Substance Use Among Black Youth:

Understanding the Influence of Social Determinants of Mental Health and Developing Strategies to Address the Impact on Black Youth

Event Date: April 21, 2023

Event Speaker: Delane Casiano, MD & Karriem L. Salaam, MD

About the Presenter:

Dr. Delane Casiano is an adult psychiatrist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With a specialization in cultural psychiatry and women’s mental health, Dr. Casiano has worked with ethnically diverse populations in a multitude of health care settings. Through her work, she is helping women overcome challenges with depression and other mental health problems. Such professional and governmental organizations as the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute of Mental Health have recognized her research examining cultural influences on mental health beliefs among African American women with depression. Dr. Casiano is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and Black Psychiatrists of America.

Dr. Karriem L. Salaam is a Board Certified in Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. He currently serves as the Medical Director of Adolescent Services at Friends Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia and as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, from 2006 to present. Dr. Salaam has been a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association since 2017. He is a founding member of Global Health Psychiatry, LLC. A company focused on decreasing the stigma of mental illness in communities of color, through education and community action, established in 2017. He has also served as a co-presenter with Dr. Casiano on several training’s related to Mental Health and Wellness and Special Considerations for African American Women.

Course Description:

This course will examine factors that contribute to mental health and substance use problems among Black youth exposed to school and community violence and clinical strategies to promote wellness, mental health, and resilience in this population.