Biographies for authors Tamera Gittens and Nicόl Osborne:

Tamera Gittens was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 5, 1994, enveloped by her family's Trinidadian culture. Tamera was first introduced to the mental health field at the age of 15 when she obtained a job at Downstate Hospital with her father through the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). She worked on the hospital's psychiatric floor and was tasked with handing out ice cups throughout the day, checking in with the patients, and a great deal of administrative work. During her time there, she tried her best to check in with each patient at least once a day and found that many patients had a mouthful of stories to tell her as they began to notice her check-ins were routine. She became fascinated learning about each patient's diagnosis through their charts. She also noticed that the psychiatrist visited once a week, prescribed medication, and left so there was no actual therapy being provided to the patients. Essentially there was a great disregard for the positive effects of therapy in conjunction with medication. Through these observations, it was evident that these patients were not learning any coping skills for everyday life after their discharge. During this time, Tamera realized she wanted to obtain a job in the mental health field, providing therapy to minorities. Tamera attended Clara Barton High School, where she graduated with a Medical Assistant certification after two years of clinical rotations at Kings County Hospital. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College and then obtained her Master's degree in School Counseling at New York University. She worked as a School Counselor at a middle school for three years, where she advocated for students to help eliminate all barriers to ensure positive and successful school years. Through social-emotional, academic, and career development, she helped her students excel and reach their full potential right in time for high school. She is currently at Medaille College finishing up her second Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling and works as a Behavior Specialist, identifying and assisting individuals and families in accessing needed preventive and primary health care services as well as evaluating patient outcomes and progress toward achieving objectives and goals of the care plan. Tamera's passion and drive has only increased as she works in the field, creating a safe space for Black narratives in therapy.

Nicόl Osborne was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 8, 1994. She is of Trinidadian and Grenadian descent. Nicόl was first introduced to the mental health field as a child; her favorite show was "House". While Dr. House was a genius medical doctor, his personality was self-destructive, and that fascinated Nicόl that he could be analytical and logical but extremely unstable. Nicόl went to a vocational school called BOCES during 11th and 12th grade in high school. While there, the the curriculum was centralized around learning about patient nursing skills, mental and overall health. External clinical rotations were conducted coupled with internal labs with manikins learning how to be hands-on from vitals, venipuncture, proper PPE, hygienic protocols and other wide range of nursing skills. Nicόl obtained her medical assistant certification at the end of the program. She went on to major in Nursing in college but after taking a Psychology elective, switched her major and has remained a psychology major moving forward. Nicol obtained two Associate degrees; A.S in Pre Med Biology and A.A in Psychology at OCCC. Nicόl obtained her Bachelor's degree in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College and then obtained her Master's degree in Social Work at Fordham University. Nicόl's currently working on a PsyD doctorate in clinical psychology at Southern California University. She worked as a Social Worker for three years at JASA; in a community guardianship program under Article 81 guardianship laws appointed by the Supreme Court in Manhattan, NY. Her duties consisted of an in-home and in-office assessment of adult clients' social and emotional needs with the assistance of other social work and/or other professional consultants. She conducted individual and family counseling and guidance in resolving the client's problems. Nicόl is currently working as a Researcher helping with the COVID-19 pandemic and as a Therapist. She is currently obtaining her predoctoral hours (Practicum and Internship) in Hawaii; she hopes to conduct her postdoctoral hours there as well.