Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble

Dr. Alfiee is featured expert in this excellent article on Mic.com profiling the new @ayanaapp that helps people of color and marginalized groups seek care for mental health and well-being.  Melissa Pandinka reports.

For this new year of 2020, Dr. Alfiee starts with a bang as she is profiled in the Psychotherapy Networker Magazine discussion her passion for addressing mental health disparities facing African Americans and other people of color with a focus on teens and youth.  Dr. Ryan Howes writes the profile.

In December 2019, Dr. Alfiee was interviewed by Dr. Earl Turner for his podcast, The Breakdown with Dr. Earl.  The episode was the final one of the season for Dr. Earl and focused on mental health in African Americans.  Dr. Alfiee discussed her new nonprofit The AAKOMA Project, Inc. and the two expert psychologists also discussed unique approaches to reducing stigma and health disparities in among African Americans.

Dr. Alfiee was interviewed by Kimberley Berry for her podcast, Being UnNormal.  The episode was the first one of her new season and focused on mental health in African American youth, youth of color, families and communities.  Dr. Alfiee discussed her new nonprofit The AAKOMA Project, Inc. and described the unique approaches to reducing stigma and health disparities in among African Americans that she has built over the past 20 years.  She also discussed her media work and her use of social media and traditional media as a platform to engage underserved communities.

The Big East Conference (Commissioner Val Ackerman and Associate Commissioner for Men’s Basketball Stu Jackson) Hosted the 5^th annual Freshman Fundamentals Conference for the men basketball players of the Big East.  The conference was created to introduce the young men to national-stage college level basketball and to support their overall development and well-being as emerging student-athletes.  Dr. Alfiee was the first speaker to present to the group and she presented a talk on Student-Athlete Mental Health entitled “Ballers: Identity, Mental Health and Mental Illness”. Currently, commercials including clips of her participation in the Freshman Fundamentals event, are running during nationally televised Big East Men’s Basketball games.

September 2019 the Big East Conference (Commissioner Val Ackerman and Associate Commissioner for Women’s Basketball Tracy Ellis Ward) hosted the 5^th annual Transition Game Conference for the women basketball players of the Big East.  The session was designed to introduce the young women to life after center-stage college level basketball and to support their overall development and well-being as emerging professionals.  Dr. Alfiee presented to the group a talk on “Transitions, Mental Health and Student Athletes”.

[From PCORI’s Website] One out of every four Americans experiences an anxiety disorder in his or her lifetime, making anxiety disorders the most prevalent group of psychiatric disorders in the United States. There is also a significant public burden, with annual costs of associated medical expenditures, lost productivity, and functional impairment estimated at $42.3–$46.6 billion annually. Anxiety disorders are among the earliest psychiatric conditions to develop, with a median age of onset of 11 years. This breakout session at the 2019 PCORI Annual Meeting includes presentations on PCORI-funded research studies comparing evidence-based interventions in the treatment of anxiety, followed by a discussion of how these patient-centered approaches have the potential to improve quality of life for those impacted by anxiety disorders.

From May 23 – 25th, Dr. Alfiee toured Detroit area Renaissance and Romulus High Schools to talk with teens about their mental health.  In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Month, this national tour was the brainchild of Dr. Alfiee to support teens of color with their mental health and emotional well-being.  With a talk entitled, Dear Teenagers: Diversity, Mental Health and You, Dr. Alfiee raised awareness of signs and symptoms of major mental illness and placed these issues in context for Black teens/families and families of color.  She was also invited to stop by Fox News 2 Detroit to talk about her work.  The tour was co-sponsored by The AAKOMA Project, Each One Teach One, Nurturing Wellness and Mindspace Wellness.

On May 3, 2019, Dr. Alfiee launched the AAKOMA Project, Inc.  as a nonprofit via a mini-gala.  The evening was filled with music, great food and included recognition of women and Black owned business in the DMV area. the focus of the evening was to celebrate 20 years of the AAKOMA Project and most importantly, the beginning of the formation of the AAKOMA Project, Inc as a research nonprofit.  Dr. Alfiee has initiated the process of securing tax exempt (501c3) status, formed an inaugural board (with a teen advisory team) and has 12-18 months of roll-out and start up plans already curated.  A longer video highlight (by Clark Bailey Media) is on Dr. Alfiee’s IGTV and LinkedIn pages.

Dr. Alfiee gave an interview to Aneri Pattani of the Philadelphia Inquirer for this story on mental health disparities and African Americans/U.S. Blacks being misdiagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Discussion on the Racial Disparities in Mental Health Research with Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Denise Juliana-Bult MSW, Dr. Michael Lindsey, and Dr. William Lawson.

Dr. Alfiee’s recently published team science efforts with the Healthy Minds Network at the University of Michigan (lead paper author now an assistant professor at Boston College in Psychology) featured on Metro Page cover story in the Boston Globe (check news feature out here).  Dr. Alfiee is senior scientist on this paper sharing her expertise in mental health disparities for young people of color. Article forthcoming in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Research shows that while irritability in the average white teenager is often labeled as depression, it’s more likely seen as disruptive in black or Latino children — which Doctors say that can lead to feelings of hopelessness.

Dr. Alfiee discussed college student mental health on PBS NewsHour

Dr. Alfiee talks with Lester Holt about her research on Black adolescent depression with AAKOMA (the story also features Dr. Alfiee’s long time friend and colleague Mrs. H. Kathy Williams).

Dr. Alfiee served as expert on nationally televised special Undercover High: After School. Please see the quick (family-captured) screenshot from the episode and you can watch the full episode here.

Dr. Alfiee participated as an expert panelist in the 2018 Topeka Public Schools Equity Summit moderated by the one and only Soledad O’Brien.  See full story here.

Dr. Breland-Noble partnered with a new mental health stigma reduction organization during their recent launch and fundraiser. I Live For (www.ilivefor.org) is an AAKOMA Project partner and a super group of awesome people.