Coded for Care: Reimagining Virtual Reality for Black Women's Mental Health
- Psychology of Black Womanhood
- Jul 13
- 2 min read
Reimagining Virtual Reality for Black Women's Mental Health
Black women report higher levels of psychological distress than their white counterparts; nearly 60% of Black women experience chronic stress, with sources ranging from workplace discrimination to medical bias and the emotional labor of navigating everyday racism. These disproportionately high levels of stress due to the cumulative effects of racism, sexism, and systemic inequality—a phenomenon often referred to as intersectional stress.
Despite the clear need, traditional therapeutic models often do not account for the cultural, historical, and socio-political contexts that shape their experiences. That’s where virtual reality (VR) is beginning to offer transformative potential. These tools go beyond traditional cognitive behavioral therapy by addressing cultural relevance, safety, and accessibility. But what’s becoming increasingly clear is that these tools can't be one-size-fits-all.
One researcher working to address these concerns is Dr. Judite Blanc, a multi-award-winning Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the founding director of the Holistic Families Lab (H.F.L.) at the same institution. As an NIH-funded scientist and FEMTECH expert, she serves as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on several federally supported and pilot digital health studies, including the Realist Women Study and the Cocooned Moms Study. In recognition of her contributions to the behavioral and social sciences, Dr. Blanc was named a 2025 NIH Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honoree. A respected authority on intergenerational trauma, her scholarship appears in the edited volume Psychological Legacy of Slavery: Essays on Traumas, Healing, and the Living Past, which was selected as one of the best academic books of 2022 by Choice, a publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries. Her research and commentary have been featured in leading academic journals, including The American Psychologist, Circulation, and JAMA Network, as well as in major media outlets such as CNN, The Washington Post, Forbes, USA Today, Ici-Radio Canada, and MedPage Today.
To learn more about Dr. Blanc, click here.
More Works by Dr. Blanc:
Emotional Support Is the Strongest Predictor of Sleep Disturbances Among a Sample of Perinatal Women of Color
"I am Lifted Above the World": Utilizing Virtual Reality for stress reduction among perinatal women of color
The Impact of Everyday Discrimination on Sleep Disturbance in Perinatal Women of Color
Virtual Reality for Stress Reduction and Sleep Health Improvement Among Perinatal Women: Insights from the Nurturing Moms Study
This episode will be available July 19.
Season 3 Episode 11
Running Time: TBD minutes
