Catherine Rincon: Happy Thoughts Mental Health

This week, on Badass Black Girl, MJ talks with Catherine Rincon, a licensed mental health care professional about a variety of topics that are important in these trying times with the global pandemic. She discusses the stigma surrounding mental health especially in the Black and Caribbean communities, and raises some red flags that signal an imminent mental health crisis including difficulties performing at school or work and withdrawing from friends and loved ones. Catherine and MJ discuss the need for quality mental health care counseling among those of lower socio-economic status, who may miss out on quality health care due to the cost and stigma associated with mental health care among those of Black or Caribbean descent especially for women, children and the Latinx communities, and the importance of having a cultural understanding of the Black and diasporic communities. They also discuss the difference between face-to-face counseling and tele-health appointments which allow for a certain kind of intimacy not necessarily available in face-to-face meetings. Catherine reports that many of the issues she is seeing in her clients these days come from women and girls who are experiencing shame-based anxiety due to parental expectations. MJ talks about the situation in Haiti for mental health and how she has seen a slight improvement. They both discuss the unprecedented crisis the world is facing mental health wise with the global pandemic and the isolation that comes along with it. Catherine shares her secrets for self-care which include video games in moderation. The big take away from the discussion is understanding that no one is an island and that keeping things bottled up in unhealthy. You should vent whether it’s to a counselor or to a friend.

Catherine Rincon is an accredited licensed mental health professional, a member of the American Mental Health Counselors Associations [AMHCA], and a training Clinical Hypnotherapist.

Most of her professional practice has been with children, adolescents and adults. Catherine received her master’s degree in mental health counseling and school counseling from Carlos Albizu University in Miami. Catherine is also a graduate of Florida International University. Her early work consisted of working with children in the foster care system with Kids in Distress and Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. Catherine has worked for 10 years in community mental health programs within Miami-Dade and Broward. She has served more than a year with the Youth Emergency Services [YES] mobile crisis team post-licensure. Areas of study include Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Trauma informed interventions, Infant and Child Play Therapy, and parenting support education through the Nurturing Parenting Program. Catherine is currently employed full-time with the Florida Department of Education. She is currently working on completing licensure in Hypnotherapy with the Wellness Institute.

Visit Catherine's practice, Happy Thoughts Mental Health, at https://happythoughtsmh.com/