Dr. Janice Beal's New Book Urges Black Women to Prioritize Rest and Self-Care

For generations, Black women have been expected to hold families together, care for children and aging parents, lead communities, and sustain careers — all while rarely asking for anything in return. Society has praised that resilience, but Dr. Janice M. Beal, after more than three decades as a psychologist, researcher, educator, and behavioral health expert, believes it has come at an enormous cost.

That conviction is at the center of her newest book, I Stop to Take Care of Me, a guide that asks Black women to reconsider what strength truly means. Beal says the women she has seen throughout her career were not exhausted because they lacked strength, but because they had spent their lives believing that strength meant never asking for help.

"It wasn't just about caregivers," Beal said. "It was talking to African American women, women of color, and really women in general. We have been taught to give and give and give because we're afraid to say no. Then when we finally do, we feel guilty about it."

A Career Built on Expanding Access to Mental Health Care

Beal is the president of Beal Counseling Associates and Beal Behavioral Health, two of Houston's established behavioral health practices, where she has spent decades working with children, adolescents, and families facing trauma, anxiety, depression, and major life crises. She has also served as a clinician, professor, researcher, and nationally recognized mental health advocate.

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted daily life in 2020, Beal created and directed two large-scale mental health helplines. One supported students, parents, teachers, and administrators across HISD. The other, developed with the City of Houston Health Department, received more than 1,500 calls in three months from people dealing with isolation, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and uncertainty. "Some people just needed somebody to talk to," she said.

Beal currently serves as a contracted mental health expert with the Steve Fund and as program director for Well Being In Color, a peer mental health education and support initiative designed for students of color. The program is expected to reach hundreds of students in Houston and New York City.

Challenging the Superwoman Myth

With more than 900 speaking engagements and research presented at over 75 national and international conferences, Beal says one cultural expectation continues to undermine Black women's health above almost all others. "We want to be superwomen," she said. "But if you look at every superhero, they always had somebody helping them. Superwoman never had anybody. I want to dismiss the idea that we don't need anybody just because we appear to be strong."

Brigid Roberson, reflecting on Beal's work, said: "Dr. Beal consistently reminds us that as we're pouring into any and everyone else, it is crucial that we take care of ourselves."

The book examines how history, slavery, religion, and generational trauma contributed to an identity built around sacrifice rather than wellness. Beal does not dismiss faith, but encourages readers to separate spiritual devotion from harmful self-neglect. She also asks them to reconsider what rest actually means. "I was taught a lot of things," she said. "I was never taught how to rest. Rest is totally different from being able to go to sleep."

That distinction is central to her message: while sleep restores the body, rest restores the mind, emotions, and spirit. Without deliberate rest, Beal argues, women continue carrying emotional burdens that eventually manifest as anxiety, depression, burnout, and chronic stress. Each chapter of the book begins with the affirmation "I am important," and the text guides readers through historical trauma, emotional healing, healthy boundaries, and practical strategies for prioritizing their own well-being.

Books for Children and a Long Career in Education

Beal's commitment to mental health education extends to younger audiences as well. She has authored therapeutic coloring books for children — A Boy Named Rocky and Rocky's Road — that help children with incarcerated parents process difficult emotions. Her newest children's book, My Granny Doesn't Remember My Name, addresses Alzheimer's disease and dementia in ways designed to help families explain these conditions to young children. "It talks about Alzheimer's and dementia and helping children understand what's happening to their grandparents," she said.

A Houston native, Beal holds degrees from the University of St. Thomas and Texas Southern University, where she earned both her master's and doctorate. She has served as psychology coordinator at Prairie View A&M University, taught at multiple universities, and has advised public officials on youth mental health and domestic violence. Her ultimate hope, she says, is straightforward: that Black women come to believe they deserve the same care they so readily give to everyone else.