A Problem Shared is a Problem Solved
Short Summary
Therapist HAT is a mobile application that provides ongoing, iterative, and comprehensive training for mental health professionals in an effort to improve their ability to provide culturally responsive and humble mental healthcare for people of color. With over 150 brief learning modules, the Therapist HAT forum, and live training events, mental health professionals, as well as graduate students in these fields, will have the support they need to ensure that their clients of color experience understanding, compassion, and supportive change in the context of therapy. Below is the link to our prototype if you are interested in learning more about the mobile application experience.
Dr. Jessica LoPresti and Dr. Tahirah Abdullah-Swain are Black women and licensed clinical psychologists who have spent their careers focused on training therapists in providing culturally responsive and humble mental health care. Their work is focused on creating therapy environments for people of color where they can feel seen, heard, understood, and valued. They partnered with Elizabeth Hughley, a Black woman who is a data analyst and UX/UI designer to develop Therapist HAT.
This campaign will support us in funding the final steps of the Therapist HAT app development. Reaching our goal will ensure that this app is in the hands of therapists and graduate student trainees by Fall 2023.
What We Need & What You Get
We need $50,000 to complete the development of the Therapist HAT app. All of the funds donated through this campaign will go towards paying the app development company to complete the development of the Therapist HAT app by the end of July 2023.
We know that our friends, family, and colleagues truly value cultural responsive healthcare and we would greatly appreciate your support as we work hard to make therapy a space where people of color can feel seen, heard, and valued.
We believe so deeply in this project and have supported the project to this point with our personal funds. We have applied to several grants and plan to continue applying for grant funding throughout the development process.
The Impact
People of color are facing overwhelming stressors including disparate access to education, healthcare, and safety. While people of color are experiencing significant mental health challenges in the face of these societal stressors, many therapists are not equipped to effectively help. Therapist HAT is our solution to this challenge. We are committed to training mental health professionals and graduate students to provide the mental healthcare that people of color need and deserve.
Those who know us, know our deep commitment to this work. Please join us in ensuring that mental health professionals have access to the training they need to effectively support people of color in therapy.
Risks & Challenges
A challenge we foresee is making the Therapist HAT app widely and financially accessible. Your donations will support us in making Therapist HAT available to mental health professionals at a reasonable cost. We also commit to offering Therapist HAT to graduate students at a significantly discounted rate.
Other Ways You Can Help
We understand that some of you may not be in a position to contribute financially to our cause. The good news is that you can support us in other ways! Help us get the word out by sharing this fundraising campaign with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Follow us on IG and Twitter: @therapisthatapp
Sign up for email updates on our progress: Therapisthat.com