About this fundraiser:

Only 4% of licensed Psychologists in the US are Black—16% in total are of color (https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint#:~:text=Comment%3A,from%20other%20racial%2Fethnic%20groups). The lack of representation of licensed professionals in the mental health community continues to support systemic racial inequality within healthcare and perpetuates a cycle of homogenous care. A lack of representation exemplifies distrust in a system that has historically harmed certain groups; this leads to stigmas in these communities created on the basis of survival (https://www.ayanatherapy.com/post/the-lack-of-therapists-of-color-and-why). These stigmas harbor fear, anger, frustration, and misinformation, leading to disinterest in the field, circling back to a lack of representation.

My name is Shaneisha Wofford, and I am enrolled in Saybrook University’s Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program. Financial stability is one of the largest barriers to higher education, but with your support, you can help eliminate this barrier for a Black woman pursuing an advanced degree to be a part of the solution to our society’s mental health crisis.

Having witnessed mental health issues go unaddressed in victims of domestic violence as a DV counselor from 2014-2015, in the criminal justice system as an AmeriCorps volunteer working in a county jail in 2019, as a caseworker for adults on parole from 2019-2021, and as an advocate for the unhoused population from 2015 to current, I have chosen for my purpose to be a system of support for my community as a licensed psychologist. As a psychologist, I will have the opportunity to be intimately involved in the creation of proactive and positive systemic change at a community level.

With your support, you will undoubtedly help a first-generation college graduate and first-generation doctoral student, raised in a single-parent household reach their goal of $150,000, which will cover the full cost of attending Saybrook University (https://www.saybrook.edu/tuition-and-fees).

Let’s partner together and diminish the lack of representation of Black Psychologists in the US by decreasing barriers and increasing numbers!

Your donations will help pay for:

• Tuition and fees