Culturally Responsive Healing: How Northwest Credible Messenger is Transforming Behavioral Health

Last week on The Day with Trae, guest host Omari Salisbury sat down with Dr. Jason Clark, Executive Director of Northwest Credible Messenger, to discuss the organization's groundbreaking work in community building and behavioral health. Northwest Credible Messenger is, above all, dedicated to promoting healing and wellness within the Black and brown communities, Clark said.

Through the organization’s many initiatives geared toward strategically uplifting underrepresented communities, Dr. Clark discussed the Credible Messenger’s Barber and Beauty Shop Behavioral Health Project. Explaining the genesis of the program, Clark observed the mental health stigma in his communities, leading him to team up with salons and beauty shops as trusted community gathering spaces. 

The project recognized that barbers and beauticians were already doing peer work through engaging in conversation with people in need, but without formal recognition or resources. Northwest Credible Messenger provided training to 116 barbers and beauticians across 10 counties in Washington State, certifying them as peer support specialists to provide community-based, culturally responsive behavioral health services. 

This approach moves beyond simple listening, giving practitioners a toolkit to take their support to the next level by offering resources and potential next steps. The project was undeniably successful, with 3,000 people receiving services in a six-month period, according to Clark.

The organization's work is grounded in Healing Centered Engagement (HCE), a model Dr. Clark explained focuses on finding opportunities to heal within rather than perpetually looking outward. The core principles of HCE, which Clark refers to as CARMA, are Culture, Agency, Relationships, Meaning, and Aspiration. CARMA is driven by the belief that, as Clark said, “relationships produce results.” 

When discussing the meaning of culturally responsive care, Dr. Clark said that it comes from those people who understand the transformation story as it pertains to their culture. This authentic, peer-led model is vital to the Credible Messengers, which is now expanding to juvenile institutions to ensure that young people have a "warm handoff” into the real world.

Learn more about Dr. Clark and his mission at Northwest Credible Messengers at northwestcrediblemessenger.org, check out their podcast “Credible Conversations,” and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Catch The Day With Trae weekdays at 11 a.m. on all Converge streaming platforms. 

Did you enjoy this blog post? Then consider donating to Converge and supporting our mission here.