Dr. Mercedes Samudio, LCSW

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Dr. Mercedes Samudio, LCSW

AfroNerd | Scholar | Founder of & | Host of | Empowering Black families with mental wellness!

Advancing through innovative research and clinical practice

05/01/2025

As a healing person supporting others healing, I appreciate this month as it highlights how important our mental wellness is and will always be!

I’ve survived trauma and abuse. I live with depression. I experience suicidal ideation and thoughts. Sometimes my emotions overwhelm me and I need to take a break. I live a full life, with folks who care for me. I speak up about mental wellness because it’s a life or death conversation for me, and many others.

11/29/2024

Embracing inclusivity & learning from folks is more important than ever…

…the idea of being Woke is becoming a term that brands folks who are progressive, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and culturally expansive…

…for my part, I’ve been bringing folks over to the WokeSide: where we believe that everyone’s knowledge and experience contributes to the tapestry of humanity, and it’s in those uniques experiences and ancestral knowledge that we find the oaths to heal together…

…in other words WOKE = Welcoming Our Knowledge & Experiences

This acronym reflects a mindset that values cultural expansiveness (a combo of humility, competence, and awareness), community building & connectedness, and a respect for for the historical and ancestral wisdom we all possess...

…in a sense, if you’re tired of being, tired of hearing, tired of seeing the revolution that is being WOKE, then you might want to check in with yourself because you’re part of the problem…

Research shows that cultural expansiveness is a lifelong process of reflection & (un)learning: a practice of mutual respect that bridges cultural gaps, especially in healthcare, to create equity (Foronda et al., 2016)…

… community building & connection also require being WOKE: embracing the attitudes, knowledge & skills to navigate across cultures (Deardorff, 2015; CDC, 2023)…

…TL;dr: Being WOKE is part of the work!™️

Allowing ourselves to evolve into cultural expansiveness aligns with the WOKE mindset…

…it empowers us to build meaningful connections & champion equity by understanding and honoring the diverse narratives that shape our communities…

…in a sense, we do this because it’s how we thrive; when we remain WOKE, we foster a world where every voice matters, every story is valued, and every experience is a chance to grow.

✨ Follow .mercedessamudio for all things Black family, parenting, mental health, Black health equity, and AfroNerd realness! ✨

11/22/2024

When raising healthy Black tweens, it can feel like they’re at a level to understand and process a lot…

…but in actuality, they’re coming online cognitively and emotionally while also learning how to connect with those around them.

As they’re learning let’s remind ourselves to do…

…LESS: teasing, shaming, labeling, enabling, and blaming…

…and MORE: listening, honoring, noticing, supporting, and understanding.

✨ Follow .mercedessamudio for all things Black family, parenting, mental health, Black health equity, and AfroNerd realness! ✨

11/20/2024

Reminders for Black Families raising Black Trans Tweens
✨ Let Black trans tween be themselves.
✨ Let Black trans tween exist.
✨ Let Black trans tweens use their pronouns
✨ Let Black trans tweens bloom
✨ Let Black trans tweens share their identity

This Trans Day of Remembrance let’s embrace our Black trans tweens as they navigate a world that is not designed for them. Black transgender and nonbinary youth face higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation, compounded by experiences of intersectional discrimination and a lack of affirming environments (The Trevor Project, 2023).

Let them they are loved and that do deserve to be here!

Here are some resources to support your Black trans tween:
specialist

✨ Follow .mercedessamudio for all things Black family, parenting, mental health, Black health equity, and AfroNerd realness! ✨

11/18/2024

Reminders for Black Families raising Black Tweens: Part Two

✨ Let Black tween rest
✨ Let Black tween dream big
✨ Let Black tweens explore freely
✨ Let Black tweens know they’re enough
✨ Let Black tweens express their creativity

Would you add to this list?

Follow .mercedessamudio for all things Black family, parenting, mental health, Black health equity, and AfroNerd realness!

11/16/2024

“When someone dismisses your dreams, anticipates your doom, or acts harshly towards you in any way, remember they are telling you their story, not yours.”

As a Black tween, I got used to being ignored. My voice, my feelings, my dreams: they were dismissed, overshadowed, minimized. That dismissal didn’t go away as I grew up. Instead, it planted a seed: I started believing other people’s stories about me more than my own.

Years ago, a friend said something that shook me: “The only reason you’re married is because he was the first person who was nice to you.”

It hit like a brick. I felt anger, then doubt: Were they right? Did I settle? Was my life a mistake? I said nothing! Not because I wasn’t hurt, but because it felt familiar. That comment mirrored the dismissal I’d known as a tween.

I let their words haunt me for years, questioning my choices, my worth. But here’s the truth I eventually realized: They weren’t talking about me. They were sharing their own story, their fears, insecurities, & doubts.

Healing began when I stopped carrying their story, and all the others I’d picked up over the years. To the younger me who thought she had to accept being dismissed, who thought shrinking was the only way to be seen: I love you. You didn’t know you could say, “That’s not about me.”

Healing isn’t about perfection. It’s about reclaiming your voice and letting their story go.

11/14/2024

Reminders for Black Families raising Black Tweens
✨ Let Black tween be vulnerable.
✨Let Black tween be soft.
✨ Let Black tweens feel ALL emotions
✨Let Black tweens feel pride
✨ Let Black tweens be quirky and geeky

What would you add to this list?

Follow .mercedessamudio for all things Black family, parenting, mental health, Black health equity, and AfroNerd realness!

11/07/2024

I am my Ancestors wildest dreams…

…even as I grieve a nation consistently ignoring my prismatic existence…

…even as I fight for Black folks knowing how it jarrs those who don’t understand…

…even as I slow down to rest, giving my soul an opportunity to fall apart & rebuild…

…even as I reset my crown, allow the tears to stream down & feel the fullness of this intensity…

…and even as I my voice trembles, I will continue to be a loud ass bell screaming:

I am the one you didn’t drown!

11/01/2024

✨ For Black Women, we have a new battle cry of unbinding to others’ expectations and gentle unburdening from playing small:

YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING
YOU HOLD NOTHING

Last slide: bc 💯🥹🙏🏾

10/30/2024

✨Representation in Parenting ✨

Modern parenting advice, research, and spaces are mostly White, cis, and hetero-focused, leaving many families out.

Only about 10% of mainstream parenting resources include BIPOC or LGBTQ+ families, often portraying a narrow view of family life (CCBC, 2018; Lloyd et al., 2024). 🤯

This limited representation can create feelings of isolation and “role strain,” where parents feel pressure to adjust their parenting for their kids’ safety in a world that doesn’t fully see them (Meyer, 2003; Burton et al., 2010). 😳

For Black and Brown parents, this means navigating added layers of racial battle fatigue (APA, 2020; DePouw & Matias, 2016), amplifying stress in ways that affect mental health and parenting confidence. 😞

Culturally expansive responses, including resources that truly see and speak to diverse family dynamics, are totes important, but it’s still hard to come by. And tbh, will only address part of the issue! 🤨

With only 20% of BIPOC parents feeling “understood” by mainstream resources (National Partnership for Women & Families, 2019) it’s time we took representation in parenting seriously! 🤓

So, what’s your take? How has representation (or the lack of it) affected your parenting journey? Share below—let’s get real about what families need. 💬

10/15/2024

🚨 RACISM AND BLACK FAMILIES: 100 YEARS OF RESEARCH 🚨

The 100-Year Review of Research focused on Black Families is an influential analysis that spans a century of social science research, examining the evolving political, social, economic, and demographic contexts affecting Black families.

Key Findings:
❗️ Research has historically misrepresented Black families, focusing often on problems rather than strengths
❗️ Black scholars have enriched our understanding of Black family dynamics but have often been sidelined in policy influence.
❗️ Research has often been geographically limited, focusing on specific urban areas, potentially skewing broader understanding.
❗️ Studies were often small-scale, missing the diverse experiences of Black families across the U.S
❗️ The words used in research evolve. ‘Negro family’ in the 1960s to ‘Black family’ today reflects changing societal attitudes.
❗️ Acknowledging the past: Researchers now recognize the limitations and biases in historical studies of Black families.
❇️ Modern research is shifting to highlight the resilience, diversity, and cultural wealth of Black families.

The full report can be read at resources in my profile (check under ✨Research✨) and by following (an excellent resource for current research on Black families).

Follow .mercedessamudio for insights into Black families’ mental wellness research

10/05/2024

What intrigues me about parenting is the courage it takes a human to choose to raise another human….

…in all my work, no matter what brought a parent to me, I am always honored to be on the journey with them, witnessing them create the life, and the family, that sustains and fulfills each person in their family!

I’ve worked with so many humans who took on the & consistently live with that decision (for better or worse) each day!

On a deeper level, parenting intrigues me because of how I experienced being parented - and how it lead me to the work I do now.

I explore a piece of that in my book , but I hope to continue to explore how this weaves into developing the and how we can improve the mental wellness of parents!

This work allows me to support those brave humans who take on the role of being a parent!

And I love it! 🥰💖

Follow .mercedessamudio for insights into being Black families, especially Black tweens!

Address

1510 W Whitter Boulevard , Ste 95
La Habra, CA
90631

Telephone

+17147585988

Website

https://solo.to/dr.mercedessamudio

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