, and language to explore the issues that weigh them down so they can advocate for themselves, with themselves and with others, too,” Dr. Plummer said.

However, Dr. Plummer added that clinicians are well-intended, but they are humans with learned experiences, too. Sometimes they have their own deeply embedded core beliefs about Black women that can be based in stereotypes, media portrayal, and family biases that lead to countertransference. 

 Lastly, the use of discipline to increase self-awareness and seek and practice joy within a hobby can promote better mental wellness for Black women or anyone.

“Instead of engaging in a hobby like it’s a rare treat, incorporate it into your daily practice. Set aside 15 minutes a day to do something you really enjoy,” Dr. Plummer stated.

Dr. Plummer’s book will be released on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Visit https://www.onyxtherapygroup.com/dr-lanail-plummer and https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324053477 to learn more about Dr. Plummer and her book.