Mental Health

Charlynn Small is a clinical psychologist and the Assistant Director of Health Promotion with nearly two decades of counseling experience. She has written on how the stressors of racism cause eating disorders, particularly binge-eating. She has edited the book, Treating Black Women with Eating Disorders: A Clinician’s Guide.

"Appetite loss or binge-eating is not uncommon in response to daily tensions and stressors," says Small.

"The daily lived experiences of many Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) often include anxiety from invalidating, intimidating, and subtle microaggressions. BIPOC are also impacted by the daily effects of macroaggressions such as housing discrimination, police misconduct, and other systematic social injustices."

"Patterns of emotional eating to cope with the effects of these events can result in eating disorders."

Contact director of media and public relations Sunni Brown at sbrown5@richmond.edu to connect with Small