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Why Athena Mentors CIC Exists?

To support Black women accessing culturally safe, early help, to improve wellbeing and break intergenerational cycles of inequality.

Women from the black community, are less likely to self-refer for talking therapy and more likely to enter therapeutic services via GP crisis referrals.  

 

This suggests support is often accessed late, when needs are more severe​.

The effectiveness of therapy when accessed by Black women, has low recovery outcomes (non-clinical levels post treatment), due to:

  • Cultural mismatch with therapists

  • Lack of culturally appropriate care

  • Lower engagement across sessions

  • Less likely to complete full therapy courses (more likely to disengage early)

🎆 Our Vision - (where we want to get to)

Our vision is a society where Black women and their children can access culturally safe, early mental health support - breaking cycles of inequality, to enable families to thrive emotionally, socially, and economically.

🌍 Our Mission (what we do every day)

We support Black women through culturally relevant mentoring, wellbeing programmes, and safe spaces that encourage early engagement with emotional support and personal development.

Due to Black women reaching crisis point or having low recovery outcomes, their children are more likely to experience prolonged exposure to maternal distress, anxiety and/or depression.

Key barriers to talking therapy include:

  • Structural inequalities and the therapy models are not culturally relevant (service design gaps)

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  • Being “Not heard”, culturally misunderstood, judged or stereotyped in therapeutic sessions

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  • Historical and lived experiences that contribute to lack of trust in therapeutic services

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  • Lack of representation - few therapists from similar cultural backgrounds

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  • The black community's experiences (e.g. racism, intersectionality) are not fully recognised

🎯 Aims (What we are working towards)

  • Increase early access to therapeutic support
    → Reduce crisis-led engagement by encouraging preventative wellbeing support

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  • Provide culturally safe and trusted spaces
    → Improve engagement and confidence in talking-based support

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  • Break intergenerational cycles of unmet need
    → Support both women and their children to improve long-term outcomes

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  • Reduce barriers to participation
    → Address cultural challenges and barriers, through open conversations about mental health

🎯 Objectives (What we deliver)

  • Our bite-size, low-pressured, therapeutic workshops, including reflective and wellbeing activities, encourages early access to therapeutic support, that builds trust to signpost to appropriate mental health and community services

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  • Building community partnerships with other organisations to widen access and reach underserved women and children.  By collaborating with vision-aligned organisations, were able to provide a broader and regular range of preventative, activity-led wellbeing support

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  • Through culturally responsive therapeutic activities, we are creating dedicated, trusted therapeutic spaces for the Black community (e.g. women-only and women-and-children groups), that focusses on wellbeing, confidence, emotional expression and personal growth

 

  • We are encouraging, low-pressure conversations that demystify counselling and psychotherapy by explaining the therapeutic process in clear, accessible language. Emphasising core therapeutic values such as confidentiality, trust, and client autonomy, while validating and addressing challenges related to cultural stigma and understanding

Children in households with untreated maternal mental health needs are more likely to:

  • Develop anxiety

  • develop behavioural disorders/difficulties

  • experience emotional instability

  • Learn to internalise distress/emotions 

There are higher rates of detention under the Mental Health Act, for the Black community. This indicates early intervention is not reaching this community effectively.

REFERENCES

These sources represent nationally recognised UK data and research used to evidence mental health inequalities and inform service design.

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Key Policies

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